Rule 16-1 Joint Final Pretrial Order
Rule Text
A proposed Joint Final Pretrial Order shall be prepared through cooperation of the parties within the deadlines and in accordance with instructions given by the court. After each party has submitted the respective portions of the proposed pretrial order to other parties, plaintiff shall convene a conference, in person or by telephone, to attempt to reconcile any matters on which there is a disagreement. After diligent efforts to resolve such disagreements, all areas of agreement or disagreement shall be noted in the proposed Joint Final Pretrial Order. The proposed order shall be a single document reflecting efforts of all parties, signed by all counsel of record and any self- represented parties, and then filed by plaintiff for review and entry by the court. The court may enforce the provisions and requirements of the Joint Final Pretrial Order by sanctions against counsel or the parties.
Form 16-A — Sample Joint Discovery and Scheduling Planning Order
IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS DIVISION OF [Insert Division] __________________________________ ) ) CASE NO. [Insert No.] ) Plaintiff, ) v. ) ) Defendants. ) JURY TRIAL DEMAND _________________________________ ) [If Applicable]
JOINT DISCOVERY AND SCHEDULING PLAN
THE PARTIES to the above-captioned civil action, in accordance with Virgin Islands Rules of Civil Procedure 16 and 26, agree and stipulate to the following discovery and scheduling plan for incorporation into the Case Management Order, dated: _______.
1. All initial disclosures pursuant to V.I. R.Civ.P. 26(a) shall be served on all parties not later than _______________.
2. All written interrogatories, requests for production of documents, and requests for admissions shall be propounded not later than ________________, and all responses thereto, including objections, shall be served not later than ______________.
3. No party shall propound more than 25 interrogatories, 25 requests for production of documents, and 25 requests for admissions, including all discrete subparts thereof, unless otherwise stipulated by the parties or ordered by the court.
4. All motions to amend the pleadings to add claims, defenses, and/or parties shall be filed and served not later than _______________. All fact witness depositions, including depositions of non- parties, taken for purposes of discovery and/or to preserve testimony for trial, shall be completed by ________________.
5. No party shall take more ten (10) fact and expert witness depositions, no single deposition shall exceed more than seven (7) hours in durations, and any single deposition shall be completed on the same day on which it is commenced, unless otherwise stipulated by the parties or ordered by the court.
6. All motions to compel, for discovery, sanctions, or for protective orders with respect to all initial disclosures and fact discovery, shall be filed and served not later than _________________.
7. The parties’ first mediation session shall be commenced and completed not later than _________________. Rule 90 of the Virgin Islands Rules of Civil Procedure shall govern all mediation sessions conducted in this civil action.
8. All Plaintiffs shall serve notices identifying all of their expert witnesses, and said expert witnesses’ curriculum vitae and written reports, not later than _______________.
9. All Defendants, Third Party Plaintiffs, and Intervenors shall serve notices identifying all of their expert witnesses, and said expert witnesses’ curriculum vitae and written reports, not later than _________________.
10. All Third Party Defendants shall serve notices identifying all of their expert witnesses, and said expert witnesses’ curriculum vitae, not later than ________________.
11. All expert witness depositions, for purposes of discovery and to preserve testimony for trial, shall be completed not later than ________________.
12. All motions to compel, for sanctions, or for protective orders with respect to expert discovery, shall be filed and served not later than _______________.
13. All dispositive motions, except for motions challenging subject matter jurisdiction which may be filled at any filed at any time, and Daubert/Kuhmo motions shall be filed and served not later than _________________.
14. All motions in limine and V.I. Rule of Evidence 104 motions shall be filed and served not later than _________________.
15. This Joint Discovery and Scheduling Plan may not be amended, except as ordered by the court for good cause shown.
Respectfully submitted,
DATED: ________, 20__ ____________________________ [Attorney Name] [Office & Firm Address] [Telephone No.] [E-mail address] [V.I. Bar No.] [Designation as Attorney for the (Party)]
____________________________ [Attorney Name] [Office & Firm Address] [Telephone No.] [E-mail address] [V.I. Bar No.] [Designation as Attorney for the (Party)]
The foregoing Joint Discovery and Scheduling Plan is APPROVED, and made a part of the Case Management Order dated ______________________________.
Dated:____________________, 20__ _____________________________________ Hon. Judge of the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands ATTEST: Estrella George Acting Clerk of the Court By: ______________________________ Court Clerk Supervisor ___/___/___
Form 16-B — Sample Joint Final Pretrial Order
IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS DIVISION OF [Insert Division] __________________________________ ) ) CASE NO. [Insert No.] ) Plaintiff, ) v. ) ) ) Defendants. ) JURY TRIAL DEMAND _________________________________ ) [If Applicable]
JOINT FINAL PRETRIAL ORDER The following shall constitute the Joint Final Pretrial Order pursuant to Rule 16 of the Virgin Islands Rules of Civil Procedure, and this Joint Final Pretrial Order shall govern the conduct of the trial of this case. Amendments to this order will be allowed only in exceptional circumstances to prevent manifest injustice.
APPEARANCES:
[Attorney Name] [Attorney Name] [Office & Firm Address] [Office & Firm Address] [Telephone No.] [Telephone No.] [E-mail address] [E-mail address] [V.I. Bar No.] [V.I. Bar No.] [Designation as Attorney for the (Party)] [Designation as Attorney for the (Party)]
1. Nature of Action and Jurisdiction of the court:
2. Factual Contentions of Plaintiff: (Insert Names; This section shall not exceed two pages without leave of the court)
3. Factual Contentions of Defendants: (Insert Names; This section shall not exceed two pages without leave of the court)
4. Factual Contentions of Defendant/Third Party Plaintiff: (Insert Names; This section shall not exceed two pages without leave of the court)
5. Factual Contentions of Third Party Defendants: (Insert Names; This section shall not exceed two pages without leave of the court)
6. Factual Contentions of Intervenors: (Insert Names; This section shall not exceed two pages without leave of the court)
7. Stipulated Facts:
8. Statement of Damages Claimed: (In every case, the statement of damage must be specific. In Personal Injury actions the medical special damages and any wages or other monetary losses should be itemized along with the nature, extent and duration of any alleged injuries. If monetary damages are not sought, the type of relief should be described. This section is limited to one page except by leave of the court.)
9. Statement of Legal Issues Presented: (Each party shall list the contested legal issues to be presented at trial, e.g., negligence, breach of contract, wrongful death, wrongful discharge, etc.)
10. Legal Issues, Defenses or Claims to be Abandoned:
11. Bifurcation: (Each party shall indicate whether the issues of liability and damages should or should not be tried separately.)
12. Additional Discovery: (Unless leave of the court has been obtained to extend pretrial discovery, and it is so noted in the Final Pretrial Order, this order shall contain the statement, “All discovery is complete.”)
13. Exhibit Lists: (Each party shall list separately and describe with particularity each exhibit which it intends to use at the trial of this case. Any exhibit not listed may not be used during the parties’ case-in-chief, unless the existence of the exhibit, despite due diligence, was unknown to the party and its counsel at the time of submission of this order. This list shall be seasonally supplemented upon the discovery of a new exhibit. If a party intends to use no exhibits at trial for any purpose, the party shall so state. Exhibits should be pre-marked prior to trial.)
14. Fact Witness Lists: (The name of each witness whom the party intends to call at trial shall be listed with a short identifying statement. A detailed summary of the anticipated testimony of each witness must be provided. Except for rebuttal witnesses, no party shall call a witness at trial whose name does not appear on the party’s witness list, unless the existence of the potential witness was unknown to the party, despite due diligence, at the time of submission of this order. Upon the discovery of a new witness, the name of such witness, and a summary of the testimony shall be seasonably supplied to all parties and the pretrial order amended.)
15. Expert Witness Lists: (The names of expert witnesses should be listed and a reference should be made to any prior order controlling the terms and conditions of experts’ reports and testimony. Copies of expert reports and resumes of experts are not to be attached to the Final Pretrial Order, but shall be separately submitted to the court on the day of the Pretrial Conference.)
As to Medical Malpractice Actions only: Each party shall cite the volume, chapter and line of any learned treatises it plans to utilize at trial during direct or cross examination.
16. Deposition testimony to be read into the record at trial: (Each party using such evidence shall identity the deposition to be used by name, date, time, and location, and list the pages and lines to be used at trial.)
17. Estimated Length of Trial: (Each Party shall provide an estimated length of trial and set forth the trial date which has been assigned.)
18. (TO BE COMPLETED BY THE COURT) In a jury case, the parties shall file and serve their witness lists, exhibit lists, proposed special jury instruction and jury charges, proposed voir dire, and proposed verdict forms not later than ______________________.
19. (TO BE COMPLETED BY THE COURT) In a non-jury, the parties shall file and serve their witness lists, exhibit lists, proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law, and pretrial bench briefs not later than ________________________________.
CONCLUDING VERIFICATION
(The following statement is to be included the conclusion of every Joint Final Pretrial Order, immediately above counsel’s signatures as illustrated below.)
We hereby certify by the affixing of our signatures to this short form Joint Final Pretrial Order that it reflects the efforts of all counsel and that we have carefully and completely reviewed all parts of this order prior to its submission to the court.
Respectfully submitted,
DATED: ________, 20__ ____________________________ [Attorney Name] [Office & Firm Address] [Telephone No.] [E-mail address] [V.I. Bar No.] [Designation as Attorney for the (Party)]
____________________________ [Attorney Name] [Office & Firm Address] [Telephone No.] [E-mail address] [V.I. Bar No.] [Designation as Attorney for the (Party)]
The foregoing Joint Final Pretrial Order is hereby APPROVED.
Dated:____________________, 20__ _____________________________________ Hon. Judge of the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands ATTEST: Estrella George Acting Clerk of the Court By: ______________________________ Court Clerk Supervisor ___/___/___
Form 16-C Sample Business Records Certification [Authorized under V.I. Rules of Evidence 803(6)-(7) and 902(11).]
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS DIVISION OF [Insert Division] __________________________________ ) ) Plaintiff, ) CASE NO. [Insert No.] v. ) ) Defendants. ) DECLARATION _________________________________ )
BUSINESS RECORDS CERTIFICATION
I, __________________________________ [print name] in my capacity as _________________[a custodian of the records; or other stated position making the signer a qualified witness on behalf the business/office] of ________________________ [name of business/office] do hereby make this Declaration under penalties of perjury, and state: 1. I am over the age of 18 years, of sound mind, and competent to make this Declaration. 2. I have personal knowledge of the facts herein stated because of my employment position and experience. 3. Attached to this Declaration are ________ pages of records from our business/office, which are exact duplicates of the records in our files. 4. The records annexed to this Declaration:
(a) were made at or near in time to the events and information recorded;
(b) were created by (or from information transmitted directly from) persons who had knowledge of the events/information recorded;
(c) were made in the course of our regularly conducted business activity; and
(d) were made and kept as a necessary part and regular practice of our business.
[Include ¶¶ 5, 6 and/or 7 for medical records and medical billing records only.]
5. The attached records relate to medical treatment and medical billing for the identified patient, and:
(a) These records are exact duplicates of the records in our files.
(b) The total amount of charges incurred for the services provided was $______.
(c) The total amount paid by the patient (or the patient’s insurer) was $______.
(d) The amount of charges that remain outstanding is $_______.
6. Services were provided as reflected in the attached records, and were reasonably necessary.
7. The amounts charged for the services reflected in the attached records were reasonable for services rendered, at the time and place specified.
I declare (or certify, verify, or state) under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America (and/or U.S. Virgin Islands) that the foregoing is true and correct pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §1746(2) and V.I. R.Civ.P. 84, which both authorize the making of these statements without the signature of a notary.
Executed/Signed on this ____ day of ________________, 201___.
__________________________ __________________________ (Signature) (Print Name) _____________________________ (Position/Title as Record Custodian or other Qualified Declarant)