Williams v. Pfieffer, et al.

Filing 39

SCHEDULING CONFERENCE ORDER, signed by Magistrate Judge Erica P. Grosjean on 7/16/2018: Initial Disclosures: Completed; Nonexpert Discovery Cutoff: February 28, 2019; Expert Disclosure: March 29, 2019; Rebuttal Expert Disclosure: April 26, 2019; E xpert Discovery Cutoff: May 24, 2019; Exhaustion Motion Filing Deadline: November 16, 2018; Dispositive Motion Filing Deadline: June 28, 2019; Settlement Conf.: Not Set; Status Conf: Date: January 28, 2019Time:1:30 p.m. Dept:10;Pretrial Conf.: Date: October 30, 2019 Time:10:00 a.m. Dept: 2; and Jury Trial: Date: January 7, 2020 Time:8:30 a.m. Dept: 2. (Hellings, J)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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DONALD LEE WILLIAMS,

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Plaintiff,

Case No. 1:17-cv-00549-AWI-EPG (PC)
SCHEDULING CONFERENCE ORDER

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Initial Disclosures:

Completed

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Nonexpert
Discovery Cutoff:

February 28, 2019

Expert
Disclosure:

March 29, 2019

Rebuttal
Expert Disclosure:

April 26, 2019

Expert
Discovery Cutoff:

May 24, 2019

Exhaustion Motion
Filing Deadline:

November 16, 2018

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Dispositive Motion
Filing Deadline:

June 28, 2019

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Settlement Conf.:

Not Set

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Status Conf:

Date: January 28, 2019
Time:1:30 p.m.
Dept:10

Pretrial Conf.:

Date: October 30, 2019
Time:10:00 a.m.
Dept: 2

Jury Trial:

Date: January 7, 2020
Time:8:30 a.m.
Dept: 2

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v.

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A. TERRAZAS, et al.,
Defendants.

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This Court conducted a scheduling conference on July 11, 2018. Plaintiff and his counsel,

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Benjamin Meir Rudin, appeared telephonically. Counsel Laraya Parnell and Jon Allin appeared

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telephonically on behalf of Defendants. Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b), this Court sets a schedule

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for this action.

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I.

Consent To Magistrate Judge

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The parties have not consented to Magistrate Judge jurisdiction. Out of fairness, the Court

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believes it is necessary to forewarn litigants that the Fresno Division of the Eastern District of

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California now has the heaviest District Court Judge caseload in the entire nation. While the Court

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will use its best efforts to resolve this case and all other civil cases in a timely manner, the parties

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are advised that not all of the parties’ needs and expectations may be met as expeditiously as

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desired. As multiple trials are now being set to begin upon the same date, parties may find their

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case trailing with little notice before the trial begins. The law requires that the Court give any

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criminal trial priority over civil trials or any other matter. The Court must proceed with a criminal

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trial even if a civil trial was filed earlier and set for trial first. Continuances of any civil trial under

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these circumstances will no longer be entertained, absent a specific and stated finding of good

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cause. All parties should be informed that any civil trial set to begin during the time a criminal trial

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is proceeding will trail the completion of the criminal trial.

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The parties are reminded of the availability of United States Magistrate Judge Erica P.

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Grosjean to conduct all proceedings in this action. A United States Magistrate Judge is available

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to conduct trials, including entry of final judgment, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c), Federal Rule

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of Civil Procedure 73, and Local Rule 305. The same jury pool is used by both United States

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Magistrate Judges and United States District Court Judges. Any appeal from a judgment entered

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by a United States Magistrate Judge is taken directly to the United States Court of Appeal for the

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Ninth Circuit. However, the parties are hereby informed that no substantive rulings or decisions

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will be affected by whether a party chooses to consent.

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Finally, the Fresno Division of the Eastern District of California, whenever possible, is

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utilizing United States Article III District Court Judges from throughout the nation as Visiting

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Judges. Pursuant to the Local Rules, Appendix A, reassignments will be random, and the parties
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will receive no advance notice before their case is reassigned to an Article III District Court Judge

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from outside of the Eastern District of California. Therefore, the parties are directed to consider

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consenting to Magistrate Judge jurisdiction to conduct all further proceedings, including trial.

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II.

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Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1)
Initial disclosures have been exchanged.

III.

Discovery Cutoffs And Limits

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All non-expert discovery shall be completed no later than February 28, 2019. Initial expert

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witness disclosures shall be served no later than March 29, 2019. Rebuttal expert witness

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disclosures shall be served no later than April 26, 2019. Such disclosures must be made pursuant

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to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2)(A), (B) and (C), and shall include all information required

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thereunder. In addition, Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(4) and Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(e) specifically apply to

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discovery relating to expert witnesses and their opinions. Each expert witness must be fully

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prepared to be examined on all subjects and opinions included in the disclosures. Failure to comply

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with these requirements will result in the imposition of appropriate sanctions, including the

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preclusion of the expert’s testimony, or of other evidence offered through the expert.

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All expert discovery shall be completed no later than May 24, 2019. The parties are advised

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that motions to compel must be filed in advance of the discovery deadlines so that the Court may

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

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dispute 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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A Telephonic Status Conference has been set for January 28, 2019, at 1:30 p.m., before

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Magistrate Judge Erica P. Grosjean. The parties are directed to file a joint report, of up to five (5)

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pages, outlining the status of the case, any additional discovery still planned, potential for

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settlement, and any other issues pending that would benefit from the Court's assistance/direction.

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The parties shall file the report one full week prior to the conference, and email a copy, in Word

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format, to [e-mail]. To appear telephonically, each party shall dial 1 (888)

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251-2909 and enter access code 1024453.

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IV.

Pretrial Motion Schedule

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A.

General Information Regarding Filing Motions

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The parties are advised that unless prior leave of the Court is obtained before the filing

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deadline,1 all moving and opposition briefs or legal memoranda, including joint statements of

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discovery disputes, filed in civil cases before Magistrate Judge Grosjean, shall not exceed twenty-

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five (25) pages. Reply briefs by the moving party shall not exceed ten (10) pages. These page

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limits do not include exhibits. When scheduling motions (other than discovery motions) the parties

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shall comply with Local Rule 230.

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Counsel or pro se parties may appear and argue motions by telephone, provided a request

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to so do is made to Michelle Rooney, Magistrate Judge Grosjean’s Courtroom Deputy (unless prior

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permission has been given by the judge), no later than five (5) court days before the noticed hearing

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date. Requests can be made by emailing Ms. Rooney at [e-mail]. If the parties

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are appearing telephonically, each party shall dial 1 [phone] and enter access code 1024453.

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1. Informal Discovery Conference

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In order to file a discovery motion pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 37, a party must receive

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permission from the Court following an informal telephone conference. A party wishing to

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schedule such a conference should contact chambers to receive available dates. The Court will

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schedule the conference as soon as possible, taking into consideration the urgency of the issue.

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Before contacting the Court, the parties must meet and confer by speaking with each other in

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person, over the telephone, or via video in an attempt to resolve the dispute.

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Prior to the conference, both parties shall simultaneously submit letters, outlining their

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respective positions regarding the dispute. The Court will provide the date the letters are due at the

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time the conference is scheduled. Such letters shall be no longer than three (3) pages single spaced,

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and may include up to five (5) pages of exhibits. Letters shall be emailed to Magistrate Judge

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Grosjean’s chambers at [e-mail], and not filed on the docket.

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At the time of conference, the parties shall dial 1 [phone] and enter access code

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Parties may seek leave through a telephonic conference among all parties and the Court, or by short

motion.

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1024453. Telephonic conferences will not be on the record and the Court will not issue a formal

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ruling at that time. Nevertheless, the Court will attempt to provide guidance to the parties to narrow

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or dispose of the dispute. If no resolution can be reached without formal motion practice, the Court

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will authorize the filing of a formal discovery motion.

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2.

Discovery Motions

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If a motion is brought pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 37, after receiving permission from the

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Court, the parties must prepare and file a Joint Statement re: Discovery Disagreement (“Joint

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Statement”) as required by Local Rule 251.2 In scheduling such motions, Magistrate Judge

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Grosjean may grant applications for an order shortening time pursuant to Local Rule 144(e).

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Motions to shorten time will only be granted upon a showing of good cause. If a party 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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A Joint Statement, not to exceed twenty-five (25) pages, must be filed seven (7) calendar

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days before the scheduled hearing date. Prior to the filing of the Joint Statement, the parties must

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meet and confer as set forth in Local Rule 251(b). In addition to filing the Joint Statement

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electronically, a copy of the Joint Statement in Word format must be sent to Magistrate Judge

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Grosjean’s chambers via email to [e-mail]. Courtesy copies for any pleading

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in excess of twenty-five pages (25) (including exhibits) shall also be delivered to chambers via US

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mail, or hand delivery, at the time the Joint Statement is electronically filed. Motions may be

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removed from the Court’s calendar if the Joint Statement is not timely filed, or if courtesy copies

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are not timely delivered.

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B.

Exhaustion and Dispositive Motions

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The deadline for Defendant(s) to present any challenge for failure to exhaust administrative

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remedies is November 16, 2018. The exhaustion issue may be raised only by filing a motion for

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summary judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56. Failure to raise the exhaustion issue

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by this deadline will result in waiver of the defense. See Albino v. Baca, 747 F.3d 1162, 1170 (9th

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Cir. 2014) (providing that the exhaustion question should be decided as early as feasible).

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All other dispositive pre-trial motions shall be served and filed no later than June 28, 2019.

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Certain limited exceptions from filing the required Joint Statement are outlined in Local Rule 251(e).

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All dispositive motions will be heard by District Court Judge Anthony W. Ishii. In

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scheduling such motions, the parties shall comply with Fed. R. Civ. P. 56 and Local Rules 230 and

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260.

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1.

Motions for Summary Judgment or Summary Adjudication

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Prior to filing a motion for summary judgment or motion for summary adjudication, the

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parties are ordered to meet and confer, in person or by telephone, to discuss the issues to be raised

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in the motion. In addition to complying with the requirements of Local Rule 260, the parties

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must prepare a Joint Statement of Undisputed Facts, which identifies all relevant facts subject

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to agreement by all parties. The moving party is responsible for filing the joint statement. In the

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notice of motion, the moving party shall certify that the parties have met and conferred as ordered

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above, or set forth a statement of good cause for the failure to do so.

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V.

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Settlement Conference
A settlement conference has not been scheduled at this time.

VI.

Pretrial Conference

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The pretrial conference is set for October 30, 2019, at 10:00 a.m. in Courtroom 2, before

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District Court Judge Anthony W. Ishii. The parties are directed to file a joint pretrial statement that

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complies with the requirements of this Court’s Local Rule 281. In addition, the joint pretrial

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statement should include a brief factual summary and an agreed upon neutral statement of the case.

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An additional copy of the joint pretrial statement, carefully prepared and executed by all counsel,

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shall be electronically filed in CM/ECF and shall be e-mailed in Word format to Judge Ishii’s

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chambers at [e-mail].

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The parties’ attention is directed to this Court’s Local Rules 281 and 282. This Court will

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insist upon strict compliance with these rules. At the pretrial conference, the Court will set

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deadlines to file motions in limine, final witness lists, exhibits, jury instructions, objections, and

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other trial documents.

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VII.

Trial Date

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A jury trial is set for January 7, 2020, at 8:30 a.m. in Courtroom 2 before District Court

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Judge Anthony W. Ishii. The parties’ attention is directed to this Court’s Local Rule 285 for the
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preparation of trial briefs.

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VIII. Related Matters Pending

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There are no related matters pending before this Court.
IX.

Compliance with Federal Procedures

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

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

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thereto. The Court requires strict compliance with these rules. Sanctions will be imposed for failure

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to follow the rules as provided in both the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Local Rules of

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the Eastern District of California.

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X.

Effect Of This Order

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This order represents the Court and the parties’ best estimated schedule to complete this

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case. Any party unable to comply with the dates outlined in this order shall immediately file an

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appropriate motion or stipulation identifying the requested modification(s).

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The dates set in this Order are considered to be firm and will not be modified absent a

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showing of good cause, even if a stipulation to modify is filed. Stipulations extending the

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deadlines contained herein will not be considered unless they are accompanied by affidavits or

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declarations with attached exhibits, where appropriate, that establish good cause for granting the

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requested relief. Due to the impacted nature of the civil case docket, this Court disfavors requests

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to modify established dates.

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Failure to comply with this order shall result in the imposition of sanctions.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

July 16, 2018

/s/
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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