Kobi et al v. United States of America

Filing 21

STIPULATION and ORDER to Modify Scheduling Order, signed by District Judge Dale A. Drozd on 8/12/2016. (Gaumnitz, R)

1 WALKUP, MELODIA, KELLY & SCHOENBERGER
MATTHEW D. DAVIS (State Bar #141986)
2 [e-mail]
JUSTIN CHOU (State Bar #279137)
3 [e-mail]
650 California Street, 26th Floor
4 San Francisco, CA 94108-2615
Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone]
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Attorneys for Plaintiffs
6 CLAUDINE YVETTE KOBI
ALEXANDRE ROBERT KOBI
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8 PHILLIP A. TALBERT
Acting United States Attorney
9 JOSEPH B. FRUEH
Assistant United States Attorney
10 501 I Street, Suite 10-100
Sacramento, CA 95814
11 Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]
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Attorneys for Defendant
13 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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CLAUDINE YVETTE KOBI, et vir,

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Plaintiffs,

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Case No. 1:15-cv-00478-DAD-BAM
STIPULATION TO MODIFY SCHEDULING
ORDER

v.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

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Defendant.

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STIPULATION TO MODIFY SCHEDULING ORDER

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IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED by and between Plaintiffs Claudine Yvette Kobi and Alexandre

26 Robert Kobi and Defendant United States of America, through their undersigned counsel and subject to
27 Court approval, that the Scheduling Order in the above-captioned case (see ECF Nos. 13, 16, 19) be
28 modified as follows:

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1.

All fact discovery, with the exception of the depositions of Plaintiffs Claudine Yvette

2 Kobi and Alexandre Robert Kobi and any examination pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 35
3 (to the extent such examinations may be deemed “fact discovery”) shall be completed no later than
4 September 20, 2016.
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2.

Defendant shall file a motion for summary judgment no later than September 20, 2016.

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3.

The depositions of Plaintiff Claudine Yvette Kobi and Alexandre Robert Kobi and any

7 examination conducted pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 35 shall be completed no later than
8 November 22, 2016.
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4.

The deadline for serving initial expert disclosures shall be January 23, 2017.

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5.

The deadline for serving rebuttal expert disclosures shall be April 24, 2017.

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6.

The date of the settlement conference, May 2, 2016, shall remain unchanged.

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7.

The date of the pretrial conference, July 17, 2017, shall remain unchanged.

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8.

The date of the trial, September 12, 2017, shall remain unchanged.

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The reasons for this Stipulation are as follows:

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A.

Plaintiffs Claudine and Alexandre Kobi are married persons who are citizens and

16 residents of Novalles, Switzerland. They filed this action on March 26, 2015, alleging claims of
17 negligence and loss of consortium against the United States pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act,
18 8 U.S.C. §§ 1346(b), 2671–80. Their claims arise from the injuries that Ms. Kobi sustained when she
19 was struck by an 85-foot tree limb at Yosemite National Park in May 2013.
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B.

The parties are nearing completion of fact discovery related to liability and believe that a

21 motion for summary judgment should be filed no later than September 20, 2016, to further the just,
22 expedient, and cost-effective resolution of this action.
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C.

Ms. Kobi’s injuries and the ensuing economic and non-economic damages alleged

24 require not only the expertise of medical and other retained professionals, but also the collection, review,
25 and analysis of voluminous records maintained in Switzerland. Such records are predominantly written
26 in the French language, and some records are in German.
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D.

In addition, the Kobis currently reside in Switzerland and speak only French, and

28 according to their counsel, Ms. Kobi is unable to travel to the United States for deposition or a Rule 35
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1 medical examination because of her current medical conditions.
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E.

In light of the foregoing, the parties believe that the Scheduling Order in this case should

3 be modified to provide additional time for (1) the taking of Plaintiffs’ depositions and any Rule 35
4 examination, either by way of international travel to Switzerland or other acceptable and mutually
5 agreeable means; and (2) the preparation and exchange of expert reports.
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F.

This scheduling modification will not affect the dates established for the pretrial

7 conference or trial in this matter.
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G.

The parties have not previously sought modification of the Scheduling Order.

9 Dated: August 11, 2016
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WALKUP, MELODIA, KELLY & SCHOENBERGER
By:

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/s/
Matthew D. Davis
MATTHEW D. DAVIS
JUSTIN CHOU

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Attorneys for Plaintiffs

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14 Dated: August 11, 2016

PHILLIP A. TALBERT
Acting United States Attorney

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By:

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/s/
Joseph B. Frueh
JOSEPH B. FRUEH
Assistant United States Attorney
Attorneys for Defendant
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

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ORDER
For the reasons set forth above, the Court adopts the parties’ proposed schedule.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

24 Dated:

August 12, 2016
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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