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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020CV30363 - Stuward Cross And Katrina Richman V. City Of Fort Collins - 050 - Df's Resp Motion To BifurcateDISTRICT COURT, LARIMER COUNTY, COLORADO Larimer County Justice Center 201 Laporte Avenue, Suite 100 Fort Collins, CO 80521-2761 (970) 498-6100 Plaintiffs: STUWARD CROSS AND KATRINA RICHMAN v. Defendant: THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS, State of Colorado COURT USE ONLY Andrew W. Callahan, #52421 – acallahan@wicklaw.com Julie M. Yates, #36393 – jyates@wicklaw.com WICK & TRAUTWEIN, LLC 323 South College Avenue, Suite 3 Fort Collins, CO 80522 Phone & Fax Number: (970) 482-4011 John R. Duval, #10185 – jduval@fcgov.com Adam Stephens, #55637 – adstephens@fcgov.com Fort Collins City Attorney’s Office P.O. Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80524 (970) 221-6520 Case No.: 2020 CV 30363 Division: 3C DEFENDANT’S RESPONSE TO PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION TO BIFURCATE CLAIMS AND CONTINUE TRIAL FOR PLAINTIFF KATRINA RICHMAN ONLY COMES NOW Defendant the City of Fort Collins, by and through counsel, and responds to Plaintiffs’ Motion to Bifurcate Claims and Continue Trial for Plaintiff Katrina Richman Only as follows: Defendant objects to the bifurcation of trials in this matter but does not object to the granting of a continuance of the entire case. Bifurcation of this case would be extremely prejudicial in that it would essentially double the time and costs of the trial for all Parties. 2 Rule 42(b) states three criteria for when a case may be bifurcated: (1) for convenience; (2) to avoid prejudice, or (3) when separate trials will be conducive to expedition or economy. In this case, none of these criteria support bifurcation. First, two trials instead of one, where the witnesses are the same, will not be convenient. All of the fact witnesses surrounding the automobile accident are identical. Both Plaintiffs will be necessary parties in both cases, as they both were present for the accident and are therefore fact witnesses in addition to being parties to the case. Liability in this case is contested, so their testimony will be necessary. Moreover, Defendant and Plaintiffs have retained medical experts to opine on the scope of injuries sustained by Plaintiffs in this accident. Defendant has retained Dr. Lloyd Thurston to offer opinions as to both Plaintiffs’ injuries, and Plaintiff has retained Dr. John Hughes to offer opinions on both Plaintiffs. If this case is bifurcated, the parties will incur double expenses as both retained experts will be required to appear for separate trials to offer opinions. The Court can avoid any potential prejudice to Ms. Richman without the need for bifurcation. Defendant does not oppose Plaintiffs’ counsel’s Motion to Withdraw on behalf of Katrina Richman, and based on the allegations contained therein believes it would be difficult for counsel to proceed on behalf of Ms. Richman. However, the appropriate remedy to avoid any prejudice for Ms. Richman is not bifurcation of the trial, but simply a continuance of the entire matter. This will allow Ms. Richman sufficient time to obtain new counsel and proceed with a single trial. Third, holding two trials rather than one clearly is not conducive to expedition or judicial economy, for all the reasons stated above. Since this matter is within the Court’s discretion, and 3 the Court has requested a status conference, Defendant does not feel it is necessary to belabor the point. In sum, Defendant believes that the most appropriate course of action is to continue the entire case and deny Plaintiffs’ Motion for Bifurcation. WHEREFORE, Defendant requests that the Court deny Plaintiffs’ Motion to Bifurcate and grant Plaintiffs’ Motion to Continue the Trial as to both Plaintiffs. Respectfully submitted this 25th day of October, 2021. WICK & TRAUTWEIN, LLC By: s/ Andrew W. Callahan Andrew W. Callahan, #52421 Julie M. Yates, ##36393 Attorneys for Defendants And John R. Duval, #10185 Adam Stephens, #55637 Fort Collins City Attorney’s Office 4 CERTIFICATE OF ELECTRONIC FILING The undersigned hereby certifies that a true and correct copy of the foregoing DEFENDANT’S RESPONSE TO PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION TO BIFURCATE CLAIMS AND CONTINUE TRIAL FOR PLAINTIFF KATRINA RICHMAN ONLY was served via the Colorado Courts E-Filing System this 25th day of October, 2021, on the following: Laura Michelle Browne Ashley Fridovich Wilhite, Rose, McClure & Sawaya, P.C. 1600 N. Ogden Street Denver, CO 80218 Adam Stephens John Duval FORT COLLINS CITY ATTORNEY’S OFFICE P.O. Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 s/Jody L. Minch