Goins et al v. County of Merced et al
Filing
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ORDER on Plaintiffs' 67 Exparte Application, ORDER Vacating Current Dates, and ORDER on Defendant's 63 Motion for Summary Judgment, signed by District Judge Anthony W. Ishii on 9/22/2015. (Gaumnitz, R)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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DIANE GOINS and WESLEY
RENTFROW,
Plaintiffs
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v.
COUNT OF MERCED, et al.,
CASE NO. 1:13-CV-1245 AWI SKO
ORDER ON PLAINTIFFS’ EX PARTE
APPLICATION, ORDER VACATING
CURRENT DATES, and ORDER ON
DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR
SUMMARY JUDGMENT
Defendants
(Doc. Nos. 63, 67)
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Trial in this matter is set for February 23, 2016.
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On August 14, 2015, a consent order was signed by the Court that substitute Plaintiffs’
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former counsel, Mr. William Smith, for current, Ms. Kay Parker.
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On September 21, 2015, Defendants filed a motion for summary judgment. See Doc. No.
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63. Hearing on this motion is set for October 26, 2015.
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Also on September 21, 2015, Plaintiffs filed an ex parte application to continue the
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discovery, dispositive motions, pre-trial, and trial dates. See Doc. No. 67. Plaintiffs’ counsel
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explains in part that: Mr. Smith was essentially medically incapacitated from late June 2015 to his
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death in late July 2015, extensive discovery has occurred but is incomplete, Ms. Parker has been
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asked to take care of Mr. Smith’s cases and clients, Ms. Parker retrieved the paperwork for this
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case in late August 2015, and Ms. Parker requires additional time to familiarize herself with this
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case (and others) in order to prepare for trial, complete discovery, oppose summary judgment, etc.
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See id. Plaintiffs’ counsel requests a 60 day continuance to oppose summary judgment, and a 90
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to 120 day continuance to prepare for trial and address outstanding discovery issues. See id. It
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appears that defense counsel is not amenable to a continuance of any kind. See id.
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After considering Plaintiffs’ application and the reasons surrounding the substitution of
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counsel, as well as the Court’s calendar and trial schedule for February 2016, the Court finds that
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the circumstances of this case warrant granting the application in general, so that Ms. Parker can
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get up to speed with the nature of the case and any pending matters. However, the Court will not
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set any new dates at this time or make specific rulings about any particular outstanding issues.
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Instead, the Court will refer the matter to Magistrate Judge Oberto for entry of a new scheduling
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order. The parties should be prepared to address all discovery, motion practice, and trial related
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issues before Magistrate Judge Oberto.
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Additionally, because a new scheduling order will be entered, the time for opposing
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summary judgment will certainly be affected. Although the 60 days requested by Ms. Parker may
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be a sufficient continuance, the Court instead will deny Defendants’ motion for summary
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judgment without prejudice to re-noticing at a later time.
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ORDER
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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:
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1.
Plaintiffs’ ex parte application to continue (Doc. No. 67) is GRANTED in general;
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2.
All currently set dates and deadlines, including the October 23, 2015 summary judgment
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hearing date and the February 23, 2016 trial date, are VACATED;
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Within ten (10) days of service of this order, the parties are to contact Magistrate Judge
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Oberto for the purpose of setting a new scheduling conference date so that a new
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scheduling order may be entered; and
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4.
Defendants’ motion for summary judgment (Doc. No. 63) is DENIED without prejudice to
re-noticing, in compliance with the dates that will be set in the new scheduling order.1
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: September 22, 2015
SENIOR DISTRICT JUDGE
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The Court emphasizes that this is an administrative denial only, and it does not reflect on the merits in any way.
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