Opinion ID: 431955
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Court's Exclusion of Koziy's Witnesses

Text: 31 The district court set August 17, 1981, as a deadline for listing witnesses to be called at trial. Koziy failed to list two witnesses, O'Connor and Martin, by the deadline. The district court, therefore, prohibited the witnesses from testifying. Koziy contends that the district court abused its discretion in excluding his witnesses. The government argues the district court acted properly in excluding Koziy's witnesses. 32 A district court's order concerning the exclusion of witnesses will be upheld unless there has been a clear abuse of discretion. Port Terminal and Warehousing v. John S. James Co., 695 F.2d 1328, 1334-35 (11th Cir.1983); Keyes v. Lauga, 635 F.2d 330, 334-35 (5th Cir.1981); Calamia v. Spivey, 632 F.2d 1235, 1237 (5th Cir.1980). In determining whether the district court abused its discretion in excluding witnesses, the reviewing court should take the following factors into account: (1) bad faith on part of the parties seeking to call the witnesses not listed in his pretrial memorandum, (2) ability of the party to have discovered the witnesses early, (3) validity of the excuse offered by the party, (4) willfulness of the party's failure to comply with the court's order, (5) party's intent to mislead/confuse his adversary, and (6) importance of excluded testimony. Myers v. Pennypack Woods Home Ownership Association, 559 F.2d 894, 904-905 (3d Cir.1977). 33 After reviewing each factor listed in Pennypack as it relates to this case, we find that the district court did not abuse its discretion in excluding Koziy's two witnesses. Koziy failed to inform the court that he desired to call O'Connor, a Displaced Persons Commission expert, until September 16, 1981. Koziy, however, knew that the government was claiming that he violated the Displaced Persons Act at the time of the filing of the complaint, 1979. Moreover, when Koziy was deposed on November, 1980, he was questioned about his application to the Displaced Persons Commission. Koziy, therefore, knew as early as 1979 that the Displaced Persons Act was at issue. Koziy had the ability to call O'Connor at any point after the filing of the complaint. Koziy offered no excuse for his failure to call O'Connor prior to the court's deadline and therefore, Koziy willfully failed to comply with the court's order. The government also lacked the opportunity to depose O'Connor. The district court, therefore, did not abuse its discretion in precluding O'Connor from testifying. 34 Koziy failed to inform the court that he desired to call Rene C. Martin, a handwriting consultant, until September 9, 1981. The trial commenced six days later. In November, 1980, the government notified Koziy of its desire to obtain handwriting exemplars for purposes of conducting an analysis and handwriting comparison of certain Nazi documents. Koziy refused, and the district court compelled him to comply. Koziy, therefore, knew that his handwriting was at issue in the case. His failure to obtain Rene C. Martin before the court's deadline displays bad faith. 35 Koziy contends that since the government had the opportunity to depose Martin, there was no unfair surprise. While the government did depose Martin, an attorney who was not involved in the dispute took the deposition. The district court, therefore, did not abuse its discretion in excluding Martin as it would have resulted in an unfair surprise to the government. Our holding is supported by the district court's careful consideration of the issue before reaching a decision. It requested memoranda of law concerning the dispute and then precluded Koziy's witnesses from appearing. 36