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Court sets discovery and motion schedule, reserves Jan. 12, 2026 trial block and orders clearer exhibit formatting
Summary
The Court of Claims set firm deadlines for discovery and dispositive motions, scheduled oral argument in September 2025 and reserved 14 trial days starting Jan. 12, 2026; the judge also ordered parties to submit exhibit tables with PDF page ranges and advised using Bates-style stamps for appendices.
Judge James Robert Redford set case-management deadlines and a trial block in the long-running class action and gave counsel directions on how to submit exhibits and briefs.
The court recorded key dates: discovery will close on May 1, 2025; dispositive motions and class-certification motions must be filed by July 3, 2025; responses are due Aug. 7, 2025; reply briefs are due Aug. 28, 2025; and oral argument on those motions will take place at 9 a.m. on Sept. 15, 2025 in the Court of Claims courtroom. Redford warned parties the court will enforce page limits going forward and instructed that the next round of substantial briefs must not exceed 45 pages.
Redford said he will reserve trial days beginning Jan. 12, 2026 and block out a series of calendar windows to assemble 14 trial days: Jan. 12–16, Jan. 20–23, and Jan. 26–30, 2026. He asked counsel to plan for a trial schedule that runs from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. with set recesses and said he expects the parties to provide proposed stipulations, trial exhibits and proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law.
On submissions and exhibits, the judge ordered that parties supplement their table of exhibits with a third column listing the PDF page ranges where each exhibit appears (for example: exhibit number, description, PDF pages). He encouraged the use of Bates-style or "bait-stamp" appendices — a system commonly used in appellate practice — and asked counsel to provide a version of briefs with updated exhibit citations where feasible to ease judicial review.
Why this matters: The court is streamlining the record for judicial review ahead of substantial summary-disposition and class-certification briefing and locking in trial dates nearly a year in advance to accommodate a complex, multi-party case.
Additional scheduling: The judge set continuing status conferences (10 a.m.) on several dates to be included in the written order, and asked parties to block those dates on their calendars. He also told counsel to assume a conservative two-week estimate for the combined trial time if both sides present evidence, though defense counsel estimated two weeks separately for defense presentation might be sufficient depending on stipulations and narrowing of issues.
Practical effects: Counsel agreed to work with court staff on exhibit tables and to consider re-filing briefs with updated citations to the combined appendix. The court said it will issue a written order formalizing the dates and exhibit-submission requirements.
