Opinion
21724-22
12-22-2023
NEW RIVER PRESERVE, LLC, NEW RIVER PRESERVE HOLDINGS, LLC, TAX MATTERS PARTNER, Petitioner v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
ORDER
Joseph W. Nega, Judge.
This case is calendared for trial at the Special Session of the Court scheduled to commence at 10:00 a.m. on May 13, 2024, in Columbia, South Carolina.
On November 29, 2023, the parties filed a Joint Status Report containing a proposed pretrial schedule.
Upon due consideration and for cause, it is
ORDERED that the Court adopts the parties' proposed pretrial schedule as modified below, and the parties shall adhere to the following schedule in preparation for trial in these cases:
(1) All formal discovery requests, pursuant to Rules 70, 71, and 72, and requests for admissions, pursuant to Rule 90, shall be served by the party seeking the discovery or requests for admissions on the other party no later than January 26, 2024;
(2) All motions to compel discovery, including all motions to review the sufficiency of responses to requests for admission, are to be filed on or before February 29, 2024;
(3) All motions for summary judgment or partial summary judgment are to be filed on or before February 9, 2024;
(4) Responses to motions to compel discovery (including motions to review the sufficiency of responses to requests for admission); with respect to the pleadings (including motions for leave to amend the pleadings); and for summary judgment or partial summary judgment are to be filed no later than 30 days after the filing of the underlying motion;
(5) The parties shall, on or before March 22, 2024, exchange and submit directly to the Court all opening expert witness reports, if any, prepared in accordance with Rule 143(g), and the parties are prohibited from calling any expert witness as part of their cases in chief (hereinafter "opening experts") for whom such a report has not been exchanged and submitted on or before such date;
(6) All facts shall be stipulated to the maximum extent possible. All documentary and written evidence shall be marked and stipulated in accordance with Rule 91(b), unless the material is to be used to impeach the credibility of a witness. Objections may be preserved in the stipulation;
(7) An executed Stipulation of Facts, together with the exhibits, shall be submitted directly to the Court on or before April 5, 2024. This paragraph does not preclude the subsequent filing of Supplemental Stipulations of Facts. However, it is intended that the parties will attempt to reach a Stipulation of Facts that is as comprehensive as possible on or before April 5, 2024;
(8) The parties shall, on or before April 15, 2024, exchange and submit directly to the Court all rebuttal expert witness reports, if any, setting forth any comments on the other party's opening experts' reports. Such rebuttal reports shall be prepared in accordance with Rule 143(g), and the parties are prohibited from calling any expert witness on rebuttal for whom a rebuttal report has not been exchanged and submitted on or before such date;
(9) Each party shall prepare a Pretrial Memorandum setting forth the issues to be tried, a summary of the pertinent facts and the applicable law, and the evidentiary issues, if any, expected to arise at trial, as well as any of the significant problems on which a ruling will be required. Pretrial Memoranda shall be exchanged by the parties and submitted directly to the Court on or before April 22, 2024;
(10) All witnesses expected to testify at trial, including expert witnesses, shall be identified in the Pretrial Memorandum with brief summaries of the anticipated testimony of those witnesses. Witnesses who are not identified will not be permitted to testify at the trial without leave of the Court upon sufficient showing of good cause;
(11)On or before April 19, 2024, all documents and materials expected to be offered as evidence at trial (except written materials to be used solely for impeachment), but which are not stipulated, shall be identified in writing and exchanged by the parties. Any written materials not so identified and exchanged will not be received into evidence unless otherwise agreed to by the parties or allowed by the Court for good cause shown;
(12) The parties shall, on or before April 22, 2024, file any motions in limine with respect to the opening and rebuttal experts' reports, if any, or with respect to any other evidentiary aspect of the case;
(13) The parties shall, on or before May 6, 2024, exchange any charts, diagrams or other demonstrative materials prepared for purposes of the trial which they intend to use in connection with their opening statements or the direct or cross-examination of any witness, and the parties are prohibited from using any demonstrative materials which have not been so exchanged without leave of Court upon sufficient showing of good cause;
(14) The parties shall, on or before April 29, 2024, file any responses to motions in limine filed with respect to the opening and rebuttal experts' reports, if any, or with respect to any other evidentiary aspect of the case; and
(15) Whenever, by the terms of this Order, the parties are required to serve, file, exchange, or submit a document on a particular day, they shall do so by delivering the document on that day using the Court's electronic filing system (DAWSON) and by e-mail so that it is received by the opposing party and/or the Court on that day.
This Order constitutes official notice of its contents to the parties.