Neufeld, Jr. v. Winco Holdings, Inc.

Filing 29

Joint Motion to Continue Expert Discovery Cutoff and Pretrial and Trial Deadlines; ORDER, signed by District Judge Dale A. Drozd on 2/29/2016. (The Court hereby orders: (a) the deadline for the parties is continued to complete expert discovery to J une 16, 2016. (b) the trial date is continued from June 28, 2016, to September 27, 2016, at 8:30am. (c) the deadline to file the joint pretrial statement is continued to July 25, 2016. (d) the pretrial conference is reset to August 1, 2016, at 1:30 pm. (e) the deadline to submit trial briefs is continued to September 13, 2016.) (Gaumnitz, R)

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SEYFARTH SHAW LLP
Kristina M. Launey (SBN 221335)
[e-mail]
Michael W. Kopp (SBN 206385)
[e-mail]
400 Capitol Mall, Suite 2350
Sacramento, California 95814-4428
Telephone:
[phone]
Facsimile:
[phone]
Attorneys for Defendant
WINCO HOLDINGS, INC., sued herein as “WinCo
Holdings, Inc. dba WinCo Foods”
LAW OFFICES OF MICHELLE IARUSSO
Michelle Iarusso (SBN 280483)
[e-mail]
Nicholas Dagher (SBN 275776)
64 N. Fair Oaks Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91103
Sacramento, California 95814-4428
Telephone:
[phone]
Facsimile:
[phone]
Attorneys for Plaintiff
Jerry W. Neufeld, Jr.

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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JERRY W. NEUFELD, JR., an individual,

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Case No.: 1:14-CV-01505-DAD-JLT

Plaintiff,

JOINT MOTION TO CONTINUE EXPERT
DISCOVERY CUTOFF AND PRETRIAL
AND TRIAL DEADLINES; ORDER

v.

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WINCO HOLDINGS, INC. dba WINCO FOODS,
an Idaho corporation; and DOES 1 to 100,
inclusive,

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Defendants.

Trial Date: June 28, 2016
Complaint Filed: July 28, 2014

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TO THE HONORABLE JUDGE DROZD:

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WinCo Holdings, Inc. (“Defendant”) and Jerry W. Neufeld (“Plaintiff”) through their counsel of

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record jointly move for (1) a continuance of the expert discovery deadline, and (2) a continuance of the

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current trial and pretrial filing deadlines, pending the outcome of WinCo’s pending motion for summary

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judgment.

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The parties requested and the Court previously granted extensions of the expert, pre-trial, and

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trial deadlines by order dated December 22, 2015 (Dkt. No. 23), in order to allow the Court to rule first

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on WinCo’s pending Motion for Summary Judgment, before requiring potentially unnecessary expert

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discovery and pre-trial filings. See id. at pp. 2-4. WinCo’s Motion for Summary Judgment remains

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pending, and the same concerns of judicial economy and avoidance of potentially unnecessary litigation

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weigh in favor of allowing the Court to rule first on the summary judgment motion, prior to requiring

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further expert discovery and pretrial filings.

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Consistent with the parties’ prior stipulation and this Court’s prior order, the parties accordingly

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seek an extension of the expert, pretrial and trial deadlines, pending the Court’s ruling on WinCo’s

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pending motion for summary judgment. In support of this Motion, the parties provide the following

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procedural background:

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1.

This matter was removed to the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California on

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September 25, 2014. This Court issued a scheduling order on February 20, 2015, following the

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February 19, 2015 status conference.

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2.

The parties promptly complied with this initial scheduling order, including completing all

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non-expert discovery by September 18, 2015. In addition, Defendant timely filed its “Motion for

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Summary Judgment or, In the Alternative, Motion for Summary Adjudication” on October 21, 2015, in

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compliance with the original scheduling order.

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3.

WinCo’s Motion for Summary Judgment was noticed for hearing for December 4, 2015,

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in advance of the original expert discovery cutoff and pretrial filing deadlines. WinCo’s motion for

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summary judgment is potentially dispositive of all of Plaintiff’s claims. Plaintiff filed his Opposition on

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November 20, 2015, and WinCo filed its Reply on November 25, 2015.

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4.

By order dated December 1, 2015 (Dkt. No. 21), the Court reset the hearing on

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Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment for January 15, 2016, which would have occurred after the

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original expert discovery cutoff.

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5.

In order to avoid burdening the Court and the parties with the potentially unnecessary

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expense and burden of (1) expert discovery motion practice, (2) the depositions of Plaintiff’s retained

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and non-retained experts, and (3) extensive pretrial filings, on December 14, 2015, the parties filed a

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joint motion to extend the expert and pre-trial deadlines by approximately 2 1/2 months, from December

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26, 2015, to March 15, 2016, to allow for a ruling on the Motion for Summary Judgment. (Dkt. No. 22.).

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6.

By order dated December 22, 2015 (Dkt. No. 23), the Court granted the parties’

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stipulation, which extended the expert and pretrial deadlines to allow the Court to rule first on WinCo’s

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pending Motion for Summary Judgment. Id.

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7.

WinCo’s Motion for Summary Judgment was argued before Judge Mueller on January

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15, 2016, and remains pending with the Court. The action was reassigned from Judge Mueller to Judge

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Drozd on February 18, 2016. (Dkt. No. 26.) Because the Motion for Summary Judgment remains

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pending before the Court, the same concerns of judicial economy and avoiding potentially unnecessary

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expert discovery and pretrial filings apply. The parties wish to avoid those expenses and filings pending

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the outcome of WinCo’s Motion for Summary Judgment.

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8.

The Parties have met and conferred and have agreed to request that this Court (1) extend

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the expert discovery cutoff deadline from March 15, 2016 to June 16, 2016; and (2) reset the current

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trial date to a date of the Court’s convenience in September or October 2016, with a corresponding

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adjustment of all pretrial deadlines (including the joint pretrial statement deadline, pretrial conference

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date, and the trial brief deadline).

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9.

Only one prior scheduling extension was sought in this matter as to any scheduling

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deadline (discussed at para. 5 above), and the proposed three-month extensions on the current expert

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discovery and trial and pretrial deadlines are sought in good faith and for purpose of judicial economy,

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pending the outcome of WinCo’s Motion for Summary Judgement.

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IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.

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DATED: February 26, 2016

Respectfully submitted,
SEYFARTH SHAW LLP

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By: /s/ Michael W. Kopp
Kristina M. Launey
Michael W. Kopp

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Attorneys for Defendant
WINCO HOLDINGS, INC.

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DATED: February 26, 2016

LAW OFFICES OF MICHELLE IARUSSO

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By: /s/ Michelle Iarusso
Michelle Iarusso

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Attorneys for Plaintiff
JERRY NEUFELD

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Attorney for Plaintiff agreed with the contents of
this document and authorized the filer to use her
electronic signature

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The Court hereby orders:

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(a) the deadline for the parties is continued to complete expert discovery to June 16, 2016.

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(b) the trial date is continued from June 28, 2016, to September 27, 2016, at 8:30am.

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(c) the deadline to file the joint pretrial statement is continued to July 25, 2016.

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(d) the pretrial conference is reset to August 1, 2016, at 1:30 pm.

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(e) the deadline to submit trial briefs is continued to September 13, 2016.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

February 29, 2016
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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