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SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO
EASTERN DIVISION
RONALD L. SMITH,
Plaintiff,
Case No. 2:23-cv-1947
v. JUDGE EDMUND A. SARGUS, JR.
Magistrate Judge Chelsey M. Vascura
LOWE’S HOME CENTERS, LLC,
Defendant.
AMENDED ORDER SETTING TRIAL DATE
AND SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE
This matter is before the Court on the Parties’ Joint Motion to Amend/Correct Scheduling
Order Setting Trial Date and Settlement Conference. (ECF No. 86.) The parties request that the
Court change the trial date and related deadlines so that they can mediate the case. (Id.) The
earliest date that the parties and mediator are available is January 29, 2026, and trial is currently
set to begin on January 26, 2026. (Id.) For good cause shown, the Joint Motion is GRANTED.
(ECF No. 86.) An amended summary of the schedule is below. Further explanations and
instructions are found in the body of this Order.
Plaintiff Ronald L. Smith also moves the Court to be excused from attending the
settlement conference in person due to his injuries that make traveling physically and practically
difficult. (ECF No. 83.) Defendant Lowe’s Home Centers, LLC does not oppose the motion.
(ECF No. 84.) For good cause shown, Plaintiff’s Motion for Relief from Requirement of
Attendance at Settlement is GRANTED. (ECF No. 83.) The Court DIRECTS Mr. Smith to be
available remotely by phone and video during the settlement conference, which has been
rescheduled below.
3/11/2026 Confidential assessment for Settlement Conference due.
3/18/2026 at 9:30 a.m. Settlement Conference before the Court.
3/23/2026 Statement of witnesses, designations of deposition portions,
and exhibit lists due. If jury trial proposed, case-specific
jury instructions and verdict forms to be served on
opposing counsel.
3/30/2026 Stipulations, motions in limine, proposed case-specific jury
instructions, and verdict forms due.
4/6/2026 Memoranda in opposition to motions in limine and
objections to case-specific jury instructions and verdict
forms due.
4/13/2026 Final pretrial order and general areas for voir dire questions
due.
4/17/2026 at 9:00 a.m. Final Pretrial Conference.
4/27/2026 at 9:00 a.m. Trial: voir dire; opening statements; presentation of
evidence.
A. Trial Date.
This matter is set for a Final Pretrial Conference and Trial. Voir dire will begin on the
morning of the date set for trial (unless otherwise set), with the trial immediately following.1
The Court will not continue the trial date except upon written motion supported by an
affidavit demonstrating exceptional circumstances, made immediately upon the party’s or
counsel’s receipt of notice of the existence of the exceptional circumstances.
The Court uses a trailing docket, setting three to five civil cases to begin on the same day.
Cases are tried in the order they were filed. If a case set for the same day goes to trial, then the
1 Provisions concerning voir dire and jury instructions do not apply in non-jury cases. Counsel
shall inform the Court immediately if this is a non-jury case or if there is a controversy
concerning whether a jury trial is required or permitted.
2
period of two weeks unless the Court orders otherwise.
Under the Speedy Trial Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3161–3174, and Federal Rule of Criminal
Procedure 50, the Court will give preference to any criminal matters it has set to take place the
same time as the trial in this case.
B. Settlement Conference.2
This case is set for a Settlement Conference under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure
16(a)(5) and (c)(2)(I) before The Honorable Edmund A. Sargus, Jr., at the United States District
Court for the Southern District of Ohio, 85 Marconi Boulevard, Room 301, Columbus, Ohio
43215.
Counsel and the parties shall adhere to the following with respect to the Settlement
Conference:
(1) The trial attorney for each party must attend the conference.
(2) The parties or principals with settlement authority shall be present. Fed. R. Civ.
P. 16(c).
(3) Lack of discovery will not excuse active participation in the conference.3
(4) No later than 14 days before the conference, each plaintiff must submit to counsel
for all opposing parties a fully documented, written settlement demand.
(5) No later than 10 days before the conference, each opposing party must respond, in
writing, to each settlement demand fully documenting that party’s position.
(6) On the date set out above, each party shall submit directly and only to Chambers a
letter (confidential assessment), not to exceed three pages, (a) explaining the
party’s theory of the case, (b) indicating its position on settlement (in monetary
2 If the Court is the finder of fact because it is a non-jury case, the Court will not hold a
settlement conference.
3 If the parties have requested extensions of time in which to file memoranda for dispositive
motions, the fact that the Court has not yet ruled on the pending motions will not excuse active
participation in settlement.
3
settlement (including non-monetary terms). The Confidential Assessment letter
should be submitted by email to Sargus_Chambers@ohsd.uscourts.gov.
(7) Before the conference, counsel shall discuss with their clients whether this case
would be appropriate for a summary jury trial or some other form of alternative
dispute resolution. S.D. Ohio Civ. R. 16.3.
Any questions regarding the Settlement Conference should be addressed to the Court’s
Judicial Assistant/Courtroom Deputy, Christin Werner, or Career Law Clerk, Lauren Hilsheimer,
at (614) 719-3240.
C. Expert Witnesses.
A motion directed at expert witnesses shall be filed at least 60 days prior to the final
pretrial conference. Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharm., Inc., 509 U.S. 579, 589 (1993); Fed. R.
Evid. 702. Responses are due 10 days after the opening motion. No replies are permitted unless
otherwise ordered by the Court. Depending on the nature of the Daubert challenge, the Court
may conduct a hearing prior to ruling on the motion.
D. Statement of Witnesses.
The parties shall submit to the Court, and serve on opposing counsel, the names,
addresses, and occupations of all witnesses they intend to call at trial, with a summary of the
witness’ testimony (two to three sentences), the purpose of that testimony, and the major issue
about which the witness will testify. Failure to list a witness, except upon a showing of good
cause, will preclude the use of that witness at trial. The witness lists shall comport with all the
requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(3)(A).
4
The parties shall submit to the Court, and serve on opposing counsel, the designations of
any portions of depositions they intend to offer as evidence at trial.4 Failure to make a
designation, except upon a showing of good cause, will preclude the use of the undesignated
portion of a deposition at trial. The designation of deposition portions shall comport with all the
requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(3).
F. Exhibits.
The parties shall mark their documentary or physical evidence in advance of trial. Each
party shall exchange and file a list containing a brief description of each item of documentary or
physical proof the party intends to offer in evidence as an exhibit at trial. The exhibits shall
comport with all the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(3)(A).
The parties shall attempt to agree on the authenticity and admissibility of documents.
Those documents the parties agree should be presented as evidence shall be marked as Joint
Exhibits.
The Court strongly encourages the parties to utilize the electronic courtroom technology
for presentation of evidence. The parties shall report to the Court, by joint submission, on or
before the date of the Settlement Conference, their intent to use the technology.
In all cases, the parties are required to submit to the Court one (1) copy of exhibits in a
three-ringed, tabbed notebook. The notebook shall be delivered to Christin Werner, the Judicial
Assistant/Courtroom Deputy, at least 2 days before the trial. The parties are also required to
provide one (1) copy of their exhibits to opposing counsel. If the parties are not utilizing the
4 Do not designate portions to be used only for impeachment on cross-examination.
5
cameras (ELMOs) located at counsel tables.
G. Stipulations.
Counsel for the parties shall make all stipulations pursuant to the Federal Rules.
H. Pretrial Motions.
A party’s motions in limine and memoranda in support shall not exceed a total of 10
pages in length. The memoranda in opposition shall not exceed a total of 10 pages in length.
The Court will not accept any reply memoranda.
I. Jury Instructions.5
The Court will prepare preliminary and general jury instructions. A copy of the Court’s
general instructions is available on the Court’s website at https://www.ohsd.uscourts.gov/, under
Judge Sargus’s Standing Orders. The parties shall concentrate their efforts on any unusual or
case-specific instruction areas.
(1) Proposed Jury Instructions.
The parties shall submit jointly one set of proposed jury instructions which contains the
parties’ agreed upon case-specific instructions and verdict forms, and, in the event the parties
cannot agree on an instruction, each party’s own individual proposed case-specific instruction or
verdict form. To this end, counsel shall adhere to the following procedures:
(a) The parties shall serve their proposed jury instructions and verdict forms on
opposing counsel.
(b) Counsel then shall meet, confer, and agree on proposed case-specific jury
instructions and verdict forms.
(c) If, after a concerted, good-faith effort, the parties are unable to agree upon a
particular case-specific instruction or verdict forms, each party shall propose its
5 See supra Footnote 1.
6
Defendant’s version, complete with pinpoint citations to binding authority in
footnotes. Each version, Plaintiff’s and Defendant’s, shall appear together on one
page for ready comparison. Versions of longer instructions or verdict forms (over
one page) shall appear one after another. A party may indicate its general
objection to the giving of the proposed instruction.
All instructions shall be concise, understandable, and neutral. Further, counsel shall at a
minimum agree on a common index and the proposed instructions from all parties shall
correspond to the index. For jury instructions concerning federal law, the Court strongly prefers
that the parties use the latest edition of Federal Jury Practice and Instructions (Thomson West).
For instructions concerning Ohio law, the Court strongly prefers that the parties use the latest
edition of Ohio Jury Instructions (Anderson). The Court, however, welcomes any effort by
counsel to make the instructions from these sources more direct, understandable, and concise.
(2) Objections.
Where the parties have not agreed on an instruction, objections to the opposing party’s
proposed jury instruction are due on or before the date shown on the first page of this Order. The
objections shall appear in the same order and mirror the title and number of the proposed joint
jury instructions to which they refer.
J. Final Pretrial Order.
The parties shall submit a joint proposed Final Pretrial Order in advance of the Final
Pretrial Conference using the attached form. The parties may submit their joint proposed Final
Pretrial Order by email to Sargus_Chambers@ohsd.uscourts.gov.
K. Trial Briefs.
No trial briefs in this case unless otherwise ordered.
7
The following rules shall apply to all papers filed with the Court in this case, including
pretrial motions and supplemental jury instructions. On issues of federal law the Court strongly
prefers that the parties cite only the United States Constitution; United States statutes (including
Federal Rules), treaties, or regulations; decisions by the United States Supreme Court; or
decisions by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
The Court strongly prefers the citation of non-binding federal authorities only if there are
no binding authorities on point. Should counsel feel that due diligence requires citation of non-
binding authorities in addition to on-point binding authority, then counsel shall cite the non-
binding authorities only in an appendix of supplemental authorities, with a parenthetical
explanation for each such cite. The Court prefers that the parties cite only decisions by federal
circuit courts of appeal if they must cite non-binding federal law.
On issues of Ohio law, the Court strongly prefers that the parties cite only the Ohio
Constitution; the Ohio Revised Code; decisions by the Ohio Supreme Court; decisions by the
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals construing Ohio law; or, if no binding authorities are available,
published decisions by Ohio courts of appeal. The parties should cite other non-binding
authorities only if there are no Ohio authorities on point. If there are binding authorities on
point, but counsel nevertheless feels that due diligence requires citation of non-binding
authorities, then counsel shall cite the non-binding authorities only in an appendix of
supplemental authorities, with a parenthetical explanation for each such cite.
M. Voir Dire.
The parties shall submit, in writing, questions they propose to ask during voir dire. The
Court will review these questions with counsel at the Final Pretrial Conference.
8
rear of the courtroom) will be examined collectively. The Court will conduct some of the voir
dire examination.
After voir dire, the Court will consider challenges for cause and peremptory challenges.
Each prospective juror is assigned a number by the Clerk’s Office. A list of the jurors’ names
and numbers is available to counsel prior to the commencement of trial. When challenging a
juror, counsel should refer to the juror by name and number.
Counsel will not be permitted to question jurors individually regarding background
information. This information is contained in juror questionnaires which are on file in the
Clerk’s Office. Counsel should examine these forms prior to the commencement of trial.
Counsel should contact the Jury Deputy, Donald Fitzgerald, (614) 719-3017, to obtain
information about the availability of juror questionnaires.
The United States Magistrate Judge may conduct voir dire if other matters require the
District Judge’s immediate attention.
N. Challenges.
The entire panel shall be challenged for cause.
Each party shall be entitled to three (3) peremptory challenges. 28 U.S.C. § 1870. The
parties will exercise their peremptory challenges alternately with the plaintiff exercising the first
challenge. If either party “passes,” that challenge will be counted as used. Peremptory
challenges will be directed to the entire jury panel.
O. Jury.
In most civil cases the Court will seat a jury of eight (8) members. In accordance with
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 48, all jurors shall participate in the verdict unless excused
9
verdict shall be unanimous.
P. Trial Procedure.
Counsel shall adhere to the following guidelines:
(1) Five to six hours of uninterrupted testimony should be presented every trial day.
(2) The parties must raise all legal issues in advance of trial. The Court will not
consider issues raised during the trial unless counsel shows that the matter could
not have been raised sooner by the exercise of due diligence.
(3) The Court prefers not to interrupt the presentation of evidence to the jury to hold
bench or chambers conferences.
(4) If counsel makes an objection during the presentation of evidence to the jury, the
Court may order examining counsel to proceed to other matters or call a different
witness. The Court will then rule on the objection at a more convenient time.
(5) Counsel shall inform the Court’s Law Clerk if they wish to take a matter up with
the Court during a break or recess.
After consultation with counsel, the Court may limit expert testimony, direct a party or
parties to present evidence on a particular issue early in the trial, or establish limits for the
presentation of all evidence. Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(c)(2); see also Fed. R. Evid. 611(a).
The Court may order bifurcation of liability and damages in complex cases. Fed. R. Civ.
P. 42(b).
Q. Sanctions.
The parties and counsel shall comply fully and literally with this pretrial order. The
Court will consider the imposition of appropriate sanctions in the event of non-compliance,
including monetary sanctions, the dismissal of claims or defenses, or the exclusion of evidence.
Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(f).
10
If the parties believe that mediation will be helpful at any time during the pendency of
this action, please inform the Court. Unless otherwise requested by the parties, the Court will
assign a Magistrate Judge to mediate it.
S. Other Matters.
If any date set in this Order falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the date of the
next business day will control.
The Court will consider adopting any other pretrial and trial management procedures
upon which the parties agree. Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(c).
This Order supersedes all previous orders in this case to the extent previous orders are
inconsistent with this Order.
The parties shall address questions about this Order to the Court’s Career Law Clerk,
Lauren Hilsheimer, or Judicial Assistant/Courtroom Deputy, Christin Werner, who can both be
reached at (614) 719-3240. When calling, please have counsel for all parties participating or
with fewer than all counsel participating with express permission of non-participating counsel.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
11/6/2025 s/Edmund A. Sargus, Jr.
DATE EDMUND A. SARGUS, JR.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
11 Case Information
- Court
- S.D. Ohio
- Decision Date
- November 6, 2025
- Status
- Precedential