United States District Court, S.D. Florida
AIM RECYCLING OF FLORIDA, LLC and LKQ PICK YOUR PART SOUTHEAST, LLC, Plaintiffs,
v.
METALS USA, INC., UNIVERSAL SCRAP MANAGEMENT, LLC, OBED LENDIAN, and SAMUEL ABREU, Defendants.
OMNIBUS ORDER ON MOTIONS IN LIMINE
BETH
BLOOM, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
THIS
CAUSE is before the Court upon Defendants Metals
USA, Inc. (“Metals USA”) and Obed Lendian's
(“Lendian”) (collectively,
“Defendants”)[1] Motion in Limine, ECF No.
[224] (“Defendants' Motion”), and Plaintiffs
AIM Recycling of Florida, LLC (“AIM”) and LKQ
Pick Your Part Southeast, LLC's (“LKQ”)
(collectively, “Plaintiffs”) Amended Motion
in Limine, ECF No. [233] (“Plaintiffs'
Motion”), (collectively, the “Motions”).
The Court has carefully reviewed the Motions, all opposing
and supporting submissions, the attached exhibits, the record
in this case, the applicable law, and is otherwise fully
advised. For the reasons set forth below, Defendants'
Motion in Limine is granted in part and denied in
part, and Plaintiffs' Amended Motion in Limine
is granted in part and denied in part.
I.
BACKGROUND[2]
In
Defendants' Motion, they move to preclude Plaintiffs from
introducing the following at the upcoming trial:
a. Any evidence of Lendian's prior invocation of his
Fifth Amendment privilege;
b. Any reference to, and any evidence obtained from, the
Department of Justice's (“DOJ”) criminal
investigation;[3]
c. Any reference to the failure of a party to call a witness
equally available to all parties;
d. Any references to the motions in limine;
e. Any reference to discovery disputes between the parties;
and
f. Any references to persons or the purported testimony of
persons who have not been properly and timely disclosed in
the responses to written discovery or in the Rule 26
disclosures.
Similarly,
in Plaintiffs' Motion, they move to preclude Defendants
from introducing the following at the upcoming trial:
a. Any evidence or argument of the DOJ's previous
criminal declination as a basis for non-liability;
b. Any evidence or argument of Plaintiffs' alleged prior
bad acts; and
c. Any evidence or argument of Plaintiffs'
“extortion” of Defendants.[4]
The
Court will address each Motion individually below.
II.
...