UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN

SOUTHERN DIVISION

TERI JORDAN, as personal

representative of MICHAEL MILLER,

deceased,

Plaintiff, No. 14-cv-13796

vs. Hon. Gerald E. Rosen

CITY OF TAYLOR, et al.,

Defendants.

________________________________/

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO STRIKE

PLAINTIFF’S WITNESSES SUGAR MILLER AND PEBBLES MILLER

At a session of said Court, held in

the U.S. Courthouse, Detroit, Michigan

on November 19, 2015

PRESENT: Honorable Gerald E. Rosen

United States District Chief Judge

This matter is presently before the Court on the October 29, 2015 Motion of the

Defendants to Strike Plaintiff’s Witnesses Sugar Miller and Pebbles Miller. Plaintiff has

not responded to Defendants’ Motion and the time for doing so has expired.

In this motion, Defendants renew their request that the Court order that Sugar and

Pebbles Miller be stricken as witnesses and precluded from testifying in this action

because of their failure to appear for their depositions. The Court addressed Defendants’

first motion to strike these witnesses in a status conference with counsel for the parties on

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July 29, 2015, and thereafter formalized its ruling in its subsequent August 6, 2015 Order

Regarding Pending Motions. In that Order, the Court ordered Plaintiff to provide

Defendants with addresses of Pebbles Miller, the decedent’s sister, and Sugar Miller, the

common-law-wife of the decedent’s brother, who had previously failed to appear for

their depositions, and that Defendants then subpoena them to appear for their

depositions.1 In addition, the Court instructed Plaintiff’s counsel to specifically inform

Pebbles Miller, a potential claimant/heir of the decedent’s estate, that “if she fails to

appear for her deposition as subpoenaed, the Court may preclude her from sharing in any

award of damages in this case.” [8/6/15 Order, pp. 2-3.]

However, Defendants were never able properly re-subpoena Pebbles or Sugar

Miller for their depositions as Plaintiff’s counsel never provided defense counsel with

their addresses. After being pressed for a date for the depositions, on October 2, 2015,

Plaintiff’s attorney, Rebecca Filiatraut, emailed Defendants’ attorneys informing them

they that “[she] ha[s] tried to locate Sugar and Pebbles but ha[s] been unable to do so.”

[See Defendants’ Motion Ex. C]. She further stated that she “ha[s] also been unable to

obtain their cooperation with the deposition process.” Id. Therefore, Ms. Filiatraut

informed defense counsel that Plaintiff “will not be calling them as witnesses at trial.” 

Id.

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 Plaintiff’s counsel had previously agreed to produce Pebbles and Sugar Miller

for their depositions and Defendants, accordingly, served subpoenas duces tecum on

Plaintiff’s attorney, but neither Pebbles nor Sugar appeared on the date subpoenaed date.

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In light of the foregoing, in an attempt to avoid this Motion, Defendants prepared

and presented Plaintiff’s counsel with a stipulated order striking Sugar Miller and

Pebbles Miller from Plaintiff’s Witness List, prohibiting Plaintiff from calling these two

individuals as witnesses at trial, and precluding Plaintiff from making any claim on

behalf of Pebbles Miller as a potential claimant/heir of the decedent’s estate. Plaintiff’s

counsel refused to stipulate to this relief.

Because Plaintiff has been unable to locate Sugar or Pebbles Miller or obtain their

cooperation, Defendants have been denied an opportunity to discover what information

they might possess concerning the decedent or decedent’s claims, or what they might

testify about at trial. Therefore, Defendants would be severely prejudiced if Plaintiff is

permitted to offer these witnesses at trial. Further, the Court warned Plaintiff in its

August 6, 2015 Order that if Pebbles Miller refused to be deposed, the Court would

preclude her from sharing in any award of damages as a potential claimant/heir of

Decedent’s estate. In light of all of the foregoing, the Court finds that the relief

requested by Defendants in the instant Motion should be granted.

Accordingly,

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Sugar Miller and Pebbles Miller be STRICKEN

from Plaintiff’s Witness List.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff will not be permitted to call Sugar

Miller or Pebbles Miller to testify, in any capacity, at trial.

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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Pebbles Miller, as a potential claimant/heir to

the Estate of Michael Miller, deceased, shall be precluded from sharing in any award of

damages in this action.

SO ORDERED.

s/Gerald E. Rosen 

Chief Judge, United States District Court

Dated: November 19, 2015

I hereby certify that a copy of the foregoing document was served upon the parties and/or

counsel of record on November 19, 2015, by electronic and/or ordinary mail.

s/Julie Owens 

Case Manager, (313) 234-5135

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