Free Objection - District Court of Arizona - Arizona

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GAONA LAW FIRM
A PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION

3101 NORTH CENTRAL AVE, SUITE 720 PHOENIX, ARIZONA 85012 _____________

(602) 230-2636 Fax (602) 230-1377

David F. Gaona, State Bar No. 007391 Nicole Seder Cantelme, State Bar No. 021320 Attorneys for Defendants

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA MONICA ORTEGA-GUERIN, Plaintiff, vs. CITY OF PHOENIX, FRANK FAVELA, AND FRANK PERALTA Defendants. Defendants, through undersigned counsel, respectfully submit their No. CV04-0289 PHX MHM DEFENDANTS' OBJECTIONS AND REQUESTED REVISIONS TO THE COURT'S DRAFT SET OF JURY INSTRUCTIONS

objections/comments and requested revisions to the Court's Draft Set of Jury Instructions. Specific comments will reference the handwritten page number(s) found on the bottom of each page of the Draft: Instruction No. 1, pp. 1-2 ­ no objection Instruction No. 2, p. 3 ­ no objection Instruction No. 3, pp. 4-5 ­ no objection Instruction No. 4, p. 6 ­ no objection Instruction No. 5, pp.7-8 ­ no objection Instruction No. 6, p. 9 ­ no objection Instruction No. 7, p. 10 ­ no objection

Case 2:04-cv-00289-MHM

Document 66

Filed 12/13/2005

Page 1 of 4

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3101 North Central Avenue ­ Suite 720 Phoenix, Arizona 85012

Instruction No. 8, p. 11 ­ no objection Instruction No. 9, p. 12 ­ no objection Instruction No. 10, p.13 ­ Objection, instruction suggests, without more, respondeat superior. The City of Phoenix is not derivatively responsible for the theories of liability involving the two other defendants per se, and the instruction is suggestive of respondeat superior, that could also confuse damage issues. Instruction No. 11, pp. 14-15 ­ no objection Instruction No. 12, pp. 16-17 ­ no objection Instruction No. 13, p. 18 ­ Objection, fails to account for affirmative defense, confusing to the jury. Instruction No. 14, pp. 19-20 ­ Objection, Mr. Favela was not her immediate supervisor. Jury should be told what is or is not tangible employment action. Instruction No. 15, p. 21 ­ Objection, confusing legalese that provides no direction or help to the jury. Instruction No. 16, p. 22 ­ Objection, confusing. Defendants suggest the initial clause to read: "On the claim by Plaintiff . . . elements separately as to both Defendant Peralta and Defendant Favela . . . ." Instruction No. 17, p. 23 ­ no objection Instruction No. 18, p. 24 ­ Objection. Defendants suggest their proposed instruction "42 U.S.C. § 1983/Favela". Instruction No. 19, p.25-26 ­ Objection, no evidence of "injuries"; Plaintiff only adduced evidence of alleged mental and emotional pain. Also, mitigation language should be included. Instruction No. 20, p. 27 ­ no objection Instruction No. 21, p. 28, 29 ­ Objection, burden of proof; instruction should tell jury about considering defendants' financial wealth. Instruction No. 22, p. 30 ­ no objection Instruction No. 23, p. 31 ­ no objection

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GAONA LAW FIRM

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3101 North Central Avenue ­ Suite 720 Phoenix, Arizona 85012

Instruction No. 24, p. 32 ­ no objection Instruction No. 25, p. 33 ­ no objection Defendants further submit a limiting instruction or addition to Damages instruction, conveying to the jury that "in considering damages issues, the Plaintiff may not recover more than once for the same injury." DATED this 13th day of December, 2005. GAONA LAW FIRM /s/ David F. Gaona David F. Gaona Nicole Seder Cantelme Attorneys for Defendants

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GAONA LAW FIRM

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3101 North Central Avenue ­ Suite 720 Phoenix, Arizona 85012

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on December 13, 2005, I electronically transmitted the attached document to the Clerk's Office using the CM/ECF System for filing and transmittal of a Notice of Electronic Filing to the following CM/ECF registrants: Stephen G. Montoya, Esq. MONTOYA JIMENEZ, P.A. The Great American Tower 3200 North Central Avenue, Suite 2550 Phoenix, Arizona 85012 I further certify that on December 13, 2005, the attached document was handdelivered to: The Honorable Mary H. Murguia United States District Court for the District of Arizona Sandra Day O'Connor United States Courthouse 401 West Washington Street Phoenix, Arizona 85003

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GAONA LAW FIRM

s/David F. Gaona

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