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Judge Orders Shorter Briefs, Sets Trial Logistics Deadlines and Exhibit Rules for Liability Phase
Summary
The presiding judge set firm limits on brief length and attachments, gave deadlines for trial materials, and asked parties to submit witness lists and estimated testimony durations to manage a four-week liability trial window in January/February 2026.
At the June 26 status conference in the Great Lakes Energy consolidated litigation (lead case 20-094MM), the presiding judge announced a set of trial-management directions to streamline the upcoming liability phase and to accommodate the court's heavy calendar.
Key directions from the judge:
- Motion and brief length: "No motion or brief may exceed 20 pages" during the liability phase absent exceptional circumstances; parties may seek leave twice but not a third time.
- Attachment limits: Exhibits and attachments were limited to 100 pages unless the court grants leave.
- Trial briefs and exhibits: The judge said he would expect trial briefs and an exhibit book on or before Dec. 15, 2025, and that the scheduling order would describe the required exhibit-book format.
- Witness lists and estimates: Plaintiffs should provide their expected trial witness list by Oct. 1, 2025; defendants by Oct. 15, 2025. The court asked parties to estimate the direct-examination duration for each witness and to estimate cross-examination times after reviewing the opposing witness list.
- Trial window: The judge said he had blocked four weeks in late January/early February (including the week of Martin Luther King Jr. Day) for the liability trial and asked counsel to plan accordingly.
The judge explained the constraints by noting his appellate and trial workload through the end of the year and the limited number of working days remaining. He said the page and attachment limits are intended to conserve judicial time and make the record navigable for appellate review.
Why this matters: The court's operational limits and deadlines set the timeline for parties' trial preparation and may compress the parties' written advocacy, exhibit assembly, and witness-planning tasks. The judge asked for realistic planning and stressed that the court would expect a concrete list of witnesses and time estimates so the trial can be managed within the blocked calendar.
Counsel for both sides agreed to work toward the proposed deadlines. The judge said an interim trial-management order with these requirements would be issued on or before July 15, and that additional scheduling items (trial-book format, exhibit numbering) would be provided in that order.
No formal motion was required for these directions; they were conveyed by the presiding judge as case-management instructions during the status conference.
