DEFS.’ MOT. TO AMEND

PRETRIAL DEADLINES

JEFFREY H. WOOD

Acting Assistant Attorney General 

Environment & Natural Resources Division

LISA LYNNE RUSSELL, Chief

GUILLERMO A. MONTERO, Assistant Chief

SEAN C. DUFFY (NY Bar No. 4103131)

MARISSA PIROPATO (MA Bar No. 651630)

CLARE BORONOW (admitted to MD bar)

FRANK J. SINGER (CA Bar No. 227459)

ERIKA NORMAN (CA Bar No. 268425)

Trial Attorneys

Natural Resources Section

601 D Street NW

Washington, DC 20004

(202) 305-0445

sean.c.duffy@usdoj.gov

Attorneys for Defendants

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

DISTRICT OF OREGON

EUGENE DIVISION

KELSEY CASCADIA ROSE JULIANA, et. al.,

Plaintiffs,

v.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, et al.,

Defendants.

Case No.: 6:15-cv-01517-TC

DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO AMEND 

PRETRIAL DEADLINES TO 

EXCHANGE EXHIBIT LISTS, 

SUBMIT EXHIBIT LISTS, AND TO 

FILE OBJECTIONS TO EXHIBITS

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DEFS.’ MOT. TO AMEND

PRETRIAL DEADLINES

Defendants respectfully move to amend the pretrial schedule to extend the time—until 

October 12, 2018—for the Parties to exchange trial exhibit lists, and to extend the time—until 

October 19, 2018—for the Parties to submit to the Court exhibit lists and objections to exhibits.

1

 

This request is made for good cause as follows:

1. Prior to the August 27, 2018 status conference, the Parties never met and conferred 

as to the dates for exchanging exhibit lists, nor for the dates for filing exhibit lists and 

objections with the Court.2

 On the morning of Friday, August 24, 2018, undersigned 

counsel for Defendants contacted counsel for Plaintiffs by email to schedule a meet 

and confer to take place prior to the August 27 status conference. Decl. of Sean C. 

Duffy in Supp. of Mot. to Amend Pretrial Deadlines (“Decl.”), Ex. 4 (Defendants’ 

August 24, 2018 email). Counsel for Plaintiffs responded by email later that day with 

a proposed agenda for the status conference, including the item “Dates to serve” 

motions in limine, witness lists, and exhibit lists. Decl. ¶ 3, Ex. 2.

2. Counsel for Defendants responded by email on August 27, 2018, and proposed

October 19 as the deadline for trial memoranda and October 22 for the pretrial 

conference. Decl. ¶ 4, Ex. 3. Neither party suggested nor discussed any additional

dates prior to the August 27, 2018 status conference. Decl. ¶ 4.

 1 Pursuant to Local Rule 7-1(a), on September 20, the parties met and conferred as to the 

proposed amendments to the pretrial schedule. Plaintiffs oppose this request. 

2 The United States objects to these proceedings on the grounds that this case is improper for 

several jurisdictional and substantive reasons as set forth in its Motion to Dismiss (ECF No. 27), 

Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings (ECF No. 195), and Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF 

No. 207). The United States acknowledges that the Court has either disagreed with or not yet 

ruled on Defendants’ dispositive challenges, and therefore is participating in pretrial matters. 

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DEFS.’ MOT. TO AMEND

PRETRIAL DEADLINES

3. During the status conference, undersigned counsel for Defendants called in from 

Washington D.C., while the two additional Defendants’ counsel who were also 

involved in scheduling matters called in remotely, and on separate lines. As a result, 

during the status conference, counsel for Defendants’ were unable to confirm with 

each other as to whether additional dates had been agreed with Plaintiffs either over 

email or in face-to-face conversations when counsel met during depositions, which 

were then underway.

4. During the August 27 status conference, counsel for Plaintiffs proposed—for the first

time, and without indicating to any counsel for Defendants that it would do so—that 

the Court order an October 1, 2018 deadline for exchanging exhibit lists. Decl. ¶ 6.

5. Undersigned counsel for Defendants orally agreed to the October 1 deadline for the 

exchange of exhibit lists, on the mistaken assumption that counsel for Defendants,

who were dialing in remotely had agreed to such a deadline with Plaintiffs. This was 

an incorrect assumption: no such agreement had been made and indeed no discussion 

as to dates had been initiated. Decl. ¶ 7.

6. This Court issued a minute order following the August 27, 2018 status conference, 

which, inter alia, ordered the parties to exchange exhibit lists by October 1, 2018 and 

to file exhibit lists and objections to exhibits with the Court no later than October 15, 

2018. Decl. Ex. 4, ECF No. 343 (Aug. 29, 2018 Minute Order).

7. The parties will be in no position to provide a meaningful or complete exhibit list by 

October 1, 2018, particularly given the number of depositions, scheduled for the first 

two weeks in October and the need for counsel to prepare for those depositions. 

Decl. ¶¶ 8-9.

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DEFS.’ MOT. TO AMEND

PRETRIAL DEADLINES

8. There are currently no fewer than fourteen depositions scheduled to take place

between Saturday, September 29, 2018 and October 23, 2018, including the 

deposition of Dr. James Hansen on October 1, 2018. Decl. ¶ 9. Preparing for those 

depositions is a time-consuming endeavor. Counsel for Defendants expect that 

numerous exhibits will be introduced during those depositions, and that some (or 

many) of those exhibits will be included on the exhibit lists that are exchanged and 

then submitted to the Court. Decl. ¶ 10. 

9. On September 20, 2018, Defendants met and conferred with Plaintiffs regarding 

pretrial deadlines. Defendants explained that they had agreed to the October 1 

deadline for the exchange of exhibit lists based on a mistaken assumption and will not 

be prepared to exchange exhibit lists on October 1, 2018 given the significant number 

of trial witnesses that will have not yet been deposed by that time. Defendants further 

explained that their exhibit list is likely to include many of the exhibits introduced 

during the forthcoming depositions. In addition, exhibits introduced during 

subsequent depositions may supplant earlier-used exhibits. Therefore, any list that 

the Parties provide on October 1 is likely to be very incomplete. By necessity, any 

list completed by that date would also be overly inclusive because it will have been 

submitted well before many depositions have concluded and counsel will have had an 

opportunity to then adequately prepare trial strategy. 

10. In contrast, by October 12, nearly all of the outstanding expert depositions will have 

been completed. By exchanging exhibit lists on October 12, Defendants believe that 

they will provide an exhibit list that it more considered, more complete, and better 

tailored to trial. 

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DEFS.’ MOT. TO AMEND

PRETRIAL DEADLINES

11. And by submitting exhibit lists and objections to exhibits on October 19—rather than 

October 15—Defendants expect that the parties will have an adequate opportunity to 

review the opposing parties’ lists and to provide the Court with any objections before 

the October 23, 2018 pre-trial conference, during which the parties will be prepared 

to discuss “exhibits and witnesses” and “related objections and stipulations.” Decl., 

Ex. 4. Plaintiffs oppose this proposal to amend the pre-trial deadlines so that the 

parties exchange exhibit lists on October 12, 2018 and submit objections and exhibit 

lists on October 19, 2018. 

For all of the foregoing reasons, Defendants respectfully request that the Court grant this 

motion to amend pretrial deadlines, and order the parties to exchange exhibit lists on October 12, 

2018, and to submit objections and exhibit lists to the Court on October 19, 2018.

DATED: September 26, 2018

Respectfully submitted,

JEFFREY H. WOOD

Acting Assistant Attorney General Environment & 

Natural Resources Division

/s/ Sean C. Duffy

LISA LYNNE RUSSELL

GUILLERMO A. MONTERO

SEAN C. DUFFY (NY Bar No. 4103131)

MARISSA PIROPATO (MA Bar No. 651630)

CLARE BORONOW (admitted to MD bar)

FRANK J. SINGER (CA Bar No. 227459)

ERIKA NORMAN (CA Bar No. 268425)

U.S. Department of Justice

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