Abrantes v. American Blinds and Draperies, Inc.

Filing 27

SCHEDULING ORDER, signed by Magistrate Judge Stanley A. Boone on 11/21/2017.(Initial Disclosure: 12/12/2017, Discovery due by 5/4/2018, Class Certification Deadline: Motions filing by 6/4/2018) (Martin-Gill, S)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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JOGERT ABRANTES,

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Plaintiffs,

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Case No. 1: 17-cv-00152-AWI-SAB
SCHEDULING ORDER (Fed. R. Civ. P 16)
Class Certification Deadline:
Motion Filing: June 4, 2018

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Discovery Deadlines:
Non-Expert Discovery: May 4, 2018.

v.

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PAUL RUSSO,

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Defendant.

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I.

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The Scheduling Conference was held on November 21, 2017.

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II.

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Thomas Wheeler telephonically appeared on behalf of Plaintiff.

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There was no appearance by the defendant.

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III.

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The parties have not filed a consent or decline form.

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Date of Scheduling Conference

Appearances of Counsel

Consent to Magistrate Judge

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IV.

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The parties shall exchange the initial disclosures required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1) by

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Initial Disclosure under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1)

December 12, 2017.

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V.

Amendments to Pleading

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The parties do not anticipate any amendment to the pleadings. The parties are advised

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that filing motions and/or stipulations requesting leave to amend the pleadings does not reflect on

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the propriety of the amendment or imply good cause to modify the existing schedule, if necessary.

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All proposed amendments must (A) be supported by good cause pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b)

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if the amendment requires any modification to the existing schedule, see Johnson v. Mammoth

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Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604, 609 (9th Cir. 1992), and (B) establish, under Fed. R. Civ. P.

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15(a), that such an amendment is not (1) prejudicial to the opposing party, (2) the product of

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undue delay, (3) proposed in bad faith, or (4) futile, see Foman v. Davis, 371 U.S. 178, 182

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(1962).

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VI.

Class Certification

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Plaintiff has requested a phased approach to this action. This first phase shall relate to

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class certification. Any motions for class certification shall be filed on or before June 4, 2018.

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The hearing on the motion shall be set in compliance with the Local Rules.

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VII.

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The parties are ordered to complete all non-expert discovery on or before May 4, 2018.

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The provisions of Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(e) regarding a party’s duty to timely supplement

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Discovery Plan and Cut-Off Dates

disclosures and responses to discovery requests will be strictly enforced.

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The parties are cautioned that the discovery/expert cut-off deadlines are the dates by

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which all discovery must be completed. Absent good cause, discovery motions will not be heard

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after the discovery deadlines. Moreover, absent good cause, the Court will only grant relief on a

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discovery motion if the relief requested requires the parties to act before the expiration of the

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relevant discovery deadline. In other words, discovery requests and deposition notices must be

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served sufficiently in advance of the discovery deadlines to permit time for a response, time to

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meet and confer, time to prepare, file and hear a motion to compel and time to obtain relief on a
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motion to compel. Counsel are expected to take these contingencies into account when proposing

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discovery deadlines. Compliance with these discovery cutoffs requires motions to compel be

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filed and heard sufficiently in advance of the discovery cutoff so that the Court may grant

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effective relief within the allotted discovery time. A party's failure to have a discovery dispute

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heard sufficiently in advance of the discovery cutoff may result in denial of the motion as

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untimely.

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VIII. Pre-Trial Motion Schedule

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Unless prior leave of Court is obtained at least seven (7) days before the filing date, all

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moving and opposition briefs or legal memorandum in civil cases shall not exceed twenty-five

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(25) pages. Reply briefs filed by moving parties shall not exceed ten (10) pages. Before

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scheduling any motion, the parties must comply with all requirements set forth in Local Rule 230

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and 251.

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A.

Non-Dispositive Pre-Trial Motions

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As noted, all non-expert discovery, including motions to compel, shall be completed no

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later than May 4, 2018. Compliance with these discovery cutoffs requires motions to compel be

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filed and heard sufficiently in advance of the discovery cutoff so that the Court may grant

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effective relief within the allotted discovery time. A party’s failure to have a discovery dispute

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heard sufficiently in advance of the discovery cutoff may result in denial of the motion as

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untimely. Non-dispositive motions are heard on Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m., before United States

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Magistrate Judge Stanley A. Boone in Courtroom 9.

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In scheduling any non-dispositive motion, the Magistrate Judge may grant Applications

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for an Order Shortening Time pursuant to Local Rule 144(e). However, if counsel does not

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obtain an Order Shortening Time, the Notice of Motion must comply with Local Rule 251.

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Counsel may appear and argue non-dispositive motions by telephone, providing a written

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request to so appear is made to the Magistrate Judge's Courtroom Clerk no later than three (3)

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court days before the noticed hearing date. In the event that more than one attorney requests to

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appear by telephone, then it shall be the obligation of the moving party(ies) to arrange and

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originate a conference call to the court.
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Discovery Disputes: If a motion is brought under Fed. R. Civ. P. 37, the parties must

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prepare and file a Joint Statement re Discovery Disagreement (“Joint Statement”) as required by

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Local Rule 251. The Joint Statement must be filed seven (7) calendar days before the scheduled

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hearing date. Courtesy copies of all motion-related documents, declarations, and exhibits must be

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delivered to the Clerk’s Office by 10:00 a.m. on the fourth court day prior to the scheduled

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hearing date. Motions will be removed from the court’s hearing calendar if the Joint Statement is

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not timely filed or if courtesy copies are not timely delivered. In order to satisfy the meet and

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confer requirement set forth in Local Rule 251(b), the parties must confer and talk to each other

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in person, over the telephone or via video conferencing before the hearing about the discovery

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dispute. The Court may issue sanctions against the moving party or the opposing party if either

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party fails to meet and confer in good faith.

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B.

Dispositive Pre-Trial Motions

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Motions for Summary Judgment or Summary Adjudication: Prior to filing a motion for

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summary judgment or motion for summary adjudication, the parties are ORDERED to meet, in

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person or by telephone, and confer to discuss the issues to be raised in the motion.

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The purpose of the meeting shall be to: 1) avoid filing motions for summary judgment

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where a question of fact exists; 2) determine whether the respondent agrees that the motion has

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merit in whole or in part; 3) discuss whether issues can be resolved without the necessity of

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briefing; 4) narrow the issues for review by the court; 5) explore the possibility of settlement

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before the parties incur the expense of briefing a summary judgment motion; and 6) to arrive at a

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Joint Statement of Undisputed Facts.

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The moving party shall initiate the meeting and provide a draft of the Joint Statement of

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Undisputed Facts. In addition to the requirements of Local Rule 260, the moving party shall

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file a Joint Statement of Undisputed Facts.

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In the Notice of Motion, the moving party shall certify that the parties have met and

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conferred as ordered above or set forth a statement of good cause for the failure to meet and

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confer.

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IX.

Related Matters Pending

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Plaintiff is aware of no related cases that are currently pending.

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X.

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All counsel/parties are expected to familiarize themselves with the Federal Rules of Civil

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Procedure and the Local Rules of the Eastern District of California, and to keep abreast of any

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amendments thereto.

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efficiently handle its increasing case load and sanctions will be imposed for failure to follow the

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Rules as provided in both the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Local Rules for the

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Eastern District of California.

Compliance with Federal Procedure

The Court must insist upon compliance with these Rules if it is to

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Additional requirements and more detailed procedures for courtroom practice before

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United States Magistrate Judge Stanley A. Boone can be found at the United States District Court

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for the Eastern District of California’s website (www.caed.uscourts.gov) under Judges; United

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States Magistrate Judge Stanley A. Boone (SAB).

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Procedures,” there is a link to “Standard Information.” All parties and counsel shall comply with

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the guidelines set forth therein.

In the area entitled “Case Management

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XI.

Effect of this Order

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The foregoing order represents the best estimate of the court and counsel as to the agenda

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most suitable to dispose of this case. The trial date reserved is specifically reserved for this case.

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If the parties determine at any time that the schedule outlined in this order cannot be met, counsel

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are ordered to notify the court immediately of that fact so that adjustments may be made, either

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by stipulation or by subsequent status conference.

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Stipulations extending the deadlines contained herein will not be considered unless

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they are accompanied by affidavits or declarations, and where appropriate attached

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exhibits, which establish good cause for granting the relief requested. The parties are

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advised that due to the impacted nature of civil cases on the district judges in the Eastern

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District of California, Fresno Division, that stipulations to continue set dates are disfavored

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and will not be granted absent good cause.

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Lastly, should counsel or a party appearing pro se fail to comply with the directions

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as set forth above, an ex parte hearing may be held and contempt sanctions, including

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monetary sanctions, dismissal, default, or other appropriate judgment, may be imposed

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and/or ordered.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

November 21, 2017
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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