1 2 3 4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 5 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 6 GERALD ONWUKEME, ET AL, 7 Case No. 19-cv-7263 YGR Plaintiffs, 8 v. PRETRIAL ORDER NO. 1 RE: PRETRIAL 9 CONFERENCE COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP., 10 Defendant. 11

12 Having considered the filings to date and the arguments and other submissions at the 13 Pretrial Conference, held on February 26, 2021, for good cause shown the Court enters the 14 following orders: 15 1. Trial Date and Schedule: In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the jury trial of this 16 matter is vacated. Once the District is regularly trying cases, the parties will be contacted 17 about rescheduling. 18 2. For informational purposes, in general, jury selection shall begin at beginning at 9:00 a.m. All 19 remaining trial days shall begin at 8:30 a.m. Counsel shall arrive in court early enough to 20 proceed promptly at 8:00 a.m. Trial schedule will be Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. 21 to 1:30 p.m. with two fifteen-minute breaks. Additional time may be scheduled for matters 22 outside the presence of the jury as necessary and determined by the Court. Sidebars are not 23 permitted. Counsel should be prepared to anticipate issues so that they may be addressed 24 outside of normal trial hours. In this regard, Counsel should also be prepared to reconvene 25 with the Court after the Court’s standing calendars which normally begin at 2:00 p.m. 26 3. The parties shall each be afforded 8 hours to present their case, including opening statements 27 and closing arguments. The parties shall receive daily timesheets advising of the time 1 on the timesheets any amount of time that plaintiffs and defendant want to reserve one for 2 closing arguments. 3 4. Standard Motions in Limine: The Court hereby orders that: (a) witnesses shall be excluded 4 until testimony is completed; and (b) there shall be no reference to or evidence presented of 5 settlement discussions, mediation, or insurance. 6 A motion in limine refers “to any motion, whether made before or during trial, to exclude 7 anticipated prejudicial evidence before the evidence is actually offered.” Luce v. United 8 States,

(1984). The Court’s rulings on the motions in limine will be 9 issued by separate orders. 10 5. Parties are ordered to admonish witnesses of the Court’s rulings. Failure to comply with a 11 ruling by the Court may result in sanctions, including without limitation the striking of the 12 witness’s entire testimony. 13 6. Witnesses: The parties are limited to calling the witnesses submitted on the list filed for the 14 Pretrial Conference. Here, Docket Numbers 56, 59, 61, and 62, Upon a showing of good 15 cause, including for rebuttal or impeachment purposes, additional witnesses will only be 16 allowed by Court order. 17 7. By March 26, 2021, the parties shall deliver via email a single joint list of all witnesses, 18 attorneys, and others involved in the trial, in alphabetical order to be shown to prospective 19 jurors during voir dire. The list shall be legible and formatted to fit on one page. 20 8. Exhibits and Exhibit Lists: The parties are limited to using the exhibits submitted on the 21 Exhibit List. Here, Docket Numbers 58 and 60. That said, the Court understands that 22 proceedings are in progress to compel compliance with subpoenas. With respect to those 23 documents, the Court would not exclude them on the basis of timeliness. 24 No witness may be shown any document or other object until it has been marked for 25 identification using an exhibit number. The parties shall file updated Exhibit Lists identifying 26 those for which a stipulation of admissibility exists with an “S” in the appropriate box. 27 The jury may not be shown any exhibits until admitted into evidence or stipulated by the 1 9. Equipment: Projectors, screens and similar equipment must be tested in the courtroom prior 2 to the day when it will be used. Arrangements may be made with the Courtroom Deputy, 3 Frances Stone, at (510) 637-3540, as to appropriate time for doing so. The U. S. Marshal 4 service requires a court order to allow equipment into the building. Parties will need to file 5 request and proposed order. 6 10. Parties may use encrypted digital wireless system that includes a receiver and transmitter with 7 XLR connector. 8 11. The parties shall review the Court’s policy regarding the jury’s use of a computer during 9 deliberations at http://cand.uscourts.gov/jurypc. 10 12. Jurors and Peremptory Challenges: The Court will seat a total of seven (7) jurors and no 11 alternates. The Court sets the number of peremptory challenges at three (3). Batson motions 12 must be made in a timely fashion. Argument on the same shall be made outside the presence 13 of the jury panel. Parties will each be afforded 15 minutes for voir dire. 14 13. Introductory Jury Instructions: In general, the Court will give Model Instructions 1.3, 1.5- 15 1.21, 2.2, 2.4, 2.11-2.16, and 3.1–3.5 from the Manual of Model Civil Jury Instructions for the 16 Ninth Circuit (2017 Edition). 17 14. Opening Statements: Parties must meet and confer to exchange any visuals, graphics or 18 exhibits to be used in opening statements. Unless otherwise agreed, the exchange must occur 19 no later than the close of business on the Wednesday before trial. Any objections not resolved 20 must be filed in writing by the Thursday before trial. The parties are reminded that the 21 purpose of an Opening Statement is not to argue the facts but to provide the jurors with an 22 outline of what each side expects the evidence will show. 23 15. Expert Disclosures/Fed. R. Civ. P. 68 Offers: To the extent not already provided, counsel 24 shall lodge with the Court on the first day of trial a copy of all expert disclosures, including 25 any supplements, as well as all offers of judgment made under Fed. R. Civ. P. 68. 26 16. Doe Defendants: All Doe Defendants will be deemed dismissed once the jury, or first 27 witness, is sworn, whichever occurs first. 1 any purpose shall lodge the signed original (or a certified/stipulated copy if, for any reason, the 2 original is not available) for use by the Court and shall have extra copies available for use by 3 him/herself and the witness. All other parties are expected to have their own copies available. 4 The parties shall each prepare and provide an index of the lodged transcripts and shall review 5 the same with the courtroom deputy upon lodging the transcripts. The index shall provide a 6 space for the party and the courtroom deputy to confirm delivery of and receipt of each 7 transcript. Delivery of the transcripts shall occur no later than fourteen (14) before the 8 rescheduled trial date. 9 18. Before each trial day, counsel shall confer with the courtroom deputy and identify which of the 10 transcripts may be used that day. 11 19. Video Depositions at Trial: A video deposition may only be shown after the designations, 12 counter-designation and objections are resolved. A transcript shall be provided of the portions 13 played to the jury. The court reporter shall be relieved of her duties to transcribe that portion 14 of the trial. In lieu of the court reporter's transcription, the parties shall provide to the court 15 reporter in pdf format the testimony as played on the same day as the video is played. The 16 court reporter will insert a parenthetical in the transcript and index and append the pdf of the 17 testimony to the end of that day's transcript. 18 20. Witnesses at Trial: The party presenting evidence shall give the other party 24 hours written 19 notice of the witnesses to be called unless otherwise agreed upon by the parties themselves. 20 For witnesses on a Monday, written notice shall be provided by the prior Saturday at noon. 21 The parties are admonished that use of trial time is critical given the limited resources of the 22 Court. All parties must have witnesses ready and available to testify. If the party presenting 23 evidence does not have a witness ready to be called once a prior witness steps down, that party 24 may be deemed to have rested its case. Further, and as explained, time does not stop while 25 waiting for witnesses to arrive in Court. Witnesses may be taken out of order upon stipulation 26 or with leave of Court provided that the circumstances giving rise to such an accommodation 27 are promptly called to the attention of opposing counsel and the Court. 1 Court, in which case it shall be brief – e.g., “hearsay,” and if a rebuttal requested, “not offered 2 for the truth.” If either counsel needs to make a better record, he/she may do so when the jury 3 is out at the next break. 4 22. Jury Questions: The Court allows written jury questions which it will share with counsel at 5 the break(s) and then place in the record. 6 23. Interpreters: If a witness requires an interpreter, counsel are advised to carefully review and 7 be prepared to satisfy the Court that the interpreter is offered in compliance with Government 8 Code §§ 68560 et seq., Evidence Code §§ 750 through 755.5, C.R.C. 2.890 et seq., and all 9 Local Rules. 10 24. Requests for Transcripts: If transcripts will be requested during or immediately after the 11 trial, arrangements must be made with the Court Reporter Coordinator (Telephone No. 510- 12 637-3534) at least one week prior to the commencement of the trial. 13 25. Further Settlement Conference/Mediation: The parties shall engage in a mandatory 14 settlement conference with Magistrate Judge Kim as directed by her. 15 26. Settlement: Counsel shall promptly notify the Court by phone and email (for after hours, use: 16 [email protected]) of any settlement. The notification shall indicate what 17 further steps need to be taken to finalize the settlement. Unless the Court receives notice of 18 settlement by 4:00 p.m. on the Friday prior to the Monday trial, jury costs will be assessed 19 where the parties do not proceed to trial as scheduled. Civ. L.R. 40-1. Parties are advised that 20 the trial and all trial-related dates will not be vacated until a formal Notice of Settlement is 21 filed. 22 27. Trial Decorum and Procedure: Counsel, parties, and witnesses are expected to conduct 23 themselves at all times – on or off the record and whether or not in the presence of a jury – in a 24 professional and courteous manner during trial. Do NOT approach other parties’ witnesses 25 without permission. You may approach your own non-hostile witnesses without permission. 26 During voir dire you will be allowed to use the bathrooms in the jury room so that you do 27 not share the facilities with the jurors. You may not linger in the jury room or use any exit ] 28. Failure to Comply: Failure to comply with the obligations set forth in this order will result 2 in sanctions appropriate to the gravity of the failure, including, but not limited to monetary 3 fines and/or terminating sanctions. 4 IT Is SO ORDERED. 5 Dated: March 1, 2021 6 YVONNE GONZALEZ ROGERS 7 NITED STATES DISTRICT COURT JUDGE 8 9 10 1] 12

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