Espinoza et al v. County of Fresno

Filing 173

Trial Setting Conference ORDER, signed by Magistrate Judge Sandra M. Snyder on 8/17/2012. (Motion for Decertification of Collective Action filed by 9/7/2012; Opposition Deadline: 10/22/2012; Replies due by 11/6/2012; Decertification Hearing set fo r 12/5/2012 at 10:30 AM in Courtroom 1 (SMS) before Magistrate Judge Sandra M. Snyder; Settlement Conference set for 5/13/2013 at 10:00 AM in Courtroom 6 (JLT) before Magistrate Judge Jennifer L. Thurston; Pretrial Conference set for 9/11/2013 at 10:00 AM in Courtroom 1 (SMS) before Magistrate Judge Sandra M. Snyder; Jury Trial set for 11/18/2013 at 09:00 AM in Courtroom 1 (SMS) before Magistrate Judge Sandra M. Snyder) (Figueroa, O)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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JUAN ESPINOZA, JAMES FOSTER
WOMBLE, PAUL MARQUEZ, AARON
EPPERLY and ERIC SCHMIDT,

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Plaintiffs,

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vs.

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COUNTY OF FRESNO,

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Defendant.

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1:07-cv-01145-SMS
TRIAL SETTING CONFERENCE
ORDER
Defendant’s Motion for DeCertification of Collective
Action Filing Deadline:
9/7/12
Plaintiffs’ Opposition to
Defendant’s Motion Filing
Deadline: 10/22/12

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Defendant’s Reply to
Plaintiffs’ Opposition Filing
Deadline: 11/6/12

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De-Certification Hearing Date:
12/5/12, 10:30am, Ctrm. 1/SMS

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Settlement Conference Date:
5/13/13, 10:00am, Ctrm. 6/JLT

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Pre-Trial Conference Date:
9/11/13, 10:00am, Ctrm. 1/SMS

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Trial Date: 11/18/13, 9:00am,
Ctrm. 1/SMS (JT ~ 15 days)

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Date of Trial Setting Conference:
July 25, 2012.

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2.

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Appearances of Counsel:
James W. Henderson, Jr., Esq., of Carroll, Burdick &

McDonough, LLP, appeared telephonically on behalf of plaintiffs.

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Michael G. Woods, Esq., of McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard,

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Wayte & Carruth, LLP, appeared telephonically on behalf of

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defendant.

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3.

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On June 7, 2012, the Court issued an Order Clarifying
Issues Remaining for Trial as follows (Doc. 169):

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A.

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Plaintiffs’ claim for compensation for firearms

qualification and maintenance.

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Pertinent Pleading:

B.

Plaintiffs’ claim for compensation for off duty

cleaning and maintenance of uniforms and safety gear.
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Consent to Magistrate Judge Jurisdiction:
Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c), the parties consented to

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conduct any and all further proceedings in this case, including

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trial, before the Honorable Sandra M. Snyder, United States

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Magistrate Judge, and executed the court’s appropriate consent form

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to effect same (Docs. 160 & 161).

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Ishii ordered this case reassigned solely to the docket of

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Magistrate Judge Snyder (Doc. 162), thereby changing the case

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number/initials as follows:

1:07-cv-01145-SMS

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On November 16, 2011, Judge

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Pre-Trial Motion Schedule:
Defendant’s Motion for De-Certification of Collective

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Action shall be filed by September 7, 2012.

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shall be filed by October 22, 2012.

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filed by November 6, 2012.

Plaintiffs’ Opposition

Defendant’s Reply shall be

A hearing will be held on December 5,
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2012 at 10:30 a.m. in Courtroom No. 1 on the Eighth Floor before

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the Honorable Sandra M. Snyder, United States Magistrate Judge.

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NOTE: Judge Snyder’s chambers requires prompt courtesy copies of

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all motions and related filings in excess of 25/50 pages in

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compliance with Local Rule 133(f).

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Pre-Trial Conference Date:
September 11, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. in Courtroom No. 1 on

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the Eighth Floor before the Sandra M. Snyder, United States

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Magistrate Judge.

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Ten (10) days prior to the Pretrial Conference, the

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parties shall exchange the disclosures required pursuant to

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F.R.Civ.P. 26(a)(3).

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The parties are ordered to file a JOINT Pretrial

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Statement pursuant to Local Rule 281(a)(2).

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further ordered to submit a digital copy of their Joint Pretrial

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Statement in WordPerfect X31 format to Judge Snyder’s chambers by

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e-mail to [e-mail].

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The parties are

Counsels' attention is directed to Rules 281 and 282 of

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the Local Rules of Practice for the Eastern District of California

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as to the obligations of counsel in preparing for the Pre-Trial

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Conference.

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those Rules.

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The Court will insist upon strict compliance with

Trial Date:
November 18, 2013 at 9:00 a.m. in Courtroom No. 1 on the

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Eighth Floor before the Honorable Sandra M. Snyder, United States

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Magistrate Judge.

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If W ordPerfect X3 is not available to the parties, then the latest version of W ordPerfect, or any other
word processing program in general use for IBM com patible personal com puters, is acceptable.

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A.

This is a jury trial.

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B.

Counsels' Estimate of Trial Time:

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15 days.

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C.

Counsels' attention is directed to Rule 285 of the

Local Rules of Practice for the Eastern District of California.
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Settlement Conference:
May 13, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. in Courtroom No. 6 on the

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Seventh Floor before the Honorable Jennifer L. Thurston, United

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States Magistrate Judge.

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Unless otherwise permitted in advance by Judge Thurston,

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the attorneys who will try the case shall personally appear at the

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Settlement Conference with the parties and the person or

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persons having full authority to negotiate and settle the case on

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any terms2 at the conference.

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Permission for a party [not attorney] to attend by

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telephone may be granted by Judge Thurston upon request, by letter,

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with a copy to the other parties, IF the party lives and works

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outside the Eastern District of California, AND attendance in

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person would constitute a hardship.

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allowed, the party must be immediately available throughout the

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conference, until excused, regardless of time zone differences.

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Any other special arrangements desired in cases where settlement

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authority rests with a governing body shall also be proposed, in

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advance, by letter, and copied to all other parties.

If telephone attendance is

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Insurance carriers, business organizations, and governm ental bodies or agencies whose settlem ent
agreem ents are subject to approval by legislative bodies, executive com m ittees, boards of directors, or the
like, shall be represented by a person or persons who occupy high executive positions in the party
organization, and who will be directly involved in the process of approval of any settlem ent offers or
agreem ents. To the extent possible, the representative shall have the authority, if he or she deem s it
appropriate, to settle the action on term s consistent with the opposing party’s m ost recent dem and.

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CONFIDENTIAL SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE STATEMENT

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NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a Confidential Settlement

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Conference Statement is MANDATORY, and must be submitted to Judge

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Thurston’s chambers, at least five (5) court days prior to the

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Settlement Conference, by e-mail to [e-mail].

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Failure to so comply may result in the imposition of monetary

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and/or other sanctions.

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The Statement should not be filed with the Clerk’s Office

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nor served on any other party, although the parties may file a

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Notice of Lodging Confidential Settlement Conference Statement.

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Each Statement shall be clearly marked "Confidential" with the date

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and time of the Settlement Conference indicated prominently

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thereon.

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Statements if settlement is not achieved and, if such a request is

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not made, the Court will dispose of the Statement.

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Counsel are urged to request the return of their

The Confidential Settlement Conference Statement shall

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include the following:

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A.

A brief statement of the facts of the case.

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B.

A brief statement of the claims and defenses, i.e.,

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statutory or other grounds upon which the claims are founded; a

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forthright evaluation of the parties' likelihood of prevailing on

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the claims and defenses; and, a description of the major issues in

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dispute.

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C.

A summary of the proceedings to date.

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D.

An estimate of the cost and time to be expended for

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further discovery, pretrial, and trial.

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E.

The relief sought.

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F.

The party's position on settlement, including

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present demands and offers, and a history of past settlement

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discussions, offers, and demands.

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Request for Bifurcation, Appointment of Special Master,

or other Techniques to Shorten Trial:

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The parties have previously agreed, and Judge Wanger

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ordered (Doc. 26, page 14, XIV), that the issues of liability and

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damages shall be bifurcated and tried on the same case in two

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separate phases before the same jury (Doc. 165, page 12, X).

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10.

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Related Matters Pending:
Not applicable at this time.

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Compliance with Federal Procedure:
The Court requires compliance with the Federal Rules of

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Civil Procedure and the Local Rules of Practice for the Eastern

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District of California.

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administration of this case, all counsel are expected to

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familiarize themselves with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

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and the Local Rules of Practice for the Eastern District of

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California, and to keep abreast of any amendments thereto.

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Court must insist upon compliance with these Rules if it is to

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efficiently handle its increasing caseload.

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imposed for failure to follow the Rules as provided in both the

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Fed.R.Civ.P. and the Local Rules.

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To aid the Court in the efficient

The

Sanctions will be

Compliance with Electronic Filing Requirement:
On January 3, 2005, the United States District Court for

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the Eastern District of California became an electronic case

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management/filing district (CM/ECF).

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or by Local Rule, attorneys shall file all documents electronically
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Unless excused by the Court,

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as of January 3, 2005, in all actions pending before the court.

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While Pro Se Litigants are exempt from this requirement, the court

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will scan in all documents filed by pro se litigants, and the

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official court record in all cases will be electronic.

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are required to file electronically in pro se cases.

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information regarding the Court’s implementation of CM/ECF can be

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found on the court’s web site at www.caed.uscourts.gov, including

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the Court’s Local Rules, the CM/ECF Final Procedures, and the

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CM/ECF User’s Manual.

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Attorneys
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While the Clerk's Office will not refuse to file a

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proffered paper document, the Clerk's Office will scan it and, if

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improperly filed, notify the Court that the document was filed in

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an improper format.

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appropriate cases regarding an attorney's disregard for the

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requirement to utilize electronic filing, or other violations of

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these electronic filing procedures.

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An order to show cause (OSC) may be issued in

See L.R. 110, L.R. 133(d)(3).

All counsel must be registered for CM/ECF.

On-line

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registration is available at www.caed.uscourts.gov.

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registered, counsel will receive a login and password in

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approximately one (1) week.

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documents on-line.

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knowing the rules governing electronic filing in the Eastern

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District.

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Court’s web site.

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Once

Counsel must be registered to file

See L.R. 135(g).

Counsel are responsible for

Please review the Court’s Local Rules available on the

Effect of this Order:
The foregoing Order represents the best estimate of the

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Court and counsel as to the agenda most suitable to bring this case

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to resolution.

The trial date reserved is specifically reserved
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for this case.

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schedule outlined in this Order cannot be met, counsel are ORDERED

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to notify the Court immediately so that adjustments may be made,

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either by stipulation or by subsequent status conference.

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If the parties determine at any time that the

Stipulations extending the deadlines contained herein

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will not be considered unless accompanied by affidavits or

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declarations and, where appropriate, attached exhibits which

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establish good cause for granting the relief requested.

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THEREFORE, FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THIS ORDER SHALL RESULT
IN THE IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated:
icido3

August 17, 2012

/s/ Sandra M. Snyder
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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