Judge: Elaine Lu, Case: 22STCV24727, Date: 2024-02-05 Tentative Ruling
Case Number: 22STCV24727 Hearing Date: February 5, 2024 Dept: 26
22STCV24727 (Hower v
Young) FSC MinOrd 2024-02-05
ORDER
By stipulation of the parties, the Final
Status conference, post-mediation status conference, and OSC are continued to February
9, 2024 at 9:00 am.
In preparation for the upcoming
final status conference and trial, all parties are ordered to file one joint
version of each of the following trial preparation documents no later than 3 pm
on February 8, 2024:
(1) A
joint statement signed by all parties that identifies which causes of action
and claims of each of the operative complaints (and cross-complaints if
applicable) and what affirmative defenses or other issues are equitable in
nature.
(2) A
joint exhibit list identifying the universe of all non-impeachment exhibits
that all parties wish to introduce at trial.
The joint exhibit list must have columns reflecting: “Exhibit #,”
“Title/Description,” "Admissibility stipulated?," "Authenticity
stipulated?" "Offered by?" "Objections," "Date
Identified," and "Date Admitted.”
All columns except for the last two columns must be fully completed for
each exhibit listed.
(3) A
joint witness list identifying the universe of all non-impeachment witnesses
that all parties wish to call at trial with columns for time estimates for
"direct examination," "cross examination,"
"redirect," and "total," fully completed for each witness,
and a grand total for all witnesses’ testimony at the bottom.
(4) A
joint statement of the case to be read to the jury. If the parties cannot agree on a joint
statement, the Court will likely not read a statement of the case to the
jury. Instead, the Court will likely
allow the parties to each make a 3-minute mini opening statement in lieu of the
Court reading a statement of the case.
(5) A
joint list of proposed jury instructions (joint and contested) organized in
CACI numerical order with 5 columns labeled: “CACI #,” “Title,” “Proposed By,”
“Objections By,” and “Given.” If all
parties agree on an instruction, indicate “joint” in the “Proposed By” column,
and leave the “Objections By” column blank.
Otherwise, indicate the party proposing the instruction in the “Proposed
By” column and the party objecting to the instruction in the “Objections By”
column. Leave the “Given” column blank
for the Court to indicate whether the instruction was given.
(6) A
joint, complete set of full-text proposed jury instructions, editing all
proposed CACI, inserting party name(s) and all other information, filling in
all blanks, and eliminating all brackets and irrelevant bracketed language. The parties/counsel shall prepare special
instructions in a format ready for submission to the jury with the instruction
number, title, and text only. All agreed
upon instructions should be up front in CACI numeric order. Disputed instructions should follow. The jury instructions should be separated
into three stacks with a colored sheet of paper between each stack: (1) joint
instructions, (2) Plaintiff’s proposed instructions to which Defendant objects,
and (3) Defendant’s proposed instructions to which Plaintiff objects. If the parties agree that an instruction
should be given but disagree on portions of the language within the
instruction, they should include this instruction in the “joint instructions”
(stack (1)) and demarcate the disputed language by placing it in brackets and
by using bold, italicized, and underlined text to highlight the disputed
portion of the instruction.
(7) With
regard to any non-CACI jury instructions that the parties are each proposing,
the parties are to prepare a joint statement/chart that identifies for each
such instruction: (1) the special instruction number (i.e. “Plaintiff’s special
instruction #1”), (2) the title, (3) any CACI instruction that covers this
subject or a related topic and that might render this special instruction
duplicative or unnecessary, (4) any other reason(s) for the opposing party’s
objection to this special instruction, (5) any reason(s) why the party
proposing this special instruction believes that any related CACI
instruction(s) do not adequately address this subject.
(8) One
joint verdict form. If the parties
cannot agree on a joint special verdict form, the parties must submit a joint
general verdict form. If the parties
disagree on specific questions or language within the verdict form, they should
include all language proposed by any party and demarcate the disputed language
by placing it in brackets and using bold, italicized, and underlined text to
highlight the disputed portion(s) of the verdict form.
(9) A
jointly proposed juror questionnaire to supplement the Court’s and parties’
oral questions during jury selection.
The parties may contact the Judicial Assistant for Department 26 to
request a sample juror questionnaire to be used during voir dire. The parties should meet and confer to each
suggest one substantive question to add to the juror questionnaire.
(10) Page
and line designations for deposition and former testimony that any party will
seek to admit at trial in lieu of live testimony. Any party proposing the page and line
designations must contact this
Department’s Judicial Assistant to obtain a template that shows the Court’s
preferred format for page and line designations.
The trial remains firmly set for February
20, 2024 at 9:30 am.
The
Court’s Judicial Assistant is to give electronic
notice to all parties.