Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-1_14-cv-01737/USCOURTS-caed-1_14-cv-01737-1/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 360
Nature of Suit: Other Personal Injury
Cause of Action: 28:1332 Diversity-Petition for Removal

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

ESTHER S. LONG, et al.,

Plaintiffs,

v.

HOME DEPOT, U.S.A, INC. et al.,

Defendants,

No. 1:14-cv-01737-KJM-JLT

STATUS (PRETRIAL SCHEDULING)

ORDER

An initial scheduling conference was held in this case on July 1, 2016. John Bell

appeared for Plaintiffs; Matthew Wisinski appeared for Defendant Clopay Building Products 

Company, Inc.; and Pavan Rosati appeared for Defendant Home Depot, U.S.A., Inc. 

Having reviewed the parties’ Second Amended Scheduling Report filed on June 26, 2015, 

and discussed a schedule for the case with counsel at the hearing, the court makes the following 

orders:

I. SERVICE OF PROCESS

All named defendants have been served and no further service is permitted without leave 

of court, good cause having been shown. 

II. ADDITIONAL PARTIES/AMENDMENTS/PLEADINGS

Any requested pleading amendments are ordered to be filed, either through a stipulation or 

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motion to amend, no later than December 31, 2015. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b); Johnson v. 

Mammoth Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604 (9th Cir. 1992).

III. JURISDICTION/VENUE

Jurisdiction is predicated upon 28 U.S.C. §§1332, 1441, and 1446. Jurisdiction and venue 

are not disputed.

IV. DISCOVERY

Initial disclosures as required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a) shall be completed 

by within 3 weeks of the completion of the mediation. All non-expert discovery shall be 

completed by May 31, 2016.

1

 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 obeyed. All motions to compel discovery must be noticed on the magistrate 

judge’s calendar in accordance with the local rules of this court. While the assigned magistrate 

judge reviews proposed discovery phase protective orders, requests to seal or redact are decided 

by Judge Mueller as discussed in more detail below. In addition, while the assigned magistrate 

judge handles discovery motions, the magistrate judge cannot change the schedule set in this 

order, even in connection with a discovery matter.

V. DISCLOSURE OF EXPERT WITNESSES

All counsel are to designate in writing, file with the court, and serve upon all other parties 

the name, address, and area of expertise of each expert that they propose to tender at trial not later 

than June 24, 2016. The designation shall be accompanied by a written report prepared and 

signed by the witness. The report shall comply with Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2)(B). By July 15, 

2016, any party who previously disclosed expert witnesses may submit a supplemental list of 

expert witnesses who will express an opinion on a subject covered by an expert designated by an 

 

1 At the hearing, counsel agreed the parties would complete the IME and Mrs. Long and the 

deposition of both plaintiffs before the scheduled mediation. Plaintiffs agree to submit to 

deposition on shortened notice but counsel SHALL cooperate in selecting dates, related to the 

depositions and Mrs. Long’s IME, convenient to all. In addition, Plaintiffs’ counsel agreed to 

provide any additional medical records in his possession to Defendants.

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adverse party, if the party supplementing an expert witness designation has not previously 

retained an expert to testify on that subject. The supplemental designation shall be accompanied 

by a written report, which shall also comply with the conditions stated above.

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. An expert 

witness not appearing on the designation will not be permitted to testify unless the party offering 

the witness demonstrates: (a) that the necessity for the witness could not have been reasonably 

anticipated at the time the list was proffered; (b) that the court and opposing counsel were 

promptly notified upon discovery of the witness; and (c) that the witness was promptly made 

available for deposition.

For purposes of this scheduling order, an “expert” is any person who may be used at trial 

to present evidence under Rules 702, 703 and 705 of the Federal Rules of Evidence, which 

include both “percipient experts” (persons who, because of their expertise, have rendered expert 

opinions in the normal course of their work duties or observations pertinent to the issues in the 

case) and “retained experts” (persons specifically designated by a party to be a testifying expert 

for the purposes of litigation). A party shall identify whether a disclosed expert is percipient, 

retained, or both. It will be assumed that a party designating a retained expert has acquired the 

express permission of the witness to be so listed. Parties designating percipient experts must state 

in the designation who is responsible for arranging the deposition of such persons.

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

informed opinion, and give the bases for their opinion, so that they will be able to give full and 

complete testimony at any deposition taken by the opposing party. Experts will not be permitted 

to testify at trial as to any information gathered or evaluated, or opinion formed, after deposition 

taken subsequent to designation. All expert discovery shall be completed by August 12, 2016.

VI. MOTION HEARING SCHEDULE

All dispositive motions, except motions for continuances, temporary restraining orders or 

other emergency applications, shall be filed no later than September 2, 2016, and heard no later 

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than October 28, 2016.

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The parties may obtain available hearing dates by checking Judge 

Mueller’s page on the court’s website.

All purely legal issues are to be resolved by timely pretrial motions. Local Rule 230 

governs the calendaring and procedures of civil motions; the following provisions also apply:

(a) The opposition and reply must be filed by 4:00 p.m. on the day due; and

(b) When the last day for filing an opposition brief falls on a legal holiday, the 

opposition brief shall be filed on the last court day immediately preceding the legal holiday.

Failure to comply with Local Rule 230(c), as modified by this order, may be deemed consent to 

the motion and the court may dispose of the motion summarily. Brydges v. Lewis, 18 F.3d 651, 

652-53 (9th Cir. 1994). 

The court places a page limit of twenty (20) pages on all moving papers, twenty (20) 

pages on oppositions, and ten (10) pages for replies. All requests for page limit increases must be 

made through the courtroom deputy clerk at least fourteen (14) days prior to the filing of the 

motion.

Prior to filing a motion in a case in which the parties are represented by counsel, counsel 

shall engage in a pre-filing meet and confer to discuss thoroughly the substance of the 

contemplated motion and any potential resolution. Plaintiff’s counsel should carefully evaluate 

the defendant’s contentions as to deficiencies in the complaint and in many instances the party 

considering a motion should agree to any amendment that would cure a curable defect. Counsel 

should discuss the issues sufficiently so that if a motion of any kind is filed, including for 

summary judgment, the briefing is directed only to those substantive issues requiring resolution 

by the court. Counsel should resolve minor procedural or other non-substantive matters during 

the meet and confer. A notice of motion shall contain a certification by counsel filing the 

motion that meet and confer efforts have been exhausted, with a brief summary of meet and 

confer efforts.

The parties are reminded that a motion in limine is a pretrial procedural device designed to 

 

2

 Note that this date may not correspond to a law and motion calendar date.

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address the admissibility of evidence. The court looks with disfavor upon dispositional motions 

presented at the Final Pretrial Conference or at trial in the guise of motions in limine. Although 

all motions in limine must be filed in conjunction with the joint pretrial statement, the court will 

hear only those motions it has identified to counsel before the hearing date. 

The parties are cautioned that failure to raise a dispositive legal issue that could have been 

tendered to the court by proper pretrial motion prior to the dispositive motion cut-off date may 

constitute waiver of such issue. 

VII. SEALING

No document will be sealed, nor shall a redacted document be filed, without the prior 

approval of the court. If a document for which sealing or redaction is sought relates to the record 

on a motion to be decided by Judge Mueller, the request to seal or redact should be directed to her 

and not the assigned Magistrate Judge. All requests to seal or redact shall be governed by Local 

Rules 141 (sealing) and 140 (redaction); protective orders covering the discovery phase of 

litigation shall not govern the filing of sealed or redacted documents on the public docket. The 

court will only consider requests to seal or redact filed by the proponent of sealing or redaction. 

If a party plans to make a filing that includes material an opposing party has identified as 

confidential and potentially subject to sealing, the filing party shall provide the opposing party 

with sufficient notice in advance of filing to allow for the seeking of an order of sealing or 

redaction from the court.

VIII. FINAL PRETRIAL CONFERENCE

The Final Pretrial Conference is set for February 9, 2017, at 3:30 p.m. At least one of the 

attorneys who will conduct the trial for each of the parties shall attend the Final Pretrial 

Conference. If by reason of illness or other unavoidable circumstance a 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. 

Counsel for all parties are to be fully prepared for trial at the time of the Final Pretrial 

Conference, with no matters remaining to be accomplished except production of witnesses for 

oral testimony. The parties shall confer and file a joint pretrial conference statement by January 

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19, 2017. The provisions of Local Rule 281 shall apply with respect to the matters to be included 

in the joint pretrial statement. In addition to those subjects listed in Local Rule 281(b), the parties 

are to provide the court with the following:

- A plain, concise statement that identifies every non-discovery motion previously 

tendered to the court and its resolution. 

- A concise, joint list of undisputed core facts that are relevant to each claim. Disputed 

core facts should then be identified in the same manner. The parties are reminded not to identify 

every fact in dispute but only those disputed facts that are essential to the formulation of each 

claim. Each disputed fact and undisputed fact should be separately numbered or lettered. Where 

the parties are unable to agree on the core disputed facts, they should nevertheless list core 

disputed facts in the above manner. 

- Concise lists of disputed evidentiary issues that will be the subject of a party’s motion in 

limine.

- Each party’s points of law, which concisely describe the legal basis or theory underlying 

their claims and defenses. Points of law should reflect issues derived from the core undisputed 

and disputed facts. Parties shall not include argument with any point of law; the parties may 

include concise arguments in their trial briefs.

- A joint statement of the case in plain concise language, which will be read to the jury 

during voir dire and at the beginning of the trial. The purpose of the joint statement is to inform 

the jury what the case is about.

- The parties’ position on the number of jurors to be impaneled to try the case.

Discovery documents to be listed in the pretrial statement shall not include documents to 

be used only for impeachment and in rebuttal.

The parties are reminded that pursuant to Local Rule 281 they are required to attach to the 

Final Pretrial Conference Statement an exhibit listing witnesses and exhibits they propose to offer 

at trial. After the name of each witness, each party shall provide a brief statement of the nature of 

the testimony to be proffered. The parties may file a joint list or each party may file separate lists. 

These list(s) shall not be contained in the body of the Final Pretrial Conference Statement itself, 

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but shall be attached as separate documents to be used as addenda to the Final Pretrial Order. 

Plaintiff’s exhibits shall be listed numerically. Defendant’s exhibits shall be listed 

alphabetically. The parties shall use the standard exhibit stickers provided by the court: pink for 

plaintiff and blue for defendant. In the event that the alphabet is exhausted, the exhibits shall be 

marked “AA-ZZ”. However, if the amount of defendant exhibits exceeds "ZZ" exhibits shall be 

then listed as A-3, A-4, A-5 etc. All multi page exhibits shall be stapled or otherwise fastened 

together and each page within the exhibit shall be numbered. The list of exhibits shall not include 

excerpts of depositions to be used only for impeachment. In the event that plaintiff(s) and 

defendant(s) offer the same exhibit during trial, that exhibit shall be referred to by the designation 

the exhibit is first identified. The court cautions the parties to pay attention to this detail so that 

all concerned, including the jury, will not be confused by one exhibit being identified with both a 

number and a letter. The parties are encouraged to consult concerning exhibits and, to the extent 

possible, provide joint exhibits, which shall be designated as JX and listed numerically, e.g., JX1, JX-2.

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.

Counsel shall produce all trial exhibits to Casey Schultz, the Courtroom Deputy, no later 

than 3:00 p.m. on the Friday before trial.

Failure to comply with Local Rule 281, as modified by this order, may be grounds for 

sanctions. 

The parties also are reminded that pursuant to Rule 16 of the Federal Rules of Civil 

Procedure it will be their duty at the Final Pretrial Conference to aid the court in: (a) the 

formulation and simplification of issues and the elimination of frivolous claims or defenses; (b) 

the settling of facts that should properly be admitted; and (c) the avoidance of unnecessary proof 

and cumulative evidence. Counsel must cooperatively prepare the joint Final Pretrial Conference 

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Statement and participate in good faith at the Final Pretrial Conference with these aims in mind.3 

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.

Concurrently with the filing of the Joint Final Pretrial Conference Statement, counsel shall 

submit to chambers the word processable version of the Statement, in its entirety (including the 

witness and exhibit lists) to: kjmorders@caed.uscourts.gov.

IX. TRIAL SETTING

The jury trial is set for March 27, 2017 at 9:00 a.m. The parties estimate a trial length of 

approximately 10 days. Trial briefs are due by March 13, 2017.

X. SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE

No settlement conference is currently scheduled. Rather, the parties have agreed to 

submit to private mediation on October 12, 2015. Defendants represented at the hearing that they 

would not raise issues related to their liability at the mediation and the parties would, instead, 

focus on issues related to causation and damages. However, Defendants’ position at the 

mediation is without prejudice to their raising the issue of liability in the event the mediation fails.

The parties are advised that a settlement conference may be set at the time of the Final 

Pretrial Conference or at an earlier time at the parties’ request. In the event that an earlier 

settlement conference date or referral to the Voluntary Dispute Resolution Program (VDRP) is 

requested, the parties shall file said request jointly, in writing. Because the case will be tried to a 

jury, all parties should be prepared to advise the court whether they will stipulate to the trial judge 

acting as settlement judge and waive disqualification by virtue thereof.

Counsel are instructed to have a principal with full settlement authority present at any 

Settlement Conference or to be fully authorized to settle the matter on any terms. Each judge has 

different requirements for the submission of settlement conference statements; the appropriate 

 

3

 “If the pretrial conference discloses that no material facts are in dispute and that the undisputed 

facts entitle one of the parties to judgment as a matter of law,” the court may summarily dispose 

of the case or claims. Portsmouth Square v. Shareholders Protective Comm., 770 F.2d 866, 868-

69 (9th Cir. 1985).

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instructions will be sent to you after the settlement judge is assigned. 

XI. MODIFICATION OF STATUS (PRETRIAL SCHEDULING) ORDER

The parties are reminded that pursuant to Rule 16(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil 

Procedure, the Status (Pretrial Scheduling) Order shall not be modified except by leave of court 

upon a showing of good cause. Agreement by the parties pursuant to stipulation alone does not 

constitute good cause. Except in extraordinary circumstances, unavailability of witnesses or 

counsel does not constitute good cause.

XII. OBJECTIONS TO STATUS (PRETRIAL SCHEDULING) ORDER

This Status Order will become final without further order of the court unless objections 

are filed within fourteen (14) calendar days of service of this Order.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: July 1, 2015 /s/ Jennifer L. Thurston 

UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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