UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO
EASTERN DIVISION
) JUDGE DONALD C. NUGENT
)
Plaintiff, ) CASE NO.
)
)
v. ) CIVIL TRIAL ORDER
) (Non-Jury)
)
)
Defendant. )
The above-titled case is scheduled for trial on_____________ at , or as soon
thereafter as reached. A Final Pretrial Conference will be scheduled upon request of any
party at any time convenient to all parties. Pursuant to Local Rule 16.3(e), the parties and
lead counsel of record must be present at the Final Pretrial Conference. Lead counsel of
record shall submit a status report five (5) days prior to the Final Pretrial Conference. 1
Duty of Counsel
Pursuant to this Trial Order, it is the duty of counsel to confer with each other
frequently in order to prepare the case for trial. It will be necessary to confer in person on
occasion. If an attorney is not complying with the requirements of this Trial Order, or is
failing to cooperate with opposing counsel, opposing counsel shall immediately bring such
matter to the Court’s attention by written notification. Such disputes will not delay the trial of
this case. The Court will not hesitate to impose sanctions sua sponte.
1
Parties are instructed to comply with Rule 6 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure when computing any
period of time prescribed in this Order.
All counsel are required to be familiar with the Local Rules of this Court.
Trial Briefs
Each party is required to file a trial brief with the Court no later than ten (10) days
prior to the scheduled trial date. One (1) copy of each party’s trial brief shall be filed with the
Court. A trial brief shall include: (a) a statement of the facts; (b) a discussion of the
controlling law; (c) a list of proposed witnesses along with a brief description of the subject
matter of the testimony of each witness; (d) an index of all proposed exhibits containing a
brief description of each exhibit; and (e) a discussion of any evidentiary issues likely to arise
at trial.
A witness not listed in the trial brief shall not testify except under extraordinary
circumstances. This rule applies to lay witnesses as well as to expert witnesses. An exhibit
not listed in the trial brief shall not be introduced at trial, absent a showing of good cause.
Counsel are required to exchange trial briefs no later than five (5) days prior to the
scheduled trial date.
Exhibits
One (1) copy of each exhibit shall be furnished to the Court no later than two (2) days
prior to the scheduled trial date. There is no need to file the exhibits with the Clerk of Court.
Rather, exhibits may be delivered directly to the Judge’s chambers. The original exhibits
should be retained by counsel for use at trial. Counsel shall exchange copies of all exhibits
and exhibit indexes no later than two (2) days prior to the scheduled trial date.
Exhibits shall be marked before trial with exhibit stickers, which are available from
the Clerk’s office upon request. The plaintiff shall mark exhibits with numbers and the
2
defendant shall mark exhibits with letters. Both sides are to indicate the case number on the
bottom portion of the exhibit sticker. If there are multiple parties, the parties last name
should precede the number or letter (e.g., “McGinty-1" or “Briggs-A”). If the parties have a
joint exhibit, it shall be marked as “Jt. Ex . 1" or “ Jt. Ex. 2" etc. If the defendant has more
than twenty-six (26) exhibits, double letters shall be used (e.g., AA, BB, CC, etc.).
When a multi-page exhibit is used, each page of the exhibit must be separately
numbered. For example, if plaintiff’s exhibit one is a three-page document, the first page
should be marked “1-1”, the second page should be marked “1-2”, and the third page
should be marked “1-3”.
The Court recommends that counsel place all exhibits in three-ring looseleaf binders
with appropriately marked divider tabs. A table of contents for each binder must be
included.
Stipulations of Fact
Counsel for the parties shall confer with one another in person in order to prepare
written stipulations as to all uncontested facts to be presented at trial to the Court. Said
stipulations shall be filed with the Court no later than ten (10) days prior to the scheduled trial
date. The Court will not allow direct or cross examination of any witness with respect to
facts which are uncontested and facts which could have been stipulated.
Joint Statement of Disputed Facts
Counsel for the parties shall confer with one another in person to prepare a joint
statement listing all disputed issues of fact which are to be submitted to the Court. Such
statement shall be filed with the Court no later than ten (10) days prior to the scheduled trial
3
date.
Deposition Testimony (Video Tape and Written Transcript)
When depositions (video tape and written transcript) are intended to be used as
evidence at trial, counsel proposing to use such deposition testimony shall notify opposing
counsel at least five (5) days prior to the scheduled trial date. Any objections to the
deposition testimony must be filed in writing with the Court at least four (4) days prior to the
scheduled trial date. Counsel proposing to use said deposition testimony shall file a reply
brief within two (2) days thereafter or indicate agreement to delete the portions to which
there is objection. If it is a video tape deposition, the Court must be provided with a
complete written transcript of the video tape deposition. The Court will not allow the use of
deposition testimony at trial unless counsel had complied with all of these procedures.
Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law in Non-Jury Trials
In all non-jury cases, counsel for each of the parties shall prepare Proposed Findings
of Fact and Conclusions of law, which shall be filed with the Court and served upon
opposing counsel no later than ten (10) days prior to the scheduled trial date.
Proposed Finding of Fact and Conclusions of Law shall be consecutively numbered
and set forth in separate paragraphs. The proposed Findings of Fact shall cite the
particular witness(es) or exhibit(s) upon which each suggested finding is based; proposed
Conclusions of Law shall cite relevant legal authority. Plaintiff’s Conclusions of Law shall
include a statement of the applicable statute conferring jurisdiction upon the Court.
Motions
Any pre-trial motion, such as a motion in limine, the moving party believes requires
4
the Court’s attention prior to the commencement of trial, shall be filed in writing and served
upon opposing counsel at least ten (10) days prior to the scheduled trial date. The
nonmoving party shall respond, if desired, at least three (3) days prior to the scheduled trial
date. Failure to comply with this requirement may impair the Court’s ability to thoroughly
analyze such motion before the commencement of trial.
Continuances
No party shall be granted a continuance of a trial or hearing without a written motion
from the party or counsel stating the reason for the continuance, endorsed in writing by all
parties and lead counsel of record. The Court will not consider any motion for a continuance
due to a conflict of trial assignment dates unless a copy of the conflicting assignment is
attached thereto. The motion shall be filed within fifteen (15) days of counsel becoming
aware of the conflict and not less than thirty (30) days prior to the scheduled trial date.
Settlement
The parties shall notify the Court at the earliest possible time if a settlement is
reached in the case.
Trial Order
Counsel are expected to comply with this Trial Order. In order to accomplish this, the
Court will assume that all counsel have read and familiarized themselves with this Trial
Order and with the Local Rules of this Court.
Trial Conduct
To prevent unnecessary delay and to ensure all counsel are able to fully participate in
all stages of the trial, counsel are to remain available and in the proximity of the courtroom
5
during jury deliberations. If counsel needs to leave the immediate area, they must notify the
courtroom deputy.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
__________________________________
DONALD C. NUGENT
United States District Judge
DATED: _____________________
6
