Simmons v. Federal Insurance Company

Purpose of the order

After a pretrial conference held on January 8, 2025, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers entered a detailed order governing preparation for and conduct of the trial in Caroline Simmons v. Federal Insurance Company.

Trial schedule and structure

The court confirmed that trial would proceed in Courtroom 1 beginning February 10, 2025, with jury selection on February 7, 2025. Trial was scheduled to begin each day at 8:30 a.m., with counsel expected to be prepared to address matters outside the jury’s presence beginning at 8:00 a.m. The court stated that the action would be tried in three phases and identified Phase I as addressing the breach-of-contract claim. The parties would each have eight hours to present their cases, including opening statements and closing arguments. The order also identified dates on which the court would be unavailable or might be unavailable.

Evidence, witnesses, and trial materials

The parties were generally limited to the witnesses and exhibits identified in their pretrial filings. Additional witnesses could be allowed only by court order upon a showing of good cause, including for rebuttal or impeachment. The order specifically addressed an unidentified witness from “Cal Fire Personnel.”

The parties were required to update their exhibit lists by February 3, 2025 and identify stipulated exhibits. The court reminded the parties that jurors could not see exhibits before admission into evidence or a stipulation of admissibility without the court’s permission. The parties were expected to use witness binders, test courtroom equipment before using it, and comply with requirements for equipment brought into the courthouse.

Any party intending to use a deposition transcript at trial had to lodge the signed original, or a certified or stipulated copy if the original was unavailable, by January 31, 2025. The party presenting evidence generally had to give the other party 48 hours’ written notice of witnesses to be called. Witnesses had to be ready and available, and a party could be deemed to have rested if it was unable to call a witness after the prior witness finished testifying.

Jury procedures and courtroom conduct

The court ordered that nine jurors and no alternates would be seated, with three peremptory challenges for each side. Challenges under Batson v. Kentucky concerning improper use of peremptory challenges had to be made promptly and argued outside the jury panel’s presence. The court would conduct voir dire, and each side would have 15 minutes for follow-up questions.

The parties could review publicly available internet and social-media information about jurors or potential jurors, but could not send requests seeking nonpublic information. If a party asked a prospective juror follow-up questions based on such a review, the party had to disclose the review to that juror.

The court prohibited speaking objections and generally limited objections to brief statements such as “hearsay.” Written questions from jurors would be allowed. The parties, lawyers, and witnesses were required to behave professionally and courteously, and restrictions applied to approaching witnesses and using facilities during jury selection.

Evidence restrictions and punitive damages

The court ordered that witnesses be excluded until their testimony was completed. During Phase I, the parties could not refer to or present evidence of settlement discussions or mediation. Evidence of a party’s wealth or lack of wealth was barred except during a punitive-damages phase, to the extent such a phase existed.

For a punitive-damages phase, the defendant was required to have relevant financial information in court in a sealed envelope when trial began. Counsel also had to make witnesses concerning the relevant party’s financial status available on 30 minutes’ notice once the jury began deliberating on Phase II. The parties were directed to discuss written stipulations to streamline that phase.

Other deadlines and enforcement

The parties had to provide a joint alphabetical list of witnesses, attorneys, and others involved in the trial by noon on January 10, 2025. They also had deadlines concerning jury instructions, expert disclosures, offers of judgment, procedural stipulations, transcript arrangements, and trial-exhibit certification. Any Doe defendants would be deemed dismissed once the jury or the first witness was sworn, whichever occurred first.

The order directed counsel to notify the court promptly of any settlement, but stated that trial dates would not be vacated until a formal notice of settlement was filed. It warned that failure to comply could result in sanctions, including monetary fines or terminating sanctions. The order was a pretrial management order and did not resolve the merits of the breach-of-contract claim or any other underlying claim.