Kleiman v Wright trial delayed until October 13

The long-awaited Kleiman v Wright jury trial has been moved to October 13, it was announced this week.

The delay was confirmed under Administrative Order 2020-41, which pushed the beginning of all jury trials in the Southern District of Florida’s District Court until October 13. 

The Order is the latest in a series which detail the Court’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, aimed at coping with the added stress on the judicial system and reducing the risk of community infection posed by large gatherings at the court.

While the trial will not be able to proceed as planned, Judges are still able to hold hearings and conferences with counsel at their discretion, so the outstanding pre-trial matters in the lawsuit should be unaffected.

This latest delay will put the trial at almost three years since the suit was filed. The trial was originally scheduled to take place in July, before being delayed to August last week and now being shifted to October. COVID-19 has already disrupted the Kleiman proceedings, with depositions being taken remotely and deadlines being regularly revised due to the logistical challenges associated with the pandemic.

The specifics of the trial scheduling will be addressed in a call with counsel on October 6, with the trial currently scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. EST on October 13. Meanwhile, we are still waiting on the outcome of a number of motions filed by Kleiman and Wright: there are motions for summary judgment and for the inclusion and exclusion of items of evidence and expert testimony which have yet to be ruled on by the Court. The outcome of these motions will greatly affect the character of October’s trial, and rulings are still expected in the coming days and weeks despite the delay. We will be providing up-to-date coverage of these motions and other developments in the case as they become available.