Hudson Excess Insurance Company v. Hain et al

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United States District Court
Northern District of California
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
HUDSON EXCESS INSURANCE
COMPANY,
Plaintiff,
v.
JOHN RANDOLPH HAIN, et al.,
Defendants.
Case No. 25-cv-02995-EKL
PRETRIAL ORDER
This case is scheduled for a jury trial to begin March 1, 2027. The first pretrial
conference is scheduled for January 27, 2027. This Pretrial Order sets forth the deadlines for
trial preparation and will be supplemented by additional orders and instructions at the upcoming
pretrial conference and further conferences prior to trial.
1. The parties shall meet and confer no later than December 9, 2027, regarding the
following topics: (a) prospects of settling the case; (b) preparation of the joint pretrial
statement; (c) preparation and exchange of pretrial materials to be filed pursuant to
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(3); and (d) clarification and narrowing of the
contested issues for trial.
2. The parties shall file a joint pretrial statement no later than January 6, 2027. The joint
pretrial statement shall include the following:
a. The Parties: A list of the parties who have been served and have appeared.
Any parties not identified in the joint pretrial statement will be deemed to have
been dismissed.
b. Substance of the Action: A concise statement identifying the claims and
defenses that remain to be decided; the elements of each claim and defense; and
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the pleading in which each claim and defense is pled. Parties will be precluded
from presenting claims or defenses not set forth in the joint pretrial statement.
c. Relief Sought: A statement of relief sought, itemizing all elements of damages
claimed.
d. Federal Jurisdiction and Venue: A statement of the bases for federal
jurisdiction and venue.
e. Undisputed Facts: A concise statement of all facts that may be incorporated
into the trial record by stipulation of the parties. The parties are strongly
encouraged to meet and confer in good faith and to stipulate to all facts that are
undisputed as early as possible in order to streamline issues for trial and to
avoid wasting judicial and party resources on unnecessary evidentiary disputes.
f. Disputed Facts: A concise statement of all disputed facts to be litigated at trial.
g. Disputed Legal Issues: A concise statement of each disputed point of law,
citing relevant statutes and decisions.
h. Estimate of Trial Time: An estimate of the total number of hours needed for
trial. Except for voir dire, all time should be accounted for, including but not
limited to opening statements, closing arguments, cross-examination, sidebars,
objections, and argument outside the presence of the jury. Unless the parties
stipulate otherwise, or by Court order, the total number of hours will be equally
divided between Plaintiff and Defendant. The parties will be required to keep
track of their time each day, account for all available hours the jury is available,
and report the stipulated division of time to the Court each day.
i. Settlement Discussions: A statement summarizing the status of settlement
negotiations and indicating whether further negotiations are likely to be
productive.
j. Amendments or Dismissals: A statement of proposed amendments to the
pleadings or dismissals of parties, claims, or defenses.
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k. Bifurcation of Separate Trial of Issues: A statement whether bifurcation or a
separate trial of specific issues is feasible and desired.
l. Witnesses: The following information shall be provided as an appendix to the
joint pretrial statement. Each party shall submit a list of all witnesses likely to
be called at trial. This list shall include and identify witnesses appearing by
deposition. For each witness, there should be a short statement of the substance
of his or her testimony and an estimate regarding the length of testimony in
hours (including direct and cross-examination). Additionally, each party shall
provide a total number of hours of expected testimony (accounting for all
witnesses). If the witness is an expert witness, please state the expert’s theories
and conclusions and the bases therefor. Attach the expert’s curriculum vitae
and report (if any). No party shall be permitted to call a witness in its case in
chief who is not disclosed in the joint pretrial statement without leave of the
Court for good cause shown.
m. Exhibits: The following information shall be provided as an appendix to the
joint pretrial statement.
i. A joint list of exhibits to be offered at trial, in tabular form with: (a) a
column identifying the exhibit number consistent with the premarking
requirement below; (b) a column briefly describing the exhibit; (c) a
column describing the purpose for which the exhibit is offered and
identifying its sponsoring witness; (d) a column indicating whether
parties have stipulated to each exhibit’s authenticity and/or
admissibility; (e) a column stating any objections to the exhibit; and
(f) a column responding to the objections. The Court may rule on these
objections before trial, and any unresolved objections must be asserted
at trial. Before this list is filed with the Court, counsel shall meet and
confer, in person or via video conference, to consider exhibit numbers,
eliminate duplicate exhibits and confusion over exhibits, and make a
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good faith effort to stipulate to authenticity and admissibility, absent a
legitimate (not tactical) objection. No party shall be permitted to offer
any exhibit at trial that is not disclosed in the joint pretrial statement
without leave of the Court for good cause shown, unless it is offered
solely for impeachment or rebuttal.
ii. All exhibits shall be pre-marked for identification by means of exhibit
tags affixed to the lower-right corner of the first page of each exhibit.
The parties must mark their exhibits using non-overlapping ranges of
numbers, not letters, leaving enough unused numbers that additional
exhibits can be marked during trial. For example, the parties might
agree that Plaintiff will use numbers 001-199, and that Defendant will
use numbers 300-499. A single exhibit should be marked only once.
3. Motions in limine:
a. Before filing any motion in limine, the moving party shall meet and confer and
disclose the bases for their anticipated motions and seek a stipulated resolution
from the opposing party.
b. The parties shall file their respective motions in limine no later than January
13, 2027. Each motion shall be filed as its own docket entry and shall be
numbered as, for example, “Plaintiff’s Motion in Limine No. 1 to Exclude . . . .”
Each side is limited to three motions in limine. Each motion in limine is
limited to 5 pages and may address only one issue.
c. The parties shall file oppositions to motions in limine no later than January 20,
2027.
d. No reply briefs shall be filed unless requested by the Court.
4. The parties shall file the following jury materials no later than January 13, 2027:
a. Preliminary Statement to the Jury: A simplified statement of the case to be read
to the jury during voir dire and as part of the proposed jury instructions. This
statement should not exceed two paragraphs.
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b. Jury Questionnaire: Jury Services has a standard jury questionnaire for civil
cases, which is available at: https://cand.uscourts.gov/attorneys. It is the
Court’s practice to use that questionnaire, modified if necessary to fit the needs
of the case. The parties must explain whether they are seeking any
modifications to the standard jury questionnaire, and if so, they must provide
those suggested changes in a jointly-prepared exhibit. Jury Services has limited
ability to add questions to the standard questionnaire. Parties should propose
no more than ten total additional questions to the form. Counsel will be
allowed to conduct a brief voir dire, typically 20 minutes per side.
c. Jury Instructions:
i. Joint Set of Instructions: The parties shall submit a complete joint set of
proposed jury instructions, arranged in a logical sequence, which
incorporates the Model Jury Instructions of the Ninth Circuit and the
Judicial Council of California Civil Jury Instructions (“CACI”) to the
extent feasible and appropriate. Proposed deviations from the model
instructions, no matter how minor, must be clearly identified by red-
lined copy and supported by authority. Each instruction must be single-
sided, and labeled on the top of each page, in bold, with a number and
title of the instruction (referencing the model instruction number, where
relevant), with each new instruction starting on a new page.
ii. Stipulated Instructions: If an instruction is undisputed, it shall be
identified as “Stipulated Instruction No. ___ re ____________,” with
the blanks filled in as appropriate. Even if stipulated, the instruction
shall be supported by citation to a Ninth Circuit or CACI model
instruction or other authority.
iii. Disputed Instructions: If an instruction is disputed, all versions of the
instruction shall be inserted together in the logical place for the
instruction in the overall sequence. A disputed instruction shall be
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identified as “Disputed Instruction No. ___ re ____________ offered by
____________,” with the blanks filled in as appropriate. All disputed
versions of the same instruction shall bear the same number. If a party
does not have an alternate version but contends that no such instruction
should be given, that party should so state on a separate page inserted in
lieu of an alternate version. Each party should support its position
regarding a disputed instruction with a brief argument and citation to
relevant authority, set forth immediately following the disputed
instruction. The parties are encouraged to keep disputed instructions to
a minimum.
d. Verdict Form: The parties shall submit a joint proposed verdict form. If the
parties are unable to stipulate to a verdict form, each party shall submit a
proposed verdict form.
5. The parties shall file their respective trial briefs, not to exceed 15 pages, no later than
January 13, 2027. A trial brief is most helpful to the Court when it summarizes the
party’s theory of the case, identifies key evidence, and provides summary briefing on
any controlling issues of law.
6. If any party intends to present one or more witnesses by deposition rather than by live
testimony, the following procedure shall apply:
a. By January 13, 2027, each party that intends to present a witness by deposition
shall disclose their deposition designations for each witness, citing to all page
and line numbers of the witness’s testimony.
b. By January 25, 2027, the adverse party shall disclose all counter-designations
and objections. Objections shall be made in good faith.
7. Chambers copies:
a. The parties shall deliver two chambers copies of the joint pretrial statement, the
jury materials, and the trial briefs the day after these materials are filed. See
supra ¶¶ 2, 4-5. For the jury instructions, each chambers copy must be placed
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in a clearly labeled, single, three-ring binder, with two tabs. The first tab must
contain all stipulated instructions. The second tab must contain all disputed
instructions.
b. The parties shall deliver two chambers copies of the motion in limine briefing
and any related exhibits to the Court by the day after briefing concludes. Each
chambers copy must be placed in a clearly labeled, single, three-ring binder,
with each motion in a separate tab, immediately followed by the separately
tabbed opposition.
c. The parties shall bring two chambers copies of the full set of proposed
deposition designations to the pretrial conference. For each witness, the parties
shall provide a chart indicating: (1) the transcript page and line references for
each requested designation and counter-designation; (2) the other party’s
stipulation or objections; and (3) a blank column for the Court to sustain or
deny objections. A copy of each deposition transcript shall be highlighted to
reflect all the proposed designations and counter-designations. Each party shall
use a distinct color to highlight their proposed designations and counter-
designations, and shall use the same color across all deposition transcripts. For
example, Plaintiff shall use yellow highlighting to identify all designations and
counter-designations for all witnesses.
d. The parties shall also provide an MS Word version of each chambers copy to
eklpo@cand.uscourts.gov by the deadlines set forth above.
8. At the first pretrial conference, the Court will address the trial schedule, logistics, and
expectations. The Court will also set further pretrial conferences and a date and time
for jury selection, which may occur prior to the first day of trial. The chart below
summarizes the pretrial deadlines set forth above.
//
//
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Summary of Pretrial Deadlines
Event Deadline
Parties meet and confer regarding submission of joint pretrial statement December 9, 2027
Joint pretrial statement due (including witness list and exhibit list) January 6, 2027
Jury materials due January 13, 2027
Trial briefs due January 13, 2027
Motions in limine due January 13, 2027
Disclose deposition designations January 13, 2027
Oppositions to motions in limine due January 20, 2027
Disclose objections and counter-designations of deposition testimony January 25, 2027
First pretrial conference January 27, 2027
Trial begins (including jury selection) March 1, 2027
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: October 16, 2026
Eumi K. Lee
United States District Judge
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