Harvey v. Global Technical Services, LLC

Filing 8

SCHEDULING ORDER, signed by Magistrate Judge Jennifer L. Thurston on 2/21/2017. Consent/Decline Deadline 3/3/2017. Pleading Amendment Deadline 5/19/2017. Discovery Deadlines: Initial Disclosures 3/3/2017; Non-Expert 8/18/2017; Expert 10/13/2017. M id-Discovery Status Conference set for 5/15/2017 at 08:30 AM in Bakersfield at 510 19th Street (JLT) before Magistrate Judge Jennifer L. Thurston. Non-Dispositive Motion Deadlines: Filed by 10/20/2017; Hearing by 11/17/2017. Dispositive Motion Dead lines: Filed by 11/27/2017; Hearing by 1/16/2018. Settlement Conference set for 2/9/2018 at 01:30 PM in Bakersfield at 510 19th Street (JLT) before Magistrate Judge Jennifer L. Thurston. Pretrial Conference set for 3/12/2018 at 02:30 PM in Courtroom 5 (DAD) before District Judge Dale A. Drozd. Jury Trial set for 5/22/2018 at 08:30 AM 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 LARRY HARVEY, Plaintiff, 11 12 13 14 15 v. GLOBAL TECHNICAL SERVICES, LLC, Defendants. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) 1: 16-CV-01757 - DAD - JLT SCHEDULING ORDER (Fed. R. Civ. P. 16) Pleading Amendment Deadline: 5/19/2017 Discovery Deadlines: Initial Disclosures: 3/3/2017 Non-Expert: 8/18/2017 Expert: 10/13/2017 Mid-Discovery Status Conference: 5/15/2017 at 8:30 a.m. 16 17 Non-Dispositive Motion Deadlines: Filing: 10/20/2017 Hearing: 11/17/2017 18 19 Dispositive Motion Deadlines: Filing: 11/27/2017 Hearing: 1/16/2018 20 21 22 Settlement Conference: 2/9/18 1:30 p.m. 510 19th Street, Bakersfield, CA 23 24 26 Pre-Trial Conference: 3/12/2018 at 2:30 p.m. Courtroom 5 27 Trial: 25 28 1 5/22/2018 at 8:30 a.m. Courtroom 5 Jury trial: 5-7 days 1 I. February 21, 2017. 2 3 Date of Scheduling Conference II. Appearances of Counsel 4 Neil Gehlawat appeared on behalf of Plaintiff. 5 Danielle Garcia appeared on behalf of Defendant. 6 III. Magistrate Judge Consent: 7 Notice of Congested Docket and Court Policy of Trailing 8 Due to the District Judges’ heavy caseload, the newly adopted policy of the Fresno Division of 9 the Eastern District is to trail all civil cases. The parties are hereby notified that for a trial date set 10 before a District Judge, the parties will trail indefinitely behind any higher priority criminal or older 11 civil case set on the same date until a courtroom becomes available. The trial date will not be reset to a 12 continued date. 13 The Magistrate Judges’ availability is far more realistic and accommodating to parties than that 14 of the U.S. District Judges who carry the heaviest caseloads in the nation and who must prioritize 15 criminal and older civil cases over more recently filed civil cases. A United States Magistrate Judge 16 may conduct trials, including entry of final judgment, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c), Federal Rule of 17 Civil Procedure 73, and Local Rule 305. Any appeal from a judgment entered by a United States 18 Magistrate Judge is taken directly to the United States Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit. 19 The Fresno Division of the Eastern District of California, whenever possible, is utilizing United 20 States Article III District Court Judges from throughout the nation as Visiting Judges. Pursuant to the 21 Local Rules, Appendix A, such reassignments will be random, and the parties will receive no advance 22 notice before their case is reassigned to an Article III District Court Judge from outside of the Eastern 23 District of California. 24 Plaintiff has indicated his consent to Magistrate Judge jurisdiction. (Doc. 5) Defendant is 25 directed to consider consenting to Magistrate Judge jurisdiction to conduct all further proceedings, 26 including trial. Within 10 days of the date of this order, counsel SHALL file a consent/decline form 27 (provided by the Court at the inception of this case) indicating whether Defendant will consent to the 28 jurisdiction of the Magistrate Judge. 2 1 IV. Pleading Amendment Deadline Any requested pleading amendments are ordered to be filed, either through a stipulation or 2 3 motion to amend, no later than May 19, 2017. Any motion to amend the pleading SHALL be set 4 before the Honorable Dale A. Drozd, United States District Court Judge. 5 V. 6 7 8 9 10 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 March 3, 3017. The parties are ordered to complete all discovery pertaining to non-experts on or before August 18, 2017 and all discovery pertaining to experts on or before October 13, 2017. The parties are directed to disclose all expert witnesses1, in writing, on or before August 25, 11 2017, and to disclose all rebuttal experts on or before September 22, 2017. The written designation of 12 retained and non-retained experts shall be made pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. Rule 26(a)(2), (A), (B), 13 and (C) and shall include all information required thereunder. Failure to designate experts in 14 compliance with this order may result in the Court excluding the testimony or other evidence offered 15 through such experts that are not disclosed pursuant to this order. 16 The provisions of Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(4) and (5) shall apply to all discovery relating to experts 17 and their opinions. Experts must be fully prepared to be examined on all subjects and opinions 18 included in the designation. Failure to comply will result in the imposition of sanctions, which may 19 include striking the expert designation and preclusion of expert testimony. 20 21 22 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 May 15, 2017 at 8:30 a.m. before the 23 Honorable Jennifer L. Thurston, U.S. Magistrate Judge, located at 510 19th Street, Bakersfield, 24 California. Counsel SHALL file a joint mid-discovery status conference report one week before the 25 conference. Counsel also SHALL lodge the status report via e-mail to JLTorders@caed.uscourts.gov. 26 The joint statement SHALL outline the discovery counsel have completed and that which needs to be 27 1 28 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 completed as well as any impediments to completing the discovery within the deadlines set forth in this 2 order. Counsel may appear via CourtCall, providing a written notice of the intent to appear 3 telephonically is provided to the Magistrate Judge's Courtroom Deputy Clerk no later than five court 4 days before the noticed hearing date. 5 VI. Pre-Trial Motion Schedule All non-dispositive pre-trial motions, including any discovery motions, shall be filed no later 6 7 than October 20, 2017 and heard on or before November 17, 2017. Non-dispositive motions are heard 8 before the Honorable Jennifer L. Thurston, United States Magistrate Judge at the United States 9 Courthouse in Bakersfield, California. No motion to amend or stipulation to amend the case schedule will be entertained unless it 10 11 is filed at least one week before the first deadline the parties wish to extend. Likewise, no written 12 discovery motions shall be filed without the prior approval of the assigned Magistrate Judge. A party 13 with a discovery dispute must first confer with the opposing party in a good faith effort to resolve by 14 agreement the issues in dispute. If that good faith effort is unsuccessful, the moving party promptly 15 shall seek a telephonic hearing with all involved parties and the Magistrate Judge. It shall be the 16 obligation of the moving party to arrange and originate the conference call to the court. To schedule 17 this telephonic hearing, the parties are ordered to contact the Courtroom Deputy Clerk, Susan Hall, at 18 (661) 326-6620 or via email at SHall@caed.uscourts.gov. Counsel must comply with Local Rule 251 19 with respect to discovery disputes or the motion will be denied without prejudice and dropped 20 from the Court’s calendar. All dispositive pre-trial motions shall be filed no later than November 27, 2017, and heard no 21 22 later than January 16, 2018, in Courtroom 5 at 8:30 a.m. before the Honorable Dale A. Drozd, United 23 States District Court Judge. In scheduling such motions, counsel shall comply with Fed. R. Civ. P. 56 24 and Local Rules 230 and 260. 25 VII. Motions for Summary Judgment or Summary Adjudication 26 At least 21 days before filing a motion for summary judgment or motion for summary 27 adjudication, the parties are ORDERED to meet, in person or by telephone, to confer about the issues 28 to be raised in the motion. 4 1 The purpose of the meeting shall be to: 1) avoid filing motions for summary judgment where a 2 question of fact exists; 2) determine whether the respondent agrees that the motion has merit in whole 3 or in part; 3) discuss whether issues can be resolved without the necessity of briefing; 4) narrow the 4 issues for review by the court; 5) explore the possibility of settlement before the parties incur the 5 expense of briefing a motion; and 6) to develop a joint statement of undisputed facts. The moving party SHALL initiate the meeting and SHALL provide a complete, proposed 6 7 statement of undisputed facts at least five days before the conference. The finalized joint statement of 8 undisputed facts SHALL include all facts that the parties agree, for purposes of the motion, may be 9 deemed true. In addition to the requirements of Local Rule 260, the moving party shall file the joint 10 statement of undisputed facts. In the notice of motion the moving party SHALL certify that the parties have met and conferred 11 12 as ordered above, or set forth a statement of good cause for the failure to meet and confer. Failure to 13 comply may result in the motion being stricken. 14 VIII. Pre-Trial Conference Date 15 March 12, 2018 at 2:30 p.m. in Courtroom 5 before Judge Drozd. 16 The parties are ordered to file a Joint Pretrial Statement pursuant to Local Rule 281(a)(2). 17 The parties are further directed to submit a digital copy of their pretrial statement in Word format, 18 directly to Judge Drozd's chambers, by email at DADorders@caed.uscourts.gov. Counsels' attention is directed to Rules 281 and 282 of the Local Rules of Practice for the 19 20 Eastern District of California, as to the obligations of counsel in preparing for the pre-trial conference. 21 The Court will insist upon strict compliance with those rules. In addition to the matters set forth in the 22 Local Rules the Joint Pretrial Statement shall include a Joint Statement of the case to be used by the 23 Court to explain the nature of the case to the jury during voir dire. 24 IX. 25 26 Trial Date May 22, 2018 at 8:30 a.m. in Courtroom 5 before the Honorable Dale A. Drozd, United States District Court Judge. 27 A. This is a jury trial. 28 B. Counsels' Estimate of Trial Time: 5-7 days. 5 C. 1 Counsels' attention is directed to Local Rules of Practice for the Eastern District of 2 California, Rule 285. 3 X. 4 Settlement Conference A Settlement Conference is scheduled for February 9, 2018 at 1:30 p.m. at 510 19th Street, 5 Bakersfield, California. Notwithstanding the provisions of Local Rule 270(b), the settlement 6 conference will be conducted by Magistrate Judge Thurston. The Court deems the deviation from the 7 Local Rule to be appropriate and in the interests of the parties and justice and sound case management 8 based upon the location of the parties. If any party prefers that the settlement conference is conducted 9 by a judicial officer not already assigned to this case, that party is directed to notify the Court at least 10 60 days in advance of the scheduled settlement conference to allow sufficient time for another judicial 11 officer to be assigned to handle the conference. 12 Unless otherwise permitted in advance by the Court, the attorneys who will try the case shall 13 appear at the Settlement Conference with the parties and the person or persons having full authority 14 to negotiate and settle the case on any terms2 at the conference. Consideration of settlement is a 15 serious matter that requires preparation prior to the settlement conference. Set forth below are the 16 procedures the Court will employ, absent good cause, in conducting the conference. 17 At least twenty-one days before the settlement conference, Plaintiff SHALL submit to 18 Defendant via fax or e-mail, a written itemization of damages and a meaningful3 settlement demand 19 which includes a brief explanation of why such a settlement is appropriate. Thereafter, no later than 20 fourteen days before the settlement conference, Defendant SHALL respond, via fax or e-mail, with an 21 acceptance of the offer or with a meaningful counteroffer which includes a brief explanation of why 22 such a settlement is appropriate. 23 24 25 26 27 28 2 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. 3 “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. 6 If settlement is not achieved, each party SHALL attach copies of their settlement offers to their 1 2 Confidential Settlement Conference Statement, as described below. Copies of these documents shall 3 not be filed on the court docket. CONFIDENTIAL SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE STATEMENT 4 At least five court days before the settlement conference, the parties shall submit, directly to 5 6 Judge Thurston's chambers by e-mail to JLTorders@caed.uscourts.gov, a Confidential Settlement 7 Conference Statement. The statement should not be filed with the Clerk of the Court nor served on 8 any other party, although the parties may file a Notice of Lodging of Settlement Conference 9 Statement. Each statement shall be clearly marked "confidential" with the date and time of the 10 settlement conference indicated prominently thereon. 11 The Confidential Settlement Conference Statement shall include the following: 12 A. A brief statement of the facts of the case. 13 B. A brief statement of the claims and defenses, i.e., statutory or other grounds upon which 14 the claims are founded; a forthright evaluation of the parties' likelihood of prevailing on 15 the claims and defenses; and a description of the major issues in dispute. 16 C. A summary of the proceedings to date. 17 D. An estimate of the cost and time to be expended for further discovery, pretrial and trial. 18 E. The relief sought. 19 F. The party's position on settlement, including present demands and offers and a history of past settlement discussions, offers and demands. 20 21 XI. Request for Bifurcation, Appointment of Special Master, or other 22 Techniques to Shorten Trial 23 Not applicable at this time. 24 25 26 27 28 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 and the Local Rules of Practice of the Eastern District of California, and to keep abreast of any 7 1 amendments thereto. The Court must insist upon compliance with these Rules if it is to efficiently 2 handle its increasing case load and sanctions will be imposed for failure to follow the Rules as provided 3 in both the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Local Rules of Practice for the Eastern District of 4 California. 5 XIV. Effect of this Order 6 The foregoing order represents the best estimate of the court and counsel as to the agenda most 7 suitable to dispose of this case. The trial date reserved is specifically reserved for this case. If the 8 parties determine at any time that the schedule outlined in this order cannot be met, counsel are ordered 9 to notify the court immediately of that fact so that adjustments may be made, either by stipulation or by 10 11 subsequent status conference. The dates set in this Order are considered to be firm and will not be modified absent a 12 showing of good cause even if the request to modify is made by stipulation. Stipulations 13 extending the deadlines contained herein will not be considered unless they are accompanied by 14 affidavits or declarations, and where appropriate attached exhibits, which establish good cause 15 for granting the relief requested. 16 Failure to comply with this order may result in the imposition of sanctions. 17 18 19 20 IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: February 21, 2017 /s/ Jennifer L. Thurston UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 8

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