Opinion
5:21-CV-381 (CAR)
04-18-2024
ANTONIO BARKER, Plaintiff, v. ALBERTO FERRER; RICHARD STEVEN GATLIN; RANDY GONZALEZ; and DAVID DAVIS; Defendants.
ORDER SETTING PRETRIAL CONFERENCE DATE AND TRIAL DATE
C. ASHLEY ROYAL, SENIOR JUDGE
THIS ORDER, AND THE ATTACHED PRETRIAL ORDER FORM, MUST BE CAREFULLY READ. THIS ORDER, AND THE ATTACHED PRETRIAL ORDER FORM, ARE AMENDED FROM TIME TO TIME. THIS DOCUMENT INCLUDES THE LATEST REVISIONS.
NOTE: THE PAGES OF THE PROPOSED PRETRIAL ORDER MUST BE NUMBERED.
1.
A Rule 16 pretrial conference will be held in Macon, Georgia, at 10:00 a.m. on May 17, 2024. The Court requires that lead counsel for each party (or each party unrepresented by counsel) attend the pretrial conference.
2.
This case is scheduled for trial in Macon, Georgia during the term beginning on June 10, 2024.
3.
No later than May 3, 2024, each party shall deliver to all other parties a list of witnesses the party expects to present and those the party may call if the need arises.
4.
No later than May 3, 2024, copies of proposed trial exhibits of each party shall be delivered to all other parties. Participants at the pretrial conference will be expected to be familiar with the proposed exhibits of all parties.
5.
No later than May 10, 2024, copies of any motions in limine shall be filed electronically with the Court. Any responses to the motions to the motions in limine shall be filed electronically with the Court no later than May 14, 2024. Participants at the pretrial conference should be prepared to discuss the merits of the motions at the pretrial conference.
6.
No later than May 14, 2024, the parties must email the Court a single, JOINT proposed pretrial order in substantially the same form, and covering all the matters referred to in, as the attached form of order. The Proposed Pretrial Order must be emailed to the Court as an attachment to the email and in word processing format at Macon.ecf@gamd.uscourts.gov. Any disagreements regarding the proposed order should be stated and specified in the single, joint proposed pretrial order.
7.
At the pretrial conference each party shall:
(a) Produce copies of all proposed exhibits of the party. If production at pretrial of such exhibits is deemed unduly burdensome, a party may apply to the Court for relief prior to the pretrial conference. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, exhibits produced at the pretrial conference shall be presented in a notebook, with an index of the exhibits included. Plaintiffs' exhibit numbers shall be preceded by the letter “P” and defendants' exhibit numbers shall be preceded by the letter “D”. Joint exhibit numbers shall be preceded by the letter “J”. (When the same exhibit is to be used by each side, it should be treated as a joint exhibit and should be marked accordingly.) Separate documents or items should have separate exhibit numbers. For example, ten photographs are ten exhibits, not one. Avoid “subexhibits,” e.g., 17.1 or 17A. Before jury deliberations begin, counsel must ensure that electronic exhibits are identical to exhibits admitted at trial.
Copies of the exhibit notebooks shall be furnished to the Court and opposing parties. Exhibits which cannot be placed in notebooks, such as physical objects, shall be identified and numbered on a separate list. Exhibits not produced at the pretrial conference, unless excused from production by the Court, will not be allowed at trial, absent a demonstration that the exhibit could not reasonably have been produced at the pretrial conference.
(b) Make any objections as to authenticity of the exhibits of the other parties. Any objections to authenticity not made at pretrial shall be deemed waived.
(c) Make any other objections to the exhibits of the other parties. Any objections to exhibits not made at the pretrial conference shall be deemed waived, unless otherwise ordered by the Court or unless the objection could not have been known at the time of the pretrial conference.
(d) Present to the Court a list of all witnesses who may be called at trial. All objections to witnesses shall be made at the pretrial conference and any objection to witnesses not made at the pretrial conference shall be deemed waived. Witnesses not identified at the pretrial conference shall not be allowed at trial unless otherwise ordered by the Court or unless the witness could not have reasonably been identified prior to the pretrial conference. Opposing counsel may rely on representation by the designated party that he will have a witness present unless notice to the contrary is given in sufficient time prior to trial to allow the other party to subpoena the witness or obtain this testimony by other means.
(e) Present to the Court a list of all depositions, including audio and video depositions, which may be used at trial, except for purposes of impeachment by a prior inconsistent statement. All objections to depositions or the contents thereof shall be made at the pretrial conference, and any such objection not made at that time shall be deemed waived. Any extant deposition not identified at the pretrial conference shall not be used at trial absent a demonstration that the deposition could not reasonably have been identified at the pretrial conference. Objections to depositions and the contents of depositions taken between the date of the pretrial conference and the trial shall be made in writing prior to jury selection.
(f) No motions in limine may be made after the pretrial conference absent a showing that the motions could not reasonably have been made at or before the pretrial conference.
(g) Present to the Court a list of all pending motions or other matters which require a ruling or other action by the Court. Any pending motions not so identified shall be deemed abandoned by the movant.
(h) The parties must attach their proposed voir dire questions, jury charges, and verdict forms to the pretrial order.
(i) The parties shall exchange voir dire questions and be prepared to discuss any objections thereto at the pretrial conference.
(j) Present to the Court proposed requests to charge the jury, if any. Each proposed request must be on a separate page, double spaced, and numbered for identification. Each proposed charge must be supported by either case law or a pattern
jury charge citation; proposed requests not supported by legal citations will not be considered by the Court.
8.
At trial each party shall:
(a) Provide the courtroom deputy an electronic copy of all final exhibits (e.g., on a flash drive) to be used at trial. Such electronic copy must be presented no later than the morning of jury selection.
(b) Furnish one copy of each final exhibit notebook to be placed on the witness stand for use by the witnesses during trial.
SO ORDERED.
PROPOSED PRETRIAL ORDER - JURY
The following constitutes a pretrial order entered in the above-styled case after conference with counsel for the parties:
(1) (a) The name, address, and telephone number of all attorneys who personally appeared at pretrial and who will conduct the trial are as follows:
Plaintiff ______
Defendant ______
Other ______
(b) The name, address, and telephone number of all nonparty persons including attorneys who have a fixed or contingent financial interest in this case are as follows: ______
(2) (a) Companion cases pending in this and other federal or state courts are: ______
(b) Possible derivative claims not now the subject of pending litigation: ______
(3) The estimated time required for trial is: ______
(4) The parties agree that the Court has jurisdiction of the parties and the subject matter (cite jurisdictional statutes).
- OR
The jurisdiction of the Court was questioned because: ______.
After hearing from the parties the Court decided ______.
(5) The jury will be qualified as to relationship with the following:
(a) Plaintiff:
(b) Defendant:
(6) All discovery has been completed, unless otherwise noted, and the court will not consider any further motions to compel discovery except for good cause shown. The parties, however, shall be permitted by agreement to take depositions of any person(s) for the preservation of evidence or for use at trial.
(7) Unless otherwise noted, the names of the parties as shown in the caption to this order are correct and complete, and there is no question by any party as to the misjoinder or nonjoinder of any parties.
(8) The following is the plaintiff's brief and succinct outline of the case and contentions: ______
(9) The following is the defendant's brief and succinct outline of the case and contentions: ______
(10) The issues for determination by the jury are as follows:
(a) Plaintiff:
(b) Defendant:
(11) If a tort action, specifications of negligence, including applicable code sections, are as follows: ______
(12) If a contract action, the terms of the contract are as follows (or, the contract is attached as an Exhibit to this order): ______
(13) The types of damages and the applicable measure of those damages are as follows: ______
(a) Plaintiff:
(b) Defendant:
(14) All material undisputed facts established by the pleadings, depositions, or admissions of the parties are attached as Attachment A, and are signed by counsel, and will be read to the jury at the beginning of trial.
(15) Pursuant to the Court's usual practice, pleadings will not be submitted to the jury.
(16) Special authorities relied upon by Plaintiff relating to peculiar legal questions are as follows: ______
(17) Special authorities relied upon by Defendant relating to peculiar legal questions are as follows: ______
(18) The following are lists of witnesses the:
(a) Plaintiff will have present at trial: ______
(b) Plaintiff may have present at trial: ______
(c) Defendant will have present at trial: ______
(d) Defendant may have present at trial: ______
(19) The following depositions may be used at trial:
(a) by Plaintiff:______
(b) by Defendant:______
(20) The parties' proposed voir dire questions, jury charges, and verdict form are attached hereto, as Attachment ______to Attachment______.
(21) The parties' respective exhibit lists [see attached format] are attached as Attachments ______and______.
(22) The possibilities of settling the case are: ______
(23) A jury of twelve will be selected and all jurors shall participate in the verdict unless excused from service by the Court.______
(24) Other matters:
Submitted by:______
It is hereby ORDERED that the foregoing, including the attachments thereto, constitute the pretrial order in the above case and supersede the pleadings which may not be further amended except by order of the Court to prevent manifest injustice.
This ______day of______, 2024.
s/
C. ASHLEY ROYAL, SENIOR JUDGE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EXHIBIT LIST______
NUMBER
DESCRIPTION
IDENTIFIED
ADMITTED