Vaughn v. Teran

Filing 21

SCHEDULING ORDER, signed by Magistrate Judge Jennifer L. Thurston on 7/3/2018. Consent/Decline due within 10 days. Pleading Amendment Deadline 10/1/2018. Discovery Deadlines: Initial Disclosures 7/17/2018; Non-Expert 9/25/2019; Expert 11/20/2019 . Mid-Discovery Status Conference set for 5/2/2019 at 08:30 AM in Bakersfield, 510 19th Street before Magistrate Judge Jennifer L. Thurston. Non-Dispositive Motion Deadlines: Filed by 12/10/2019; Hearing by 1/14/2020. Dispositive Motion Deadline s: Filed by 1/28/2020; Hearing by 3/3/2020. Settlement Conference set for 3/15/2019 at 01:30 PM in Bakersfield, 510 19th Street before Magistrate Judge Jennifer L. Thurston. Pretrial Conference set for 5/11/2020 at 01:30 PM in Courtroom 5 (DAD) before District Judge Dale A. Drozd. Jury Trial set for 7/7/2020 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 MARK A. VAUGHN, Plaintiff, 11 12 v. 13 TERAN, 14 15 Defendants. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Case No.: 1:17-cv-0966 DAD JLT SCHEDULING ORDER (Fed. R. Civ. P. 16) Pleading Amendment Deadline: 10/1/2018 Discovery Deadlines: Initial Disclosures: 7/17/2018 Non-Expert: 9/25/2019 Expert: 11/20/2019 Mid-Discovery Status Conference: 5/2/2019 at 8:30 a.m. 16 17 Non-Dispositive Motion Deadlines: Filing: 12/10/2019 Hearing: 1/14/2020 18 19 Dispositive Motion Deadlines: Filing: 1/28/2020 Hearing: 3/3/2020 20 21 22 Settlement Conference: 3/15/2019 at 1:30 p.m. 510 19th Street, Bakersfield, CA 23 24 26 Pre-Trial Conference: 5/11/2020 at 1:30 p.m. Courtroom 5 27 Trial: 25 28 1 7/7/2020 at 8:30 a.m. Courtroom 5 Jury trial: 3-4 days 1 I. July 3, 2018. 2 3 Date of Scheduling Conference II. Appearances of Counsel 4 Ken Karan appeared on behalf of Plaintiff. 5 Matthew Roman 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. The Magistrate Judges’ availability is far more realistic and accommodating to parties than that 13 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. The Fresno Division of the Eastern District of California, whenever possible, is utilizing United 19 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. Therefore, the parties are directed to consider consenting to Magistrate Judge jurisdiction to 24 25 conduct all further proceedings, including trial. Within 10 days of the date of this order, counsel 26 SHALL file a consent/decline form (provided by the Court at the inception of this case) indicating 27 whether they will consent to the jurisdiction of the Magistrate Judge. 28 /// 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 October 1, 2018. Any motion to amend the pleadings shall be heard by 4 the Honorable Dale A. Drozd, United States District Court Judge. 5 V. 6 7 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 17, 2018. 8 The parties are ordered to complete all discovery pertaining to non-experts on or before 9 September 25, 2019, and all discovery pertaining to experts on or before November 20, 2019. 10 The parties are directed to disclose all expert witnesses1, in writing, on or before September 25, 11 2019, and to disclose all rebuttal experts on or before October 23, 2019. 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 2, 2019, 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 28 1 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 teleconference by dialing (888) 557-8511 and entering Access Code 3 1652736, provided the Magistrate Judge's Courtroom Deputy Clerk receives a written notice of the 4 intent to appear telephonically no later than five court 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 December 10, 2019, and heard on or before January 14, 2020. Discovery motions are heard 8 before the Honorable Jennifer L. Thurston, United States Magistrate Judge at the United States 9 Courthouse in Bakersfield, California. For these hearings, counsel may appear via teleconference by 10 dialing (888) 557-8511 and entering Access Code 1652736, provided the Magistrate Judge's Courtroom 11 Deputy Clerk receives a written notice of the intent to appear telephonically no later than five court 12 days before the noticed hearing date. All other non-dispositive hearings SHALL be set before Judge 13 Drozd. 14 No motion to amend or stipulation to amend the case schedule will be entertained unless it 15 is filed at least one week before the first deadline the parties wish to extend. Likewise, no written 16 discovery motions shall be filed without the prior approval of the assigned Magistrate Judge. A party 17 with a discovery dispute must first confer with the opposing party in a good faith effort to resolve by 18 agreement the issues in dispute. If that good faith effort is unsuccessful, the moving party promptly 19 shall seek a telephonic hearing with all involved parties and the Magistrate Judge. It shall be the 20 obligation of the moving party to arrange and originate the conference call to the court. To schedule 21 this telephonic hearing, the parties are ordered to contact the Courtroom Deputy Clerk, Susan Hall, at 22 (661) 326-6620 or via email at SHall@caed.uscourts.gov. Counsel must comply with Local Rule 251 23 with respect to discovery disputes or the motion will be denied without prejudice and dropped 24 from the Court’s calendar. 25 All dispositive pre-trial motions shall be filed no later than January 28, 2020, and heard no 26 later than March 3, 2020, in Courtroom 5 at 9:30 a.m. before the Honorable Dale A. Drozd, United 27 States District Court Judge. In scheduling such motions, counsel shall comply with Fed. R. Civ. P. 56 28 and Local Rules 230 and 260. 4 1 VII. Motions for Summary Judgment or Summary Adjudication 2 At least 21 days before filing a motion for summary judgment or motion for summary 3 adjudication, the parties are ORDERED to meet, in person or by telephone, to confer about the issues 4 to be raised in the motion. 5 The purpose of the meeting shall be to: 1) avoid filing motions for summary judgment where a 6 question of fact exists; 2) determine whether the respondent agrees that the motion has merit in whole 7 or in part; 3) discuss whether issues can be resolved without the necessity of briefing; 4) narrow the 8 issues for review by the court; 5) explore the possibility of settlement before the parties incur the 9 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 10 11 statement of undisputed facts at least five days before the conference. The finalized joint statement of 12 undisputed facts SHALL include all facts that the parties agree, for purposes of the motion, may be 13 deemed true. In addition to the requirements of Local Rule 260, the moving party shall file the joint 14 statement of undisputed facts. In the notice of motion, the moving party SHALL certify that the parties have met and 15 16 conferred as ordered above, or set forth a statement of good cause for the failure to meet and confer. 17 Failure to comply may result in the motion being stricken. 18 VIII. Pre-Trial Conference Date 19 May 11, 2020 at 1:30 p.m. in Courtroom 5 before Judge Drozd. 20 The parties are ordered to file a Joint Pretrial Statement pursuant to Local Rule 281(a)(2). 21 The parties are further directed to submit a digital copy of their pretrial statement in Word format, 22 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 23 24 Eastern District of California, as to the obligations of counsel in preparing for the pre-trial conference. 25 The Court will insist upon strict compliance with those rules. In addition to the matters set forth in the 26 Local Rules the Joint Pretrial Statement shall include a Joint Statement of the case to be used by the 27 Court to explain the nature of the case to the jury during voir dire. 28 /// 5 1 IX. July 7, 2020 at 8:30 a.m. in Courtroom 5 before the Honorable Dale A. Drozd, United States 2 3 Trial Date District Court Judge. 4 A. This is a jury trial. 5 B. Counsels' Estimate of Trial Time: 3-4 days. 6 C. Counsels' attention is directed to Local Rules of Practice for the Eastern District of 7 California, Rule 285. 8 X. 9 Settlement Conference A settlement conference is scheduled for March 15, 2019 at 1:30 p.m., located at 510 19th 10 Street, Bakersfield, California. Notwithstanding the requirements of Local Rule 270(b), the settlement 11 conference will be conducted by Magistrate Judge Thurston. The Court deems the deviation from the 12 Local Rule to be appropriate and in the interests of the parties and justice and sound case management 13 based upon the location of the parties. If any party prefers that the settlement conference be 14 conducted by a judicial officer who is not assigned to this case, that party is directed to notify the 15 Court no later than 60 days in advance of the scheduled settlement conference to allow sufficient 16 time for another judicial officer to be assigned to handle the conference. 17 Unless otherwise permitted in advance by the Court, the attorneys who will try the case 18 shall appear at the Settlement Conference with the parties and the person or persons having full 19 authority to negotiate and settle the case on any reasonable terms2discussed at the conference. 20 Consideration of settlement is a serious matter that requires preparation prior to the settlement 21 conference. Set forth below are the procedures the Court will employ, absent good cause, in 22 conducting the conference. 23 At least 21 days before the settlement conference, Plaintiff SHALL submit to Defendant via 24 fax or e-mail, a written itemization of damages and a meaningful3 settlement demand which includes 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 may be represented by a person whose recommendations about settlement are relied upon by the ultimate decision makers. 3 “Meaningful” means 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 the settlement conference via stipulation. 6 1 a brief explanation of why such a settlement is appropriate. Thereafter, no later than 14 days before 2 the settlement conference, Defendant SHALL respond via fax or e-mail, with an acceptance of the 3 offer or with a meaningful counteroffer, which includes a brief explanation of why such a settlement 4 is appropriate. If settlement is not achieved, each party SHALL attach copies of their settlement offers to 5 6 their Confidential Settlement Conference Statement, as described below. Copies of these documents 7 shall not be filed on the court docket. CONFIDENTIAL SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE STATEMENT 8 At least five court days before the settlement conference, the parties shall submit, directly to 9 10 Judge Thurston's chambers by e-mail to JLTOrders@caed.uscourts.gov, a Confidential Settlement 11 Conference Statement. The statement should not be filed with the Clerk of the Court nor served on 12 any other party, although the parties may file a Notice of Lodging of Settlement Conference 13 Statement. Each statement shall be clearly marked "confidential" with the date and time of the 14 Settlement Conference indicated prominently thereon. 15 The Confidential Settlement Conference Statement shall include the following: 16 A. A brief statement of the facts of the case. 17 B. A brief statement of the claims and defenses, i.e., statutory or other grounds upon 18 which the claims are founded; a forthright evaluation of the parties' likelihood of 19 prevailing on the claims and defenses; and a description of the major issues in dispute. 20 C. A summary of the proceedings to date. 21 D. An estimate of the cost and time to be expended for further discovery, pretrial and 23 E. The relief sought. 24 F. The party's position on settlement, including present demands and offers and a history 22 trial. of past settlement discussions, offers and demands. 25 26 XI. Request for Bifurcation, Appointment of Special Master, or other 27 Techniques to Shorten Trial 28 Not applicable at this time. 7 1 2 3 4 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 5 and the Local Rules of Practice of the Eastern District of California, and to keep abreast of any 6 amendments thereto. The Court must insist upon compliance with these Rules if it is to efficiently 7 handle its increasing case load and sanctions will be imposed for failure to follow both the Federal 8 Rules of Civil Procedure and the Local Rules of Practice for the Eastern District of California. 9 XIV. Effect of this Order 10 The foregoing order represents the best estimate of the court and counsel as to the agenda most 11 suitable to dispose of this case. The trial date reserved is specifically reserved for this case. If the 12 parties determine at any time that the schedule outlined in this order cannot be met, counsel are ordered 13 to notify the court immediately of that fact so that adjustments may be made, either by stipulation or by 14 subsequent status conference. 15 The dates set in this Order are considered to be firm and will not be modified absent a 16 showing of good cause even if the request to modify is made by stipulation. Stipulations 17 extending the deadlines contained herein will not be considered unless they are accompanied by 18 affidavits or declarations, and where appropriate attached exhibits, which establish good cause 19 for granting the relief requested. 20 Failure to comply with this order may result in the imposition of sanctions. 21 22 23 24 IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: July 3, 2018 /s/ Jennifer L. Thurston UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 25 26 27 28 8

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