Care Plus Insurance Marketing et al v. Connecticut General Life Insurance Company aka CIGNA et al

Filing 24

AMENDED SCHEDULING ORDER (Initial Disclosures: 3/31/2011; Expert Disclosures: Plaintiff's Initial: 10/14/2011, Defendant's Initial: 10/28/2011, Plaintiff's Rebuttal: 11/14/2011; Discovery Cut Off: 12/13/2011; Non-Dispositive Motion Deadlines: 12/13/2011; Dispositive Motion Deadlines: Filing: 1/10/2012, Hearing: 2/24/2012; Pre-Trial Conference: 3/23/2012 at 9:30 a.m. in Courtroom 6 (MJS); Trial: 4/17/2012 at 9:00 a.m. in Yosemite Courtroom) signed by Magistrate Judge Michael J. Seng on 6/13/2011. (Yu, L)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17

)
CARE PLUS INSURANCE MARKETING,)
)
)
Plaintiff,
)
)
v.
)
)
)
CONNECT I CU T G E NERAL LIFE)
INSURANCE COMPANY,
)
)
)
Defendant.
)
)
_________________________________

Case No. 1:10-cv-1836-MJS
AMENDED SCHEDULING ORDER (Fed.
R. Civ. P. 16)
Discovery Deadlines:
Initial Disclosures: 3/31/2011
Expert Disclosures:
Plaintiff’s Initial: 10/14/2011
Defendant’s Initial: 10/28/2011
Plaintiff’s Rebuttal: 11/14/2011
Discovery Cut Off: 12/13/2011
Non-Dispositive Motion Deadlines:
Filing: 12/13/2011

18
19

Dispositive Motion Deadlines:
Filing: 1/10/2012
Hearing: 2/24/2012

20
21

Pre-Trial Conference:
3/23/2012 at 9:30 a.m.
Courtroom 6 (MJS)

22
23

Trial: 4/17/2012 at 9:00 a.m.
Yosemite Courtroom
7 days

24
25
26
27
28

1

1

I.

4/20/2011.

2
3

Date of Scheduling Conference

II.

Appearances of Counsel

4

Mitchell Taylor appeared on behalf of Plaintiff.

5

Benjamin Turner appeared on behalf of Defendant.

6

III.

7

At the Scheduling Conference, the parties represented that initial disclosures had

8
9
10

Discovery Plan and Cut-Off Date

been exchanged.
The parties are ordered to complete all discovery pertaining to non-experts and
experts on or before 12/13/2011.

11

The parties are directed to disclose all expert witnesses, in writing, as follows;

12

Plaintiffs initial disclosure on or before 10/14/2011; Defendant’s to disclose on or before

13

10/28/2011; Plaintiff’s rebuttal experts shall be disclosed on or before 11/14/2011. The

14

written designation of experts shall be made pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. Rule 26(a)(2)(A)

15

and (B) and shall include all information required thereunder. Failure to designate experts

16

in compliance with this Order may result in the Court excluding the testimony or other

17

evidence offered through experts that are not disclosed pursuant to this Order.

18

The provisions of Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(4) and (5) shall apply to all discovery relating

19

to experts and their opinions. Experts must be fully prepared to be examined on all

20

subjects and opinions included in the designation. Failure to comply will result in the

21

imposition of sanctions, which may include striking the expert designation and preclusion

22

of expert testimony.

23
24

The provisions of Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(e) regarding a party’s duty to timely supplement
disclosures and responses to discovery requests will be strictly enforced.

25
26
27
28

2

1

IV.

Pre-Trial Motion Schedule

2

All non-dispositive pre-trial motions, including any discovery motions, shall be filed

3

no later than 12/13/2011. Non-dispositive motions are heard on the second and fourth

4

Fridays of each month at 9:30 a.m., before the Honorable Michael J. Seng, United States

5

Magistrate Judge, in Courtroom 6 of the Fresno Courthouse. Counsel should consult

6

Magistrate Judge Seng’s ?Court Information” and ?Standing Order on Civil Discovery

7

Disputes” both available on the Yosemite Division’s page of the Court’s website. Motions

8

that do not comply with the procedures outlined therein will be denied without prejudice and

9

dropped from the calendar.

10

Counsel may appear and argue non-dispositive motions by telephone if a written

11

request to so appear is made to the Magistrate Judge’s Courtroom Clerk no later than five

12

(5) court days before the noticed hearing date. Parties shall contact Court Call to set up

13

telephonic appearances.

14

All Dispositive Pre-Trial Motions shall be filed no later than 1/10/2012 and heard no

15

later than 2/24/2012, in Courtroom 6 of the Fresno Courthouse before the Honorable

16

Michael J. Seng, United States Magistrate Judge. In scheduling such motions, counsel

17

shall comply with Fed. R. Civ. P. 56 and Local Rules 230 and 260.

18

Motions for Summary Judgment or Summary Adjudication

19

Prior to filing a motion for summary judgment or motion for summary adjudication

20

the parties are ORDERED to meet, in person or by telephone, and confer to discuss the

21

issues to be raised in the motion.

22

The purpose of the meeting shall be to: 1) avoid filing motions for summary

23

judgment where a question of fact exists; 2) determine whether the respondent agrees that

24

the motion has merit in whole or in part; 3) discuss whether issues can be resolved without

25

the necessity of briefing; 4) narrow the issues for review by the Court; 5) explore the

26

possibility of settlement before the parties incur the expense of briefing a summary

27
28

3

1

judgment motion; and 6) to arrive at a joint statement of undisputed facts.

2

The moving party shall initiate the meeting and provide a draft of the joint statement

3

of undisputed facts. In addition to the requirements of Local Rule 260, the moving party

4

shall file a joint statement of undisputed facts.

5

In the notice of motion, the moving party shall certify that the parties have met and

6

conferred as ordered above or set forth a statement of good cause for the failure to meet

7

and confer.

8

V.

9

A pre-trial conference shall be held on 3/23/2012 at 9:30 a.m. in Courtroom 6 before

10

Pre-Trial Conference Date

Magistrate Judge Seng.

11

The parties are ordered to file a Joint Pretrial Statement pursuant to Local Rule

12

281(a)(2). The parties are further directed to submit a digital copy of their pretrial

13

statement in Word Perfect X41 format, directly to Judge Seng’s chambers by email at

14

[e-mail].

15

Counsels’ attention is directed to Rules 281 and 282 of the Local Rules of Practice

16

for the Eastern District of California, as to the obligations of counsel in preparing for the

17

pre-trial conference. The Court will insist upon strict compliance with those rules.

18

VI.

Trial Date

19

Trial of this matter shall commence on 4/17/2012 at 9:00 a.m. in the courtroom at

20

the Yosemite courthouse before the Honorable Michael J. Seng, United States Magistrate

21

Judge. The following apply:

22

A.

This is a Court trial.

23

B.

Counsels’ Estimate of Trial Time: 7 days.

24

C.

Counsel’s attention is directed to Local Rules of Practice for the

25
1

27

If W ordPerfect X4 is not available to the parties then the latest version of W ordPerfect available
to the parties or any other word processing program in general use for IBM com patible personal
com puters is acceptable.

28

4

26

Eastern District of California, Rule 285.

1
2

VII.

Settlement Conference

3

A Settlement Conference will be scheduled if all parties so request. In making the

4

request, the parties are to notify the Court as to whether they want the undersigned or

5

another judicial officer to conduct the settlement conference. If the undersigned is

6

selected, the parties are to comply with the following:

7

Unless otherwise permitted in advance by the Court, the attorneys who will

8

try the case shall appear at the Settlement Conference with the parties and the person or

9

persons having full authority to negotiate and settle the case on any terms2 at the

10

conference.
CONFIDENTIAL SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE STATEMENT

11
12

At least five (5) court days prior to the Settlement Conference the parties shall

13

submit, directly to Judge Seng’s chambers by e-mail to [e-mail],

14

a Confidential Settlement Conference Statement. The statement should not be filed with

15

the Clerk of the Court and need not be served on any other party unless the parties agree

16

otherwise. The parties may file a Notice of Lodging of Settlement Conference Statement.

17

Each statement shall be clearly marked “confidential” with the date and time of the

18

Settlement Conference indicated prominently thereon.

19

The Confidential Settlement Conference Statement shall include the following:

20

A.

A brief statement of the facts of the case.

21

B.

A brief statement of the claims, defenses, and major issues in dispute AND

22

a forthright evaluation of the parties’ likelihood of prevailing on the claims,

23

defenses, and disputed issues.

24
2

25
26
27
28

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.

5

1

C.

A summary of the proceedings to date.

2

D.

An estimate of the cost and time to be incurred in completing discovery,
pretrial matters, and trial.

3
4

E.

The relief sought.

5

F.

A genuine statement of the party’s position on settlement.

6

Each parties’ settlement conference statement may be as lengthy as the party

7

reasonably deems necessary to provide the information requested by the Court. However,

8

any settlement conference statement that exceeds six (6) double spaced pages, MUST be

9

accompanied by a summary or outline of same not to exceed three (3) double spaced

10
11

pages.
VIII.

Request for Bifurcation, Appointment of Special Master, or other
Techniques to Shorten Trial

12
13

Not applicable at this time.

14

IX.

15

There are no pending related matters.

16

X.

17

All counsel are expected to familiarize themselves with the Federal Rules of Civil

18

Procedure and the Local Rules of Practice of the Eastern District of California and to keep

19

abreast of any amendments thereto. Given its overwhelming and increasing caseload, the

20

Court must insist upon compliance with these Rules. Sanctions will be imposed for failure

21

to follow the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Local Rules of Practice for the

22

Eastern District of California.

Related Matters Pending

Compliance with Federal Procedure

23
24

XI.

Effect of this Order

25

The foregoing order represents the best estimate of the Court and counsel as to the

26

agenda most suitable to dispose of this case. The trial date reserved is specifically

27
28

6

1

reserved for this case. If the parties determine at any time that the schedule outlined in

2

this Order cannot be met, counsel are ordered to notify the court immediately so that

3

adjustments may be made either by stipulation or by subsequent status conference.

4

Stipulations extending the deadlines contained herein will not be considered unless

5

they are accompanied by affidavits or declarations and, where appropriate, attached

6

exhibits that establish good cause for granting the relief requested.
Failure to comply with this Order may result in the imposition of sanctions.

7
8
9
10
11

IT IS SO ORDERED.

12

Dated:
ci4d6

June 13, 2011

Michael J. Seng

/s/
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28

7