Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-2_21-cv-00390/USCOURTS-caed-2_21-cv-00390-3/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 340
Nature of Suit: Marine Personal Injury
Cause of Action: 28:1333 Admiralty

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

SCOTT LARSEN, ET AL. PRETRIAL SCHEDULING ORDER

Plaintiffs,

v. Case No.: 2:21-cv-00390-JAM-AC

SWEET EMOTION,

Defendant.

After review of the Joint Status Report, the court makes the following order:

SERVICE OF PROCESS

All parties defendant to this lawsuit have been served and no further service will 

be permitted except with leave of court, good cause having been shown.

JOINDER OF ADDITIONAL PARTIES/AMENDMENTS

No further joinder of parties or amendments to pleadings is permitted except with 

leave of court, good cause having been shown.

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JURISDICTION AND VENUE

Jurisdiction and venue are not contested.

FICTITIOUSLY-NAMED DEFENDANTS

This action, including any counterclaims, cross-claims, and third party complaints 

is hereby DISMISSED as to all DOE or other fictitiously-named defendants.

MOTION HEARINGS SCHEDULES

All dispositive motions shall be filed by 10/28/2022. Hearing on such motions 

shall be on 12/06/2022, at 1:30 PM.

The parties are reminded of the notice requirements as outlined in Local Rule 

230(b).

The time deadline for dispositive motions does not apply to motions for 

continuances, temporary restraining orders or other emergency applications. 

All purely legal issues are to be resolved by timely pretrial motions. The parties 

are reminded that motions in limine are procedural devices designed to address the 

admissibility of evidence and are cautioned that the court will look with disfavor upon 

substantive motions presented at the final pretrial conference or at trial in the guise of 

motions in limine. The parties are further cautioned that if any legal issue which should 

have been tendered to the court by proper pretrial motion requires resolution by the 

court after the established law and motion cut-off date, substantial sanctions may be 

assessed for the failure to file the appropriate pretrial motion. 

MEET AND CONFER REQUIREMENT

In any case where the parties are represented by counsel, counsel contemplating 

the filing of any motion, except (1) those in connection with discovery motions (which are 

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governed by Local Rule 251(b)); (2) applications for temporary restraining orders or 

preliminary injunctions; or (3) motions made in prisoner actions (which are governed by 

Local Rule 230(l)), shall first contact opposing counsel to discuss thoroughly, preferably 

in person, the substance of the contemplated motion and any potential resolution. 

If the proposed motion must be filed within a specified period of time under the 

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (e.g., a motion to dismiss pursuant to F.R.Cv.P. 12(b), 

or a new trial motion pursuant to F.R.Cv.P. 59(a)), then this conference shall take place 

at least five (5) days prior to the last day for filing the motion; otherwise, the conference 

shall take place at least ten (10) days prior to the filing of the motion.

If the parties are unable to reach a resolution which eliminates the necessity for a 

hearing, counsel for the moving party shall include in the notice of motion the following 

statement:

"This motion is made following the conference of counsel pursuant to the 

Court's standing order which took place on [date of conference]."

The purpose of the meet and confer process is to: (1) determine whether the 

respondent agrees that the motion has merit in whole or in part; (2) discuss whether 

issues can be resolved without the necessity of briefing; (3) narrow the issues for review 

by the Court; and (4) explore the possibility of settlement before the parties incur the 

expense of briefing a motion.

Failure to comply with the meet and confer requirement will result in the dismissal, 

without prejudice, of the offending party's motion.

Unless prior permission has been granted, memoranda of law in support of and in 

opposition to motions under F.R.Cv.P. 56 and 65 and any post−judgment or post−trial 

motions are limited to twenty-five (25) pages, and reply memoranda are limited to ten 

(10) pages. Memoranda of law in support of and in opposition to all other motions are 

limited to fifteen (15) pages, and reply memoranda are limited to five (5) pages. The 

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parties are also cautioned against filing multiple briefs to circumvent this rule.

A violation of this Order will result in monetary sanctions being imposed against 

counsel in the amount of $50.00 per page and the Court will not consider any arguments 

made past the page limit.

Documentary evidence submitted in support of or in opposition to a motion must 

be separately bound or placed in a binder, and exhibits must be separated with labeled 

tabs that extend beyond the edge of the page. An Index of exhibits must also be 

included.

At least 28 days before the dispositive motions filing deadline, the parties must 

meet and confer to determine whether they intend to file cross motions for summary 

judgment. If the parties do intend to file cross motions, the plaintiff must file the opening 

brief for summary judgment at least 14 days before the dispositive motions filing 

deadline. The plaintiff’s concurrently-filed notice of motion shall indicate the parties’ 

intention to file cross motions and shall notice a hearing date at least 42 days from the 

date of filing. The briefing schedule will be as follows. Only four briefs shall be filed:

(1) Plaintiff’s opening brief (25 pages maximum), along with any other documents 

required or permitted under Local Rule 260, shall be filed at least 14 days before 

the dispositive motions filing deadline;

(2) Defendant’s opposition and cross motion for summary judgment (35 pages 

maximum) shall be filed at least 28 days before the hearing;

(3) Plaintiff’s reply and opposition (20 pages maximum) shall be filed at least 14 

days before the hearing;

(4) Defendant’s reply (10 pages maximum) shall be filed at least 7 days before the 

hearing.

These are the only four briefs that may be filed, even if the parties move for 

summary judgment on more than one complaint (e.g., motions on a complaint and a 

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counterclaim). The parties must obtain permission from the Court to exceed the stated 

page limitations. The parties are reminded that they may not file a reply to a Response 

of the Statement of Undisputed Facts. Parties are advised to carefully read Local Rule 

260, which permits an opposing party to file only (1) a Statement of Disputed Facts and 

(2) a Response to the Statement of Undisputed Facts (with the moving party’s Statement 

of Undisputed Facts reproduced and then admitted or denied, with citations). If the 

parties do not comply with this procedure and schedule for filing cross motions for 

summary judgment, but nonetheless file cross motions, the Court will deny both motions 

without prejudice and may impose sanctions. 

DISCOVERY

All discovery shall be completed by 09/16/2022. In this context, "completed" 

means that all discovery shall have been conducted so that all depositions have been 

taken and any disputes relative to discovery shall have been resolved by appropriate 

order if necessary and, where discovery has been ordered, the order has been complied 

with.

DISCLOSURE OF EXPERT WITNESSES

The parties shall make expert witness disclosures under F.R.Cv.P. 26(a)(2) by

07/15/2022. Supplemental disclosure and disclosure of any rebuttal experts under 

F.R.Cv.P. 26(a)(2)(c) shall be made by 07/29/2022. 

Failure of a party to comply with the disclosure schedule as set forth above in all 

likelihood will preclude that party from calling the expert witness at the time of trial 

absent a showing that the necessity for the witness could not have been reasonably 

anticipated at the time the disclosures were ordered and that the failure to make timely 

disclosure did not prejudice any other party. See F.R.Cv.P. 37(c).

All experts designated are to be fully prepared at the time of designation to render 

an informed opinion, and give their reasons therefore, so that they will be able to give full 

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and complete testimony at any deposition taken by the opposing parties. Experts will 

not be permitted to testify at the trial as to any information gathered or evaluated, or 

opinion formed, after deposition taken subsequent to designation.

JOINT MID-LITIGATION STATEMENTS

Not later than fourteen (14) days prior to the close of discovery, the parties shall 

file with the court a brief joint statement summarizing all law and motion practice heard 

by the court as of the date of the filing of the statement, whether the court has disposed 

of the motion at the time the statement is filed and served, and the likelihood that any 

further motions will be noticed prior to the close of law and motion. The filing of this 

statement shall not relieve the parties or counsel of their obligation to timely notice all 

appropriate motions as set forth above.

FINAL PRETRIAL CONFERENCE

The final pretrial conference is set for 01/27/2023, at 11:00 AM. In each instance 

an attorney who will try the case for a given party shall attend the final pretrial 

conference on behalf of that party; provided, however, that if by reason of illness or other 

unavoidable circumstance the trial attorney is unable to attend, the attorney who attends 

in place of the trial attorney shall have equal familiarity with the case and equal 

authorization to make commitments on behalf of the client. All pro se parties must 

attend the pretrial conference. 

Counsel for all parties and all pro se parties are to be fully prepared for trial at the 

time of the pretrial conference, with no matters remaining to be accomplished except 

production of witnesses for oral testimony. The parties shall file with the court, no later 

than seven days prior to the final pretrial conference, a joint pretrial statement. 

Also, at the time of filing the Joint Pretrial Statement, counsel are requested 

to e-mail the Joint Pretrial Statement and any attachments in Word format to 

Judge Mendez' assistant, Jane Klingelhoets at: jklingelhoets@caed.uscourts.gov. 

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Where the parties are unable to agree as to what legal or factual issues are 

properly before the court for trial, they should nevertheless list all issues asserted by any 

of the parties and specifically identifying the disputes concerning such issues. The 

provisions of Local Rule 281 shall, however, apply with respect to the matters to be 

included in the joint pretrial statement. Failure to comply with Local Rule 281, as 

modified herein, may be grounds for sanctions. 

The parties are reminded that pursuant to Local Rule 281(b)(10) and (11) they are 

required to list in the final pretrial statement all witnesses and exhibits they propose to 

offer at trial, no matter for what purpose. These lists shall not be contained in the body 

of the final pretrial statement itself but shall be attached as separate documents so that 

the court may attach them as an addendum to the final pretrial order. The final pretrial 

order will contain a stringent standard for the offering at trial of witnesses and exhibits 

not listed in the final pretrial order, and the parties are cautioned that the standard will be 

strictly applied. On the other hand, the listing of exhibits or witnesses that a party does 

not intend to offer will be viewed as an abuse of the court's processes. 

The parties are also reminded that pursuant to F.R.Cv.P. 16, it will be their duty at 

the final pretrial conference to aid the court in: (a) formulation and simplification of issues 

and the elimination of frivolous claims or defenses; (b) settling of facts which should 

properly be admitted; and (c) the avoidance of unnecessary proof and cumulative 

evidence. Counsel must cooperatively prepare the joint pretrial statement and 

participate in good faith at the final pretrial conference with these aims in mind. A failure 

to do so may result in the imposition of sanctions which may include monetary sanctions, 

orders precluding proof, elimination of claims or defenses, or such other sanctions as the 

court deems appropriate.

TRIAL SETTING

Jury trial in this matter is set for 03/13/2023, at 9:00 AM. The parties estimate an 

approximate twelve (12) day trial. 

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SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE

No Settlement Conference is currently scheduled. If the parties wish to have a 

settlement conference, one will be scheduled at the final pretrial conference or at an 

earlier time upon request of the parties. 

OBJECTIONS TO PRETRIAL SCHEDULING ORDER

This Status Order will become final without further Order of Court unless objection 

is lodged within seven (7) days of the date of the filing of this Order. 

IT IS SO ORDERED.

DATED: May 19, 2021 /s/ John A. Mendez

THE HONORABLE JOHN A. MENDEZ

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT JUDGE

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