Stonum v. County of Kern et al

Filing 43

SCHEDULING ORDER, signed by Magistrate Judge Jennifer L. Thurston on 7/14/2017. Consent/Decline due within 10 days. Pleading Amendment Deadline 10/9/2017. Discovery Deadlines: Initial Disclosures 8/7/2017; Non-Expert 1/19/2018; Expert 2/5/2018. M id-Discovery Status Conference set for 12/11/2017 at 08:45 AM in Bakersfield, 510 19th Street before Magistrate Judge Jennifer L. Thurston. Non-Dispositive Motion Deadlines: Filed by 2/20/2018; Hearing by 3/20/2018. Dispositive Motion Deadlines: Fi led by 4/3/2018; Hearing by 5/15/2018. Settlement Conference set for 6/22/2018 at 09:00 AM in Bakersfield, 510 19th Street before Magistrate Judge Jennifer L. Thurston. Pretrial Conference set for 7/23/2018 at 01:30 PM in Courtroom 5 (DAD) before District Judge Dale A. Drozd. Jury Trial set for 9/18/2018 at 01:00 PM in Courtroom 5 (DAD) before District Judge Dale A. Drozd. (Hall, S)

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 8 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 9 10 DWAYNE STONUM, Plaintiff, 11 12 13 14 15 v. COUNTY OF KERN, Defendants. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) 1: 16-CV-01076 - DAD - JLT SCHEDULING ORDER (Fed. R. Civ. P. 16) Pleading Amendment Deadline: 10/9/2017 Discovery Deadlines: Initial Disclosures: 8/7/2017 Non-Expert: 1/19/2018 Expert: 2/5/2018 Mid-Discovery Status Conference: 12/11/2017 at 8:45 a.m. 16 17 Non-Dispositive Motion Deadlines: Filing: 2/20/2018 Hearing: 3/20/2018 18 19 Dispositive Motion Deadlines: Filing: 4/3/2018 Hearing: 5/15/2018 20 21 22 Settlement Conference: 6/22/2018 at 9:00 a.m. 510 19th Street, Bakersfield, CA 23 24 26 Pre-Trial Conference: 7/23/2018 at 1:30 p.m. Courtroom 5 27 Trial: 25 28 1 9/18/2018 at 1:00 p.m. Courtroom 5 Jury trial1: 4-6 days 1 2 3 I. 4 5 Date of Scheduling Conference July 14, 2017. II. Appearances of Counsel 6 Plaintiff Dywane Stonum appeared in pro per. 7 James Brannen appeared on behalf of Defendant. 8 III. 9 Magistrate Judge Consent: Notice of Congested Docket and Court Policy of Trailing 10 Due to the District Judges’ heavy caseload, the newly adopted policy of the Fresno Division of 11 the Eastern District is to trail all civil cases. The parties are hereby notified that for a trial date set 12 before a District Judge, the parties will trail indefinitely behind any higher priority criminal or older 13 civil case set on the same date until a courtroom becomes available. The trial date will not be reset to a 14 continued date. 15 The Magistrate Judges’ availability is far more realistic and accommodating to parties than that 16 of the U.S. District Judges who carry the heaviest caseloads in the nation and who must prioritize 17 criminal and older civil cases over more recently filed civil cases. A United States Magistrate Judge 18 may conduct trials, including entry of final judgment, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c), Federal Rule of 19 Civil Procedure 73, and Local Rule 305. Any appeal from a judgment entered by a United States 20 Magistrate Judge is taken directly to the United States Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit. 21 The Fresno Division of the Eastern District of California, whenever possible, is utilizing United 22 States Article III District Court Judges from throughout the nation as Visiting Judges. Pursuant to the 23 Local Rules, Appendix A, such reassignments will be random, and the parties will receive no advance 24 notice before their case is reassigned to an Article III District Court Judge from outside of the Eastern 25 District of California. 26 The defendants have consented to magistrate judge consent. (Doc. 16) Therefore, the plaintiff 27 28 1 The plaintiff notified the Court he wishes to waive his right to a jury trial. Thus, the Court accepts his jury waiver. 2 1 is directed to consider consenting to Magistrate Judge jurisdiction to conduct all further proceedings, 2 including trial. Within 10 days of the date of this order, he SHALL file a consent/decline form 3 (provided by the Court at the inception of this case) indicating whether he will consent to the 4 jurisdiction of the Magistrate Judge. 5 IV. Pleading Amendment Deadline Any requested pleading amendments are ordered to be filed, either through a stipulation or 6 7 motion to amend, no later than October 9, 2017. Any motion to amend the pleadings shall be heard by 8 the Honorable Dale A. Drozd, United States District Court Judge. 9 V. 10 11 12 13 14 Discovery Plan and Cut-Off Date The parties are ordered to exchange the initial disclosures required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1) on or before July 31, 2017. The parties are ordered to complete all discovery pertaining to non-experts on or before January 19, 2018, and all discovery pertaining to experts on or before February 5, 2018. The parties are directed to disclose all expert witnesses2, in writing, on or before December 11, 15 2017, and to disclose all rebuttal experts on or before January 8, 2018. The written designation of 16 retained and non-retained experts shall be made pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. Rule 26(a)(2), (A), (B), 17 and (C) and shall include all information required thereunder. Failure to designate experts in 18 compliance with this order may result in the Court excluding the testimony or other evidence offered 19 through such experts that are not disclosed pursuant to this order. 20 The provisions of Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(4) and (5) shall apply to all discovery relating to experts 21 and their opinions. Experts must be fully prepared to be examined on all subjects and opinions 22 included in the designation. Failure to comply will result in the imposition of sanctions, which may 23 include striking the expert designation and preclusion of expert testimony. 24 25 26 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. A mid-discovery status conference is scheduled for December 11, 2017 at 8:45 a.m. before the 27 28 2 In the event an expert will offer opinions related to an independent medical or mental health evaluation, the examination SHALL occur sufficiently in advance of the disclosure deadline so the expert’s report fully details the expert’s opinions in this regard. 3 1 Honorable Jennifer L. Thurston, U.S. Magistrate Judge, located at 510 19th Street, Bakersfield, 2 California. Counsel SHALL file a joint mid-discovery status conference report one week before the 3 conference. Counsel also SHALL lodge the status report via e-mail to JLTorders@caed.uscourts.gov. 4 The joint statement SHALL outline the discovery counsel have completed and that which needs to be 5 completed as well as any impediments to completing the discovery within the deadlines set forth in this 6 order. Counsel may appear via teleconference by dialing (888) 557-8511 and entering Access Code 7 1652736, provided the Magistrate Judge's Courtroom Deputy Clerk receives a written notice of the 8 intent to appear telephonically no later than five court days before the noticed hearing date. 9 VI. 10 Pre-Trial Motion Schedule All non-dispositive pre-trial motions, including any discovery motions, shall be filed no later 11 than February 20, 2018, and heard on or before March 20, 2018. Discovery motions are heard before 12 the Honorable Jennifer L. Thurston, United States Magistrate Judge at the United States Courthouse in 13 Bakersfield, California. For these hearings, counsel may appear via teleconference by dialing (888) 14 557-8511 and entering Access Code 1652736, provided the Magistrate Judge's Courtroom Deputy 15 Clerk receives a written notice of the intent to appear telephonically no later than five court days before 16 the noticed hearing date. All other non-dispositive hearings SHALL be set before Judge Drozd. 17 No motion to amend or stipulation to amend the case schedule will be entertained unless it 18 is filed at least one week before the first deadline the parties wish to extend. Likewise, no written 19 discovery motions shall be filed without the prior approval of the assigned Magistrate Judge. A party 20 with a discovery dispute must first confer with the opposing party in a good faith effort to resolve by 21 agreement the issues in dispute. If that good faith effort is unsuccessful, the moving party promptly 22 shall seek a telephonic hearing with all involved parties and the Magistrate Judge. It shall be the 23 obligation of the moving party to arrange and originate the conference call to the court. To schedule 24 this telephonic hearing, the parties are ordered to contact the Courtroom Deputy Clerk, Susan Hall, at 25 (661) 326-6620 or via email at SHall@caed.uscourts.gov. Counsel must comply with Local Rule 251 26 with respect to discovery disputes or the motion will be denied without prejudice and dropped 27 from the Court’s calendar. 28 All dispositive pre-trial motions shall be filed no later than April 3, 2018 and heard no later 4 1 than May 15, 2018, in Courtroom 5 before the Honorable Dale A. Drozd, United States District Court 2 Judge. In scheduling such motions, counsel shall comply with Fed. R. Civ. P. 56 and Local Rules 3 230 and 260. 4 VII. Motions for Summary Judgment or Summary Adjudication 5 At least 21 days before filing a motion for summary judgment or motion for summary 6 adjudication, the parties are ORDERED to meet, in person or by telephone, to confer about the issues 7 to be raised in the motion. 8 The purpose of the meeting shall be to: 1) avoid filing motions for summary judgment where a 9 question of fact exists; 2) determine whether the respondent agrees that the motion has merit in whole 10 or in part; 3) discuss whether issues can be resolved without the necessity of briefing; 4) narrow the 11 issues for review by the court; 5) explore the possibility of settlement before the parties incur the 12 expense of briefing a motion; and 6) to develop a joint statement of undisputed facts. 13 The moving party SHALL initiate the meeting and SHALL provide a complete, proposed 14 statement of undisputed facts at least five days before the conference. The finalized joint statement of 15 undisputed facts SHALL include all facts that the parties agree, for purposes of the motion, may be 16 deemed true. In addition to the requirements of Local Rule 260, the moving party shall file the joint 17 statement of undisputed facts. 18 In the notice of motion the moving party SHALL certify that the parties have met and conferred 19 as ordered above, or set forth a statement of good cause for the failure to meet and confer. Failure to 20 comply may result in the motion being stricken. 21 VIII. Pre-Trial Conference Date 22 July 23, 2018 at 1:30 p.m. in Courtroom 5 before Judge Drozd. 23 The parties are ordered to file a Joint Pretrial Statement pursuant to Local Rule 281(a)(2). 24 The parties are further directed to submit a digital copy of their pretrial statement in Word format, 25 directly to Judge Drozd's chambers, by email at DADorders@caed.uscourts.gov. 26 Counsels' attention is directed to Rules 281 and 282 of the Local Rules of Practice for the 27 Eastern District of California, as to the obligations of counsel in preparing for the pre-trial conference. 28 The Court will insist upon strict compliance with those rules. In addition to the matters set forth in the 5 1 Local Rules the Joint Pretrial Statement shall include a Joint Statement of the case to be used by the 2 Court to explain the nature of the case to the jury during voir dire. 3 IX. September 18, 2018 at 1:00 p.m. in Courtroom 5 before the Honorable Dale A. Drozd, United 4 5 Trial Date States District Court Judge. 6 A. This is a jury trial. 7 B. Counsels' Estimate of Trial Time: 4-6 days. 8 C. Counsels' attention is directed to Local Rules of Practice for the Eastern District of 9 10 11 California, Rule 285. X. Settlement Conference A Settlement Conference is scheduled June 22, 2018 at 9:00 a.m., located at 510 19th Street, 12 Bakersfield, California. Notwithstanding the provisions of Local Rule 270(b), the settlement 13 conference will be conducted by Magistrate Judge Thurston. The Court deems the deviation from the 14 Local Rule to be appropriate and in the interests of the parties and justice and sound case management 15 based upon the location of the parties. If any party prefers that the settlement conference is 16 conducted by a judicial officer not already assigned to this case, that party is directed to notify 17 the Court at least 60 days in advance of the scheduled settlement conference to allow sufficient 18 time for another judicial officer to be assigned to handle the conference. 19 Unless otherwise permitted in advance by the Court, the attorneys who will try the case shall 20 appear at the Settlement Conference with the parties and the person or persons having full authority 21 to negotiate and settle the case on any terms3 at the conference. Consideration of settlement is a 22 serious matter that requires preparation prior to the settlement conference. Set forth below are the 23 procedures the Court will employ, absent good cause, in conducting the conference. 24 At least 21 before the settlement conference, Plaintiff SHALL submit to Defendant via fax or 25 26 3 27 28 Insurance carriers, business organizations, and governmental bodies or agencies whose settlement agreements are subject to approval by legislative bodies, executive committees, 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 settlement offers or agreements. To the extent possible the representative shall have the authority, if he or she deems it appropriate, to settle the action on terms consistent with the opposing party's most recent demand. 6 1 e-mail, a written itemization of damages and a meaningful4 settlement demand which includes a brief 2 explanation of why such a settlement is appropriate. Thereafter, no later than 14 days before the 3 settlement conference, Defendant SHALL respond, via fax or e-mail, with an acceptance of the offer or 4 with a meaningful counteroffer, which includes a brief explanation of why such a settlement is 5 appropriate. 6 If settlement is not achieved, each party SHALL attach copies of their settlement offers to their 7 Confidential Settlement Conference Statement, as described below. Copies of these documents shall 8 not be filed on the court docket. CONFIDENTIAL SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE STATEMENT 9 10 At least five court days before the Settlement Conference, the parties shall submit, directly to 11 Judge Thurston's chambers by e-mail to JLTorders@caed.uscourts.gov, a Confidential Settlement 12 Conference Statement. The statement should not be filed with the Clerk of the Court nor served on 13 any other party, although the parties may file a Notice of Lodging of Settlement Conference 14 Statement. Each statement shall be clearly marked "confidential" with the date and time of the 15 Settlement Conference indicated prominently thereon. 16 The Confidential Settlement Conference Statement shall include the following: 17 A. A brief statement of the facts of the case. 18 B. A brief statement of the claims and defenses, i.e., statutory or other grounds upon which 19 the claims are founded; a forthright evaluation of the parties' likelihood of prevailing on 20 the claims and defenses; and a description of the major issues in dispute. 21 C. A summary of the proceedings to date. 22 D. An estimate of the cost and time to be expended for further discovery, pretrial and trial. 23 E. The relief sought. 24 F. The party's position on settlement, including present demands and offers and a history of 25 past settlement discussions, offers and demands. 26 27 28 4 “Meaningful” means that the offer is reasonably calculated to settle the case on terms acceptable to the offering party. “Meaningful” does not include an offer which the offering party knows will not be acceptable to the other party. If, however, the offering party is only willing to offer a settlement which it knows the other party will not accept, this should trigger a recognition the case is not in a settlement posture and the parties should confer about continuing or vacating the settlement conference via stipulation. 7 1 XI. Request for Bifurcation, Appointment of Special Master, or other 2 Techniques to Shorten Trial 3 Not applicable at this time. 4 5 6 7 XII. Related Matters Pending There are no pending related matters. XIII. Compliance with Federal Procedure All counsel are expected to familiarize themselves with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 8 and the Local Rules of Practice of the Eastern District of California, and to keep abreast of any 9 amendments thereto. The Court must insist upon compliance with these Rules if it is to efficiently 10 handle its increasing case load and sanctions will be imposed for failure to follow the Rules as provided 11 in both the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Local Rules of Practice for the Eastern District of 12 California. 13 XIV. Effect of this Order 14 The foregoing order represents the best estimate of the court and counsel as to the agenda most 15 suitable to dispose of this case. The trial date reserved is specifically reserved for this case. If the 16 parties determine at any time that the schedule outlined in this order cannot be met, counsel are ordered 17 to notify the court immediately of that fact so that adjustments may be made, either by stipulation or by 18 subsequent status conference. 19 The dates set in this Order are considered to be firm and will not be modified absent a 20 showing of good cause even if the request to modify is made by stipulation. Stipulations 21 extending the deadlines contained herein will not be considered unless they are accompanied by 22 affidavits or declarations, and where appropriate attached exhibits, which establish good cause 23 for granting the relief requested. 24 Failure to comply with this order may result in the imposition of sanctions. 25 26 27 28 IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: July 14, 2017 /s/ Jennifer L. Thurston UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 8

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