Opinion
2:20-cv-0903 KJM DB
05-03-2022
ESTATE OF ANTONIO THOMAS, et al. Plaintiffs, v. COUNTY OF SACRAMENTO et al., Defendants.
ORDER
DEBORAH BARNES UNTIED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
On April 22, 2022, plaintiffs filed a motion for sanctions and noticed the motion for hearing before the undersigned on May 6, 2022, pursuant to Local Rule 302(c)(1), which concerns discovery motions. (ECF No. 150.) As the parties are aware, however, discovery in this action is closed. Defendants have moved before the assigned District Judge to re-open discovery, and plaintiffs have opposed that request. (ECF Nos. 143 & 145.)
Moreover, the sanctions plaintiffs seek include adverse jury instructions and exclusion of evidence. (ECF No. 150-1 at 20-21.) Such sanctions are “plainly a remedy to be considered by the district judge presiding over the trial.” Kaur v. City of Lodi, No. 2:14-cv-0828 GEB AC, 2016 WL 3019313, at *3 (E.D. Cal. May 26, 2016); see also Dagdagan v. City of Vallejo, No. 2:08-cv-0922 GEB KJN, 2011 WL 4825652, at *1 (E.D. Cal. Oct. 11, 2011) (“the undersigned concludes that it would be more appropriate for plaintiff's motion to be heard by the trial judge, United States District Judge Garland E. Burrell, Jr., as a motion in limine because the motion concerns the exclusion of testimony at trial”); DeJesus v. Allied Interstate, Inc., CASE NO.: 0880566 CIV Hurley/Hopkins, 2008 WL 11331826, at *2 (S.D. Fla. Dec. 3, 2008) (“whether evidence should be excluded at trial is generally a matter for the District Court to decide, and usually at the time of trial”); Masters v. F.W. Webb Co., No. 03-CV-6280L, 2006 WL 2604833, at *2 n.2 (W.D. N.Y. Sept. 11, 2006) (“To the extent that Masters's motion could be read to seek an order in limine precluding defendants from offering any such evidence at trial, such request is denied as premature and is reserved for the district court.”).
Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:
1. Plaintiffs' April 22, 2022 motion for sanctions (ECF No. 150) is denied without prejudice; and
2. The May 6, 2022 hearing of plaintiffs' motion is vacated.