Puckett v. Brandon
Filing
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ORDER Denying Plaintiff's Motion To Extend The Discovery Deadline (ECF No. 43 ), signed by Magistrate Judge Stanley A. Boone on 3/31/2016. (Fahrney, E)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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DURRELL A. PUCKETT,
Plaintiff,
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v.
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K. BRANDON,
Defendant.
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Case No.: 1:14-cv-00290-AWI-SAB (PC)
ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO
EXTEND THE DISCOVERY DEADLINE
[ECF No. 43]
Plaintiff Durrell A. Puckett is appearing pro se and in forma pauperis in this civil rights action
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pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
Currently before the Court is Plaintiff’s motion to extend the discovery deadline, filed March
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22, 2016. Because Plaintiff has failed to meet his burden in demonstrating good cause, the Court
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elects to rule on the motion prior to the expiration period to file a response pursuant to Local Rule
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230(l).
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I.
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DISCUSSION
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Under Rule 16 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a discovery and scheduling order
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controls the course of litigation unless the Court subsequently alters the original order. Fed R. Civ. P.
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16(d). Modification of a scheduling order requires a showing of good cause, Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b),
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and good cause requires a showing of due diligence, Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d
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604, 609 (9th Cir. 1992). To establish good cause, the party seeking the modification of a scheduling
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order must generally show that even with the exercise of due diligence, they cannot meet the
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requirement of that order. Id. The court may also consider the prejudice to the party opposing the
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modification. Id. If the party seeking to amend the scheduling order fails to show due diligence the
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inquiry should end and the court should not grant the motion to modify. Zivkovic v. Southern
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California Edison, Co., 302 F.3d 1080, 1087 (9th Cir. 2002). A party may obtain relief from the
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court’s deadline date for discovery by demonstrating good cause for allowing further discovery. Fed.
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R. Civ. P. 16(b)(4).
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“Good cause may be found to exist where the moving party shows that it diligently assisted
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the court with creating a workable scheduling order, that it is unable to comply with the scheduling
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order’s deadlines due to matters that could not have reasonably bee foreseen at the time of the issuance
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of the scheduling order, and that it was diligent in seeking an amendment once it became apparent that
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the party could not comply with the scheduling order.” Kuschner Nationwide Credit, Inc., 256 F.R.D.
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684, 687 (E.D. Cal. 2009).
Pursuant to the Court’s September 5, 2014, discovery and scheduling order, the deadline for
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completion of all discovery expired on May 5, 2015. (ECF No. 13.)
Now nearly ten months after the expiration of the deadline, Plaintiff seeks additional time to
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conduct discovery with Defendant in order to obtain information and/or documentation relating to
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inmate witnesses for purposes of trial. However, Plaintiff offers no evidence as to any effort to obtain
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discovery related to inmate witnesses testimony to present at trial. Plaintiff makes no showing that he
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previously tried to obtain documents and/or information from Defendants through discovery. A party
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seeking further discovery is required to demonstrate due diligence to support a finding of good cause.
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Because Plaintiff has not shown due diligence with respect to conducting discovery, the Court will not
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extend the discovery deadline to allow Plaintiff further time to conduct discovery. Thus, Plaintiff’s
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motion to extend the discovery deadline must be denied.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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Dated:
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March 31, 2016
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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