Veliz v. City of Minneapolis: US Distrct Court : CIVIL PROCEDURE - "substance of testimony" not just the topic; a narrative (what will be said: propositions with subject and verb St. Paul Lawyer Michael E. Douglas Minnesota Injury Lawyers - Personal Injury Attorneys in Minneapolis, Bloomington and Brooklyn Park
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Veliz v. City of Minneapolis: US Distrct Court : CIVIL PROCEDURE - "substance of testimony" not just the topic; a narrative (what will be said: propositions with subject and verb

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA
Giovanni Veliz,
Plaintiff,
Civ. No. 07-2376 (RHK/JJK)
ORDER
v.
City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis
Police Department,
Defendants.
This matter is before the Court sua sponte. In accordance with the Court’s July 23,
2008 Notice of Trial and Schedule for Submission of Trial Materials, the parties were
required to serve and file several documents on or before September 15, 2008, including
“[a]ll documents to be submitted for trial as required by Local Rule 39.1(b).” (Doc. No.
48.) One such document is a witness list containing “a short statement of the substance
of the expected testimony of each witness.” D. Minn. L.R. 39.1(b)(1)(C).
Defendants have filed a proposed witness list that in many places indicates the
knowledge a witness purports to possess, without actually discussing the substance of the
testimony that the witness intends to provide at trial. (See, e.g., Doc. No. 82 at 3
(indicating that Assistant Chief Sharon Lubinski was “[i]nvolved in the decision not to
transfer Plaintiff to DEA position and MGSF position. Involved in decision to terminate
Sergeant Whitman.”).) In other instances, Defendant’s witness list provides broad,
generalized topics of testimony, such as “duties and training on the Minneapolis Police
2
Department.” (Id. at 1.) Simply put, Defendants have failed to apprise the Court of the
“substance” of their proposed witnesses’ testimony. In addition, Plaintiff has filed a
proposed witness list that nowhere mentions the subject(s) of any of his witnesses’
testimony.
Based on the foregoing, IT IS ORDERED that the parties shall serve and file
revised witness lists on or before October 1, 2008, containing narratives of the testimony
their witnesses intend to provide at trial. Trial counsel shall further CERTIFY that
he/she has personally conferred with each identified witness and that counsel believes
such witnesses will testify in conformance with the narratives provided to the Court. Any
topics not addressed in the narratives may be excluded by the Court at trial.
The Court takes this opportunity to inform the parties, subject to hearing from
them at the Final Pretrial Conference scheduled for October 3, 2008, that it intends to
allocate five days for the evidentiary portion of the trial – that is, not including time spent
on jury selection or jury deliberation. The parties should confer concerning the
aforementioned time limitation and how they believe that time should be allocated
between them, and be prepared to discuss those topics at the Final Pretrial Conference.
Dated: September 22, 2008 s/Richard H. Kyle
RICHARD H. KYLE
United States District Judge
 

 
 
 

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Work-Related Injury
Wrongful Death
Dog Bite
Slip and Fall
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  professionals have you seen?

 


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  Is Insurance Involved?
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        offer.

  Were there any witnesses?
Bystanders Witnessed This.
Police Responded and Filed
        a Police Report

Police Responded but Did
        Not File a Police Report


 

 

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