ABRAHAM RIBICOFF FEDERAL BUILDING United States Courthouse 450 Main Street - Suite 108 Hartford, Connecticut 06103
Judge Nagala considers the filing of Rule 26(f) Reports to be critical to the efficient administration of litigation. If a Rule 26(f) Report has not been filed within the time required by the rules, a notice shall be generated by her Courtroom Deputy for failure to comply.
The Rule 26(f) Report should provide the Court with a meaningful overview of the case and should serve as a vehicle for parties to consider: the factual and legal nature and basis for the claims and defenses asserted or to be asserted; the possibilities of settlement; and the desired discovery. Judge Nagala independently determines whether a scheduling conference with the Court is necessary, but she will take into account whether the parties have requested a scheduling conference in their Rule 26(f) Report.
Provided counsel are reasonable and efficient in the selection of deadlines for the completion of discovery and the filing of dispositive motions, the Rule 26(f) Report will usually serve as the basis for the initial scheduling order in the case. Generally, Judge Nagala prefers that the parties propose a schedule that will allow for the close of all discovery between six to nine months from the date of the filing of the Rule 26(f) Report. If the parties believe that more than nine months is required to complete discovery, then they should explain why additional time is needed. Absent an explanation from the parties why more than nine months is needed, Judge Nagala may enter an order to complete discovery at the end of nine months even if the parties have requested additional time. Once a scheduling order is entered, Judge Nagala expects parties to follow the schedule and will modify it only upon a showing of good cause.
Rule 26(f) Reports must include actual deadline dates, even if such deadlines are tied to earlier events in a case.
Judge Nagala requires that any motions for extension of time be filed strictly in accordance with D. Conn. Local Rule 7(b), which requires that any motion be filed at least three business days in advance of the due date; that it reflect the opposing party’s position on the motion; that it indicate the number of motions for extension of time the movant has previously filed with respect to the same time limitation; and that it establish particularized good cause for the extension request. Motions for extension of time that do not comply with D. Conn. Local Rule 7(b) may be denied.
Judge Nagala may decide discovery disputes herself or may refer them to a U.S. Magistrate Judge.
Even after a discovery dispute has been briefed, Judge Nagala expects the parties to continue to attempt to resolve the dispute themselves prior to Court intervention.
Unless otherwise ordered, within three business days after a document is filed electronically by counsel in a civil matter, counsel must provide chambers with two paper copies of the following e-filed documents, including all exhibits and attachments:
Chambers copies may be printed double-sided. All chambers copies should be printed from the docket and should bear the ECF header of the Court’s electronic filing system. All chambers copies must be properly ordered and tabbed. Any chambers copy that cannot be securely stapled must be placed in a three-ring binder.
Chambers copies of brief, routine procedural motions should not be provided to chambers unless requested.
Judge Nagala does not allow letter briefs or sur-reply briefs. In lieu of filing a letter brief, a party should file a formal motion. If a lawyer wants to call the Court’s attention to new authority, the lawyer should file a notice of supplemental authority on the docket.
Judge Nagala believes in the value of oral argument and usually schedules oral argument on dispositive motions. In deciding whether to hold oral argument, Judge Nagala gives strong consideration to whether the parties have requested argument. If Judge Nagala concludes that oral argument would not be helpful, then she may rule on a dispositive motion without oral argument.
Junior members of legal teams representing clients are invited to argue motions they have helped prepare. Opportunities to train young attorneys in oral advocacy are rare. Where junior lawyers are familiar with the matter under consideration, but have little experience arguing before a court, Judge Nagala believes that they should be encouraged to speak. To facilitate this practice, Judge Nagala is amenable to permitting a second, senior lawyer to argue as well for one party (if deemed necessary), if this will create an opportunity for a junior lawyer to participate. The ultimate decisions of who speaks on behalf of the client are for the lawyer in charge of the case, not the Court.
Judge Nagala ordinarily decides dispositive motions by means of a written ruling. Under some circumstances, however, Judge Nagala may issue an oral ruling from the bench following an oral argument on a motion. A copy of any oral ruling may be obtained by the parties from the court reporter.
Judge Nagala encourages the parties to discuss settlement as soon as possible. Nearly all civil cases settle, and, at some point in this case, the Court will refer the parties to a U.S. Magistrate Judge to explore the potential for settlement. The sooner the parties look seriously at the possibility for settlement, the less expensive the litigation will be for the parties. The Court understands that sometimes it is necessary to conduct some discovery before the parties can engage in productive mediation. If this is such a case, the Court encourages the parties to discuss exchanging limited discovery before engaging in a formal settlement conference. But the parties may begin settlement discussions at any time, on their own, through a private mediator, or with the assistance of a U.S. Magistrate Judge.
The parties are advised that the Magistrate Judges may not be able to conduct settlement discussions on short notice. Accordingly, counsel should seek a referral for settlement discussions at the earliest possible date. To do so, counsel for any party may file a brief motion for a referral to a Magistrate Judge, representing that counsel for all parties have conferred and agree that such a referral would be appropriate.
Joint Trial Memorandum Instructions
Judge Nagala will explain her method of jury selection at the Final Pre-Trial Conference. Jury selection ordinarily lasts between a half-day and full day depending on the type and number of cases for which juries are being selected. Because much of jury selection takes place with counsel standing at side bar, counsel are encouraged to wear comfortable shoes. Depending on the progression of jury selection, Judge Nagala may not take a full lunch hour recess.
Judge Nagala’s typical trial day lasts from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with a forty-five-minute lunch break and fifteen-minute breaks in the morning and afternoon. Counsel should report at 9:00 a.m. and also be prepared to stay after the trial day is complete as necessary to deal with objections and procedural matters.
Judge Nagala ordinarily conducts trial four or five days a week.
For civil cases, Judge Nagala allows short opening statements for each side. For criminal jury cases, any party wishing to give an opening statement may file a motion for permission to do so.
Judge Nagala generally allows closing arguments of up to one hour per side, unless the needs of the case require a shorter or longer time period.
Judge Nagala encourages counsel to agree in advance of trial which exhibits will be admissible without necessity to lay a foundation at trial and that may be deemed automatically admitted as full exhibits upon tender of each exhibit to a witness at trial.
Judge Nagala’s Joint Trial Memorandum provides instructions about provision of exhibits to the Court. Further questions can be answered by the Courtroom Deputy.
Judge Nagala’s Instructions for Joint Trial Memorandum require the parties to file motions in limine at the time the Joint Trial Memorandum is submitted. Because of this, she deals with many of these motions at pretrial conferences or at oral argument before trial. Nonetheless, should additional issues arise at trial, Judge Nagala expects counsel to alert her to potential problem areas in advance whenever possible. She hears argument on such matters before the commencement of the trial day or during breaks.
When in the presence of the jury, a party must state the basis for any objections in as few words as possible (e.g., “Objection, hearsay” or “Objection, foundation”) and without argument or further elaboration unless Judge Nagala requests more detail. If counsel requests, Judge Nagala will explain the basis for his ruling on an objection at the next break and outside the presence of the jury.
Judge Nagala's Instructions for Joint Trial Memorandum require the parties to submit proposed jury instructions at the time the Joint Trial Memorandum is submitted. After the parties meet and confer to narrow the range of disputes and submit a list of the disputed instructions, Judge Nagala will address the disputes. She will prepare a draft of the instructions, provides it to the parties during the trial, and hold a charge conference a day or two before giving the charge.
Judge Nagala does not permit lawyers to communicate with jurors, but she sometimes speaks with jurors after the trial is over.
The parties should familiarize themselves with and test-run in advance of trial the courtroom’s technology system for exhibits. It is usually the case that all exhibits except physical objects are shown to the Court and/or the jury during trial through the Court’s technology rather than in paper form. Counsel are encouraged to contact the Courtroom Deputy to set up a pre-trial run through of the technology, or for any other technical assistance.
Counsel intending to use their own laptops for presentation of evidence or other materials should advise the Courtroom Deputy ahead of time. They should also be advised that the courtroom has only HDMI (not mini-HDMI) and VGA video input cables. If a computer cannot accept either of these cables, counsel will need to supply their own cable adaptor.
