Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-2_21-cv-01819/USCOURTS-caed-2_21-cv-01819-3/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 440
Nature of Suit: Other Civil Rights
Cause of Action: 28:1441 Petition for Removal- Civil Rights Act

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

SEING CHAO, 

Plaintiff,

v.

TYLER FINCH, 

Defendant.

No. 2:21-cv-01819-MCE-DMC 

SUPPLEMENTAL PRETRIAL 

SCHEDULING ORDER

After review of the parties’ Joint Status Report and on the Court’s own motion, 

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED: 

I. DISCOVERY

All discovery, with the exception of expert discovery, shall be completed no later 

than December 31, 2024. 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.

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1 A copy of the current Local Rules is available at http://www.caed.uscourts.gov/caednew/index.cfm/rules/localrules/

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II. DISCLOSURE OF EXPERT WITNESSES

All counsel are to designate in writing and serve upon all other parties the name, 

address, and area of expertise of each expert that they propose to tender at trial by 

February 28, 2025. The designation shall be accompanied by a written report prepared 

and signed by the witness. The report shall comply with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure

26(a)(2)(B). 

Any party may designate a supplemental list of expert witnesses who will express 

an opinion on a subject covered by an expert designated by an adverse party by 

March 31, 2025. The right to designate a supplemental expert for rebuttal purposes 

only shall apply to a party who has not previously disclosed an expert witness on the 

date set for expert witness disclosure by this Order. 

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) good cause for the party’s failure to 

designate the expert witness in accordance with this Order; (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 Order, an “expert” is any person who may be used at trial to 

present evidence under Federal Rules of Evidence 702, 703, and 705, 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). 

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Each 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 given their 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 the trial as to any information gathered or evaluated, or 

opinion formed, after deposition taken subsequent to designation. 

Counsel are instructed to complete all discovery of expert witnesses in a timely 

manner in order to comply with the Court’s deadline for filing dispositive motions. 

III. DISPOSITIVE MOTIONS

The parties shall file dispositive motions not later than June 26, 2025. All papers 

should be filed in conformity with the Local Rules. Absent leave of the Court, all issues 

the parties wish to resolve on summary judgment must be raised together in one (1) 

motion or cross-motion. Should the parties wish to file additional motions for summary 

judgment, they must seek leave of the Court. 

All purely legal issues are to be resolved in timely pretrial motions. When 

appropriate, failure to comply with Local Rules 230 and 260, as modified by this Order, 

may be deemed consent to the motion and the Court may dispose of the motion 

summarily. With respect to motions for summary judgment, failure to comply with Local 

Rules 230 and 260, as modified by this Order, may result in dismissal for failure to 

prosecute (or failure to defend) pursuant to this Court’s inherent authority to control its 

docket and or Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b). 

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Further, failure to timely oppose a summary judgment motion2 may result in the granting 

of that motion if the movant shifts the burden to the nonmovant to demonstrate that a 

genuine issue of material fact remains for trial. 

The Court places a page limit for points and authorities (exclusive of exhibits and 

other supporting documentation) of twenty (20) pages on all initial moving papers, twenty 

(20) pages on oppositions, and ten (10) pages for replies. Sur-replies are viewed with 

disfavor and will only be considered upon a showing of good cause. All requests for 

page limit increases must be made in writing with a proposed order setting forth any and 

all reasons for any increase in page limit at least seven (7) days prior to the filing of the 

motion. 

The parties are directed to the Court’s website for available hearing dates and 

Senior Judge England’s standard procedures. Citations to the Supreme Court Lexis 

database shall include parallel citations to the Westlaw database. 

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

designated to address the admissibility of evidence. The Court will look with disfavor 

upon dispositional motions presented at the Final Pretrial Conference or at trial in the 

guise of motions in limine. 

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. 

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2 The Court urges any party that contemplates bringing a motion for summary judgment or who 

must oppose a motion for summary judgment to review Local Rule 260.

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IV. TRIAL SETTING

The parties are ordered to file a Joint Notice of Trial Readiness not later than 

thirty (30) days after receiving this Court’s ruling(s) on the last filed dispositive motion(s). 

If the parties do not intend to file dispositive motions, the parties are ordered to file a 

Joint Notice of Trial Readiness not later than thirty (30) days after the close of the 

designation of supplemental expert witnesses and the notice must include statements of 

intent to forgo the filing of dispositive motions.

The parties are to set forth in their Notice of Trial Readiness, the appropriateness 

of special procedures, whether this case is related to any other case(s) on file in the 

Eastern District of California, the prospect for settlement, their estimated trial length, any 

request for a jury, and their availability for trial. The parties’ Notice of Trial Readiness 

Statement shall also estimate how many court days each party will require to present its 

case, including opening statements and closing arguments. Plaintiff’s estimate shall also 

include the time necessary for jury selection, and Defendant’s estimate shall include the 

time necessary to finalize jury instructions and instruct the jury. 

This Court is in session for jury selection, opening statements, presentation of 

evidence, closing arguments, and instruction of the jury Monday through Wednesday, 

only. Jury deliberations only are Monday through Friday if necessary. 

After review of the parties’ Joint Notice of Trial Readiness, the Court will issue an 

order that sets forth dates for a final pretrial conference and trial. The parties should be 

prepared to submit discovery documents and trial exhibits electronically in PDF format. 

V. SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE

If the parties agree to a settlement conference, a magistrate judge will be 

randomly assigned to the case to preside over the settlement conference. If the parties 

specifically request that the assigned District Judge or Magistrate Judge conduct the 

settlement conference, the parties shall file the appropriate waiver of disqualification in 

accordance with Local Rule 270(b). 

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If the parties elect to participate in the Voluntary Dispute Resolution Program (VDRP), a 

stipulation of election is required pursuant to Local Rule 271. In accordance with Local 

Rule 160, counsel are to immediately file a notice of settlement or other disposition of 

this case. 

VI. OBJECTIONS TO INITIAL PRETRIAL SCHEDULING ORDER

This Supplemental Pretrial Scheduling Order will become final without further 

order of the Court unless objections are filed within five (5) days of this Order.

Dated: March 21, 2024

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