Judge: Mark H. Epstein, Case: SC123657, Date: 2022-12-27 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: SC123657    Hearing Date: December 27, 2022    Dept: R

The case is here for an FSC.  The court is aware that the current witness list suggests 55.5 hours of direct and cross examination, which in this court is 12-14 court days.  However, the court is also aware that witness lists are documents of preclusion and therefore it could well be that the actual estimate is shorter.

The court reminds the parties, as it did at the last hearing, that if the case is not in the jury’s hands by day’s end on January 20, 2023, the court will need to declare a mistrial because the court will be dark the following week.  If the parties cannot commit to completing the case within that time frame, including voir dire, openings, closings, instructing the jury, and instruction/verdict conferences, the trial should be moved.  (there are 13 court days between January 3, 2023 and January 20, 2023 inclusive.)

Beyond that, it appears that the case is ready for trial.  If the case is going to begin on January 3, 2023, The court requests that the parties therefore file trial binders by Thursday at 4:00 pm except for binders 3 and 4, which can be brought on the day of trial.  The binders shall be in the following format: First Binder tabbed as follows: (1) operative complaint and answer; (2) operative cross-complaint and answer; (3) short statement of the case; (4) witness list; (5) exhibit list (not exhibits); (6) deposition designations (not the actual pages).  Second Binder tabbed as follows: (1) Joint jury instruction list; (2) Plaintiffs’ jury instruction list of instructions to which defendants object; (3) Defendants’ jury instruction list of instructions to which plaintiffs object; (4) Joint jury instructions in the order in which they are to be read; (5) Plaintiff’s proposed jury instructions; (6) Defendants’ proposed jury instructions; (7) Plaintiffs’ proposed jury verdict form; (8) Defendants’ proposed jury verdict form.  Third Binder (not tabbed) containing all of the proposed exhibits and a copy of the exhibit list.  Fourth Binder to include the MIL’s, oppositions, replies, and orders, tabbed by MIL.  The parties are also to lodge all deposition transcripts.

Having learned from hard experience, the court will not call a jury panel until the court has had a chance to confer with counsel concerning the jury instructions and put as many of those disputes to rest as possible.

The court believes it has ruled on the MIL’s.

The court is available for trial on January 3, 2023.