Judge: Mark H. Epstein, Case: 20SMCV00026, Date: 2023-01-09 Tentative Ruling

The Court generally uploads tentative rulings the morning of the hearing.  Because of that, the parties cannot submit on the tentative the night before and not appear.  However, if after reviewing the tentative ruling ALL COUNSEL submit, they should tell the Court's judicial assistant when checking in and the Court will endeavor to either not hear the case in light of the submission or, if the Court believes that a hearing is still needed for some other reason, then the Court will be inclined to give priority.

In some cases, tentative rulings may be given by email the morning of the hearing rather than on the tentative ruling site.  Please check your email if you have not seen the tentative.  The email is generally sent to the persons who have signed up for a remote hearing.

For those appearing in the courtroom, the Court will provide a hard copy of the tentative ruling. 

Case Number: 20SMCV00026    Hearing Date: January 9, 2023    Dept: R

The case is here for a final status conference.  The court issued its FSC order on March 24, 2021.  On Friday, January 6, 2023, the parties submitted late final status conference materials.  The court has received: (1) Joint Witness List (11 witnesses, 37 total hours of direct and cross); (2) Joint Short Statement of the Case; (3) Joint Jury Instructions and one special instruction proposed by plaintiff.

The court has not received an Exhibit List or Verdict Form.  The court has also not received a deposition designation chart, although that is not required if no one intends to introduce deposition testimony for any purpose other than impeachment.  The court has also not received a jury questionnaire, but that is also not required if no one wants such a questionnaire to assist in voir dire.  The court has also not received a statement of any unusual issues, which the court takes to mean that there are no unusual issues.

Because there is no exhibit list or verdict form, the case is NOT READY FOR TRIAL.  The court is also concerned that the joint FSC materials were not filed until 5:00 pm on the Friday before today’s FSC, which is another indication that the parties are not ready.

Therefore, the trial date is VACATED.  The court will discuss with the parties when to re-set the matter for trial.