Williams v. Cate, et al.

Filing 104

ORDER VACATING Trial Date; Trial Confirmation Date and all Deadlines Set Forth in the Third Scheduling Order; ORDER GRANTING 102 , 103 Motion to Amend Discovery and Scheduling Order signed by Magistrate Judge Jennifer L. Thurston on 1/12/2012. (Sant Agata, S)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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ALLEN B. WILLIAMS,

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Plaintiff,

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v.
MATTHEW CATE, et al.,

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Defendant.

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CASE NO. 1:09-cv-00468 LJO JLT PC
ORDER VACATING TRIAL DATE; TRIAL
CONFIRMATION DATE AND ALL
DEADLINES SET FORTH IN THE THIRD
SCHEDULING ORDER;
ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO AMEND
DISCOVERY AND SCHEDULING ORDER
(Docs. 102, 103)

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I.

Procedural History

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Plaintiff Allen B. Williams (“Plaintiff”) is a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma

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pauperis in this civil rights action pursuant to 4 2 U.S.C. § 1983. On December 29, 2011, the Court

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issued its Third Scheduling Order. (Doc. 99) Despite that this matter has been pending for nearly

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three years, Plaintiff now moves for an order amending the Third Scheduling Order and continuing

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the trial date, to allow identification and location of key witnesses and other pretrial preparation.

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(Doc. 103) Likewise, Defendants request that the trial date be vacated to allow the filing of a

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dispositive motion1 and because Defendant Bradley has been deployed to Afghanistan on a year-

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long contract. (Doc. 102) Plaintiff reports that he has spoken with defendants counsel about

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Defendants' request to continue the trial date and Plaintiff concurs with this request. (Doc. 103 at 2)

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ORDER

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In light of Defendant Bradley's military deployment, the Court ORDERS:

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1.

The trial date, currently set on March 6, 2012 is VACATED;

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2.

The trial confirmation hearing, currently set on February 3, 2012 is VACATED;

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3.

All deadlines set forth in the Third Scheduling Order are VACATED;

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4.

Defendants' request to amend the Discovery and Scheduling Order is GRANTED.

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Any dispositive motion SHALL be filed no later than February 24, 2012;
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Defendants SHALL file a status report related to Defendant Bradley's military

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service, including such details as when he is expected to return from his military

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duty and whatever other information is pertinent within 30 days of service of this

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order.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: January 12, 2012
9j7khi

/s/ Jennifer L. Thurston
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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Though the motion concludes that good cause has been shown to modify the scheduling order to allow the
late filing of a dispositive motion, this conclusion is supported by the mere fact that the currently assigned attorney
has realized that the previously assigned attorney had not filed such a motion. This is not good cause as, clearly, this
failure is nothing short of a failure to exercise due diligence. Johnson v. Mammoth recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604,
609 (9th Cir. 1992). However, because the Court cannot proceed while Defendant Bradley is on active military duty,
the Court will permit a short amount of time to file a dispositive motion.

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