Brown v. Jonathan Neil and Associates, Inc.

Filing 10

SCHEDULING ORDER - Class Certification Deadline: Motion Filing 1/12/2018; Discovery Deadline: 12/11/2017. Signed by Magistrate Judge Stanley A. Boone on 7/27/2017. (Hernandez, M)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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TERI BROWN, individually and on
behalf of all others similarly situated,

SCHEDULING ORDER (Fed. R. Civ. P 16)
Plaintiff,

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Class Certification Deadline:
Motion Filing: January 12, 2018

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Discovery Deadline: December 11, 2017

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Case No. 1: 17-cv-00675-LJO-SAB

v.

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JONATHAN NEIL & ASSOCIATES,
INC.,

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Defendant.

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I.

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The Scheduling Conference was held on July 27, 2017.

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II.

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Yitzchak Zelman telephonically appeared on behalf of Plaintiffs.

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Christopher Egan telephonically appeared on behalf of Defendants.

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III.

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The parties have not filed a consent or decline form in this matter.

Date of Scheduling Conference

Appearances of Counsel

Consent to Magistrate Judge

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The Fresno Division of the Eastern District of California now has the heaviest District

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Judge caseload in the entire nation. While the Court will use its best efforts to resolve this case

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and all other civil cases in a timely manner, the parties are admonished that not all of the parties’

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needs and expectations may be met as expeditiously as desired. As multiple trials are now being

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set to begin upon the same date, parties may find their case trailing with little notice before the

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trial begins when the case is heard before a United States District Judge. The law requires the

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Court give any criminal case priority over civil trials and other matters, and the Court must

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proceed with criminal trials even if a civil trial is older or was set earlier. Continuances of civil

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trials under these circumstances will no longer be entertained, absent a specific and stated finding

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of good cause. If multiple trials are scheduled to begin on the same day, this civil trial will trail

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day to day or week to week until completion of any criminal case or older civil case.

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The parties are advised of the availability of a United States Magistrate Judge to conduct

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

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

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Procedure 73, and Local Rule 305. The parties are free to withhold consent or decline magistrate

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jurisdiction without adverse substantive consequences.

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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) on or

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

before August 18, 2017.

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V.

Amendments to Pleading

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Any motions or stipulations requesting leave to amend the pleadings must be filed no later

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than September 29, 2017.

The parties are advised that filing motions and/or stipulations

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requesting leave to amend the pleadings does not reflect on the propriety of the amendment or

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imply good cause to modify the existing schedule, if necessary. All proposed amendments must

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(A) be supported by good cause pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b) if the amendment requires any

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modification to the existing schedule, see Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604,

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609 (9th Cir. 1992), and (B) establish, under Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a), that such an amendment is not

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(1) prejudicial to the opposing party, (2) the product of undue delay, (3) proposed in bad faith, or
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(4) futile, see Foman v. Davis, 371 U.S. 178, 182 (1962).

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VI.

Class Certification

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The Court finds that discovery shall proceed by a phased approach in this matter. This

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first phase shall relate to class certification. Any motions for class certification shall be filed on

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or before January 12, 2018. The hearing on the class certification motion shall be set before the

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undersigned pursuant to the Local Rule.

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VII.

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The parties are ordered to complete all class certification discovery on or before

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Discovery Plan and Cut-Off Dates

December 11, 2017.

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The written designation of retained and non-retained experts shall be made pursuant to

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

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thereunder. Failure to designate experts in compliance with this order may result in the Court

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excluding the testimony or other evidence offered through the experts that are not properly

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disclosed in compliance with this order.

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The provisions of Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(4) and (5) shall apply to all discovery relating to

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experts and their opinions. Experts must be fully prepared to be examined on all subjects and

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opinions included in the designation. Failure to comply will result in the imposition of sanctions,

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which may include striking the expert designation and the exclusion of their testimony.

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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.

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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 December 11, 2017. All expert discovery, including motions to compel, shall be

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completed no later than December 11, 2017. Compliance with these discovery cutoffs requires

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motions to compel be filed and heard sufficiently in advance of the discovery cutoff so that the

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

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discovery dispute heard sufficiently in advance of the discovery cutoff may result in denial of the

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

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United States 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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There are no related cases currently pending.

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X.

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All counsel 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. If the parties determine at any time that the schedule

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outlined in this order cannot be met, counsel are ordered to notify the court immediately of that

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fact so that adjustments may be made, either 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:

July 27, 2017
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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