GUZEK v. CIOCCA FAMILY HOLDING, LLC

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA
_________________________________________
KRISTIN LEE GUZEK, 	:
Plaintiff, 	:
:
v. 	: 	Civil No.: 5:25-cv-05600-JMG
:
CIOCCA FAMILY HOLDING, LLC, 	:
Defendant. 	:
_______________________________________
SCHEDULING ORDER
AND NOW, this 12th day of January, 2026, following a pretrial conference with counsel, and
pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16 and Local Rule of Civil Procedure 16.1(b), IT IS HEREBY
ORDERED as follows:
1. 	The parties shall meet and confer no later than January 14, 2026, to discuss setting aside
dates for depositions.
2. 	All motions to amend the Complaint and to join or add additional parties shall be filed on
or before January 23, 2026.
3. 	Counsel shall provide the Court with a joint written status update by no later than January
23, 2026. The status update shall include the schedule for early depositions.
4. 	A telephonic status conference with counsel is scheduled for Thursday, March 5, 2026,
at 1:00 p.m. Plaintiff’s counsel shall provide the Court and opposing counsel with conference bridge
details (such as a telephone number and access code) no later than Monday, February 23, 2026. The
parties should be prepared to discuss the status of discovery, settlement discussions, if any, and the dates
the parties have jointly set aside for depositions.
5. 	All fact and expert discovery shall be completed no later than May 1, 2026.
6. 	Affirmative expert reports, if any, are due by March 20, 2026.
7. 	Rebuttal expert reports, if any, are due by March 30, 2026.
8. 	Expert depositions, if any, shall be concluded no later than May 1, 2026.
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9. 	Any party expecting to offer opinion testimony from lay witnesses pursuant to Federal Rule
of Evidence 701 with respect to the issues of liability and damages shall, at the time required for
submission of information and/or reports for expert witnesses on liability and damages set forth in the
preceding paragraph, serve opposing parties with concise details and/or documents covering the lay
opinions of the Rule 701 witnesses, including the identity of each witness offering the expert opinion, the
substance and the basis for each opinion.
10. 	Motions for summary judgment and Daubert motions, if any, shall be filed May 14, 2026.
Responses shall be filed no later than May 29, 2026. Motions and responses shall be filed in the form
prescribed in Judge Gallagher’s Policies and Procedures.
11. 	No later than June 26, 2026, counsel for each party shall serve upon counsel for every
other party a copy of each exhibit the party expects to offer at trial.
12. 	No later than July 2, 2026, each party shall file with the Clerk of Court a pretrial
memorandum. The pretrial memorandum should be prepared in accordance with the provisions of the
Local Rule of Civil Procedure 16.1(c) and should also include the following items:
(a) All stipulations of counsel.
(b) A statement of objection to: (1) the admissibility of any exhibit based on
authenticity; (2) the admissibility of any evidence expected to be offered for any
reason (except relevancy); (3) the adequacy of the qualifications of an expert witness
expected to testify; and (4) the admissibility of any opinion testimony from lay
witnesses pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 701. Such objection shall describe
with particularity the ground and the authority for the objection.
(c) Deposition testimony (including videotaped deposition testimony) that the party
intends to offer during its case-in-chief. The statement should include citations to
the page and line number and the opposing party’s counter-designations.
(d) A statement of any anticipated important legal issues on which the Court will be
required to rule, together with counsel’s single best authority on each such issue.
13. 	All motions in limine shall be filed no later than July 10, 2026. Responses, if any, shall be
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filed no later than July 17, 2026.
14. 	No later than July 10, 2026, any objections to designations of deposition testimony shall
set forth the page and line numbers of the challenged testimony and a clear statement for the basis of that
objection. The objecting party must provide the Court with a copy of the deposition transcript with the
challenged testimony highlighted. Any objection not made in conformity with this Order will be deemed
waived.
15. 	No later than July 10, 2026, the parties shall file with the Clerk of Court joint proposed
jury instructions on substantive issues and proposed verdict forms or special interrogatories to the jury.
Each party shall also file proposed jury instructions, verdict forms or special interrogatories on those issues
not agreed upon by the parties in their joint submission. Parties shall also file joint proposed voir dire
questions.
16. 	The court will hold a final pretrial conference on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, at 9:30 a.m.,
at 504 West Hamilton Street, Courtroom 4B, Allentown, Pennsylvania. Counsel shall be prepared to
address any pending motions in limine and objections to witnesses and exhibits. Trial counsel must attend
the final pretrial conference and only those attorneys attending the conference may participate in the trial.
17. 	The selection of a jury shall take place on Friday, August 7, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. Jury
selection will take place at the James A. Byrne United States Courthouse, 601 Market Street, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, in a courtroom to be determined.
18. 	A jury trial shall resume before this court on Monday, August 10, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. at
504 West Hamilton Street, Courtroom 4B, Allentown, Pennsylvania.
19. 	This order shall serve as a formal attachment for trial.
BY THE COURT:
/s/ John M. Gallagher__________
JOHN M. GALLAGHER
United States District Court Judge
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