Judge: Mark H. Epstein, Case: 22SMCV00944, Date: 2023-03-06 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 22SMCV00944    Hearing Date: March 6, 2023    Dept: R

The matter is here for an FSC.  The court is in receipt of the following materials filed on March 2, 2023: (1) Plaintiff’s witness list (4 witnesses, 2 hours total examination); (2) Defendant’s witness list (1 witness, 5 minutes); (3) Plaintiff’s Exhibit List (4 exhibits, no objections); (4) Defendant’s exhibit list (16 exhibits, no objections, all pictures); (5) Plaintiff’s trial brief; (6) Plaintiff’s statement of the case.

Although the court’s FSC rules state that witness lists and exhibit lists should be joint, the court understands that in this case, plaintiff submitted its list and defendant supplemented.  That is close enough given the brevity of this case.  Defendant should have submitted a trial brief, but the court will overlook that and assume that the court will figure it out through the trial and defendant’s opening statement.

It appears, therefore, that the case is ready for trial.  The court will discuss with the parties when precisely it will go forward, but it is on the calendar as currently set.  The court is presently engaged in a longer trial, but the court will likely finish this trial no later than Wednesday.  There is another trial starting after that and another short cause on the docket for trial.