Opinion
Civil Action 19-10156
06-17-2021
EXPRESS LIEN, INC. v. HANDLE, INC. ET AL.
SECTION: “H”
MILAZZO, J.
MINUTE ENTRY
On June 16, 2021, the Court held the final pretrial conference in this matter. Mark Cunningham, Ryan Johnson, Robert Worley, Michael Magner, and Shaundra Schudmak participated on behalf of Express Lien, Inc.; Joshua Glikin and Jessica Marrero participated on behalf of Handle, Inc.; and Lindsay Calhoun participated on behalf of Jeffrey Nadolny. The parties discussed matters related to trial. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that the Court adopts the Proposed Pre-trial Order (R. Doc. 265) filed by the parties in full except to the extent modified herein.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff's Motion to Exclude Defense Expert (R. Doc. 186) is hereby DENIED for the same reasons provided in this Court's Order dated June 14, 2021.
See Doc. 269 at 6 (“Thus, because this is a bench trial and ‘the objectives of Daubert . . . are no longer implicated[, ] . . . the need for pre-trial rulings on the admissibility of evidence is significantly reduced.” (quoting Tucker v. United States, No. CV 18-4056-WBV-MBN, 2019 WL 4221070, at *2 (E.D. La. Sept. 5, 2019) (Vitter, J)).
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43, “[f]or good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony in open court by contemporaneous transmission from a different location.” Having found good cause and compelling circumstances, IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defense Expert, Jason Frankovitz, may appear at trial remotely by Zoom video. Frankovitz may testify from his home; however, he is specifically precluded from using the internet for any purpose other than to access Zoom. Frankovitz may have in his possession only a single, physical file containing his report and any underlying data.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that all demonstrative exhibits must be exchanged by June 18, 2021 at 12:00 p.m. If either party has an objection thereto, the party shall deliver or fax a letter notifying the Court of the objection.