Financial Guaranty Insurance Company v. The Putnam Advisory Company, LLC

Background

The court had scheduled a jury trial for April 27, 2020. Financial Guaranty Insurance Company told the court that it was willing to withdraw its jury demand if The Putnam Advisory Company, LLC consented. Putnam later agreed. The court therefore proceeded with a bench trial, meaning a trial decided by the judge rather than a jury.

Trial-management directions

The court directed the parties to meet and confer about remaining issues concerning how the trial would be conducted. They were ordered to submit a joint letter by March 23, 2020, identifying matters they wanted to raise with the court. The court also directed that the parties present live testimony for their direct evidence.

The parties had filed motions in limine, which are requests to decide before trial whether particular evidence may be presented. Because the case would be tried to the court rather than a jury, both parties agreed that several of those motions no longer needed to be decided. The court ordered both parties to identify by March 23, 2020, any motions in limine they wished to withdraw.

Expert-testimony rulings

The court had previously granted in part and denied in part the parties’ motions under the rule governing the admissibility of expert testimony, commonly called the Daubert standard. Financial Guaranty sought to preserve the possibility of asking the court to reconsider rulings based on concerns about juror confusion or prejudice. The court declined to revisit those rulings and adhered to its prior decision.

Disposition

The order required the parties to identify trial-conduct issues and any motions in limine they wished to withdraw. It did not resolve the parties’ underlying claims or defenses. The opinion is signed by Judge Analisa Torres.