Opinion ID: 2647902
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Pretrial Motion for Telephonic Testimony

Text: On September 14, 2012, Mr. Eller timely filed a witness list enumerating the witnesses he expected to call at trial, including Mr. Sola, who resides in Portland, Oregon, and had been his attorney in his 2003 lawsuit against Trans Union; and Mr. McLain, who lives in Dallas, Texas, and had represented him in military proceedings to correct his Army record. See Aplt. Appx. Vol. I at 82. On October 3, 2012—six days before trial was scheduled to begin—Mr. Eller moved to call certain witnesses, including Mr. Sola and Mr. McLain, to testify by telephone. Id. at 84. The next day, Mr. McLain submitted an affidavit stating he would be serving as counsel in a court martial proceeding in Incirlik, Turkey during the scheduled trial dates. Id. at 86. Trans Union opposed the request for telephonic testimony. Id. at 88. Mr. Eller’s remote testimony request was filed several days late under the district court’s practice standards, which require that such requests be made at least 10 days before trial. Suppl. Appx. at 83. Nevertheless, the district court stated it would permit -7- two of Mr. Eller’s witnesses—medical practitioners with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (the “VA”) who were unable to physically appear at trial due to their patient care obligations—to testify by telephone about the VA’s treatment of Mr. Eller for anxiety and depression related to his credit woes.2 The district court denied Mr. Eller’s request as to Mr. Sola and Mr. McLain, however, “for lack of good cause shown.” Aplt. Appx. Vol. I at 88.