Leonhart v. C R Bard Inc et al

Filing 45

JOINT MOTION TO STAY DISCOVERY AND ALL PRETRIAL DEADLINES & ORDER, signed by Magistrate Judge Barbara A. McAuliffe on 09/15/2020. (Martin-Gill, S)

1 Shawtina F. Lewis (SBN 259255)
[e-mail]
2 NELSON MULLINS RILEY &
SCARBOROUGH LLP
3 19191 South Vermont Avenue, Suite 900
Torrance, CA 90502
4 Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile:
424.221.7499
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Attorneys for Defendants
6 C. R. Bard, Inc. and
7 Bard Peripheral Vascular, Inc.

N ELSON M ULLINS R ILEY & S CA RBOROUGH
A TTORNEYS AT L A W
L OS A NGELES

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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LLP

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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TOM LEONHART,

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Case No.: 1:20-cv-01677-DAD-BAM

Plaintiff,
JOINT MOTION TO STAY
DISCOVERY AND ALL PRETRIAL
DEADLINES & ORDER

v.

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C. R. BARD INC., and
14 BARD PERIPHERAL VASCULAR, INC.,
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Defendants.

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JOINT MOTION TO STAY DISCOVERY AND ALL PRETRIAL DEADLINES & ORDER

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Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c) and (d), Plaintiff in the above-titled

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action and Defendants C. R. Bard, Inc. and Bard Peripheral Vascular, Inc. (collectively, “Bard”)

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(Plaintiff and Bard are collectively referred to herein as “the Parties”), respectfully request that

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this Court temporarily stay discovery and all pretrial deadlines and continue the initial

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Scheduling Conference in this case for 90 days after entry of the [Proposed] Order while the

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Parties pursue settlement discussions. In support thereof, the Parties state as follows:

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1.

This case was originally filed in the State Court of Dallas County, Texas, by a

N ELSON M ULLINS R ILEY & S CA RBOROUGH
A TTORNEYS AT L A W
L OS A NGELES

Texas resident serving as lead plaintiff, and joined multiple individual plaintiffs, including the

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instant plaintiff. The case was subsequently removed by Bard to the United States District Court

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for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division.
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On August 20, 2020, the Court issued an Order granting the lead plaintiff’s

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Unopposed Motion to Sever and Transfer Venue of Out-of-State Plaintiff’s Cases, and the case

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was transferred to this District and assigned to this Court. [Doc. 27].

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3.

Since before the transfer of the instant case from the Northern District of Texas,

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Dallas Division, to this District, the Parties have been engaging in serious settlement discussions.

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Accordingly, the Parties jointly move this Court for an order staying discovery and pretrial

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deadlines and continuing the initial Scheduling Conference in this case for 90 days after entry of

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the [Proposed] Order to allow the Parties to continue to engage in settlement discussions. This

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will further facilitate settlement discussions and prevent unnecessary expenditures of the parties

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and judicial resources.

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4.

A district court has broad discretion over pretrial discovery rulings. See, e.g.,

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Crawford-El v. Britton, 523 U.S. 574, 598 (1998); accord Thermal Design, Inc. v. Am. Soc’y of

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Heating, Refrigerating & Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc., 755 F.3d 832, 837 (7th Cir. 2014);

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Burns v. EGS Fin. Care, Inc., No. 4:15-CV-06173-DGK, 2016 WL 7535365 at *1 (W.D. Mo.

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Apr. 12, 2016); see also Cook v. Kartridg Pak Co., 840 F.2d 602, 604 (8th Cir. 1988) (“A district

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court must be free to use and control pretrial procedure in furtherance of the orderly

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administration of justice.”); see also CMAX, Inc. v. Hall, 300 F.2d 265, 268 (9th Cir. 1962)

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JOINT MOTION TO STAY DISCOVERY AND ALL PRETRIAL DEADLINES & ORDER

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(district courts possess “inherent power to control the disposition of the causes on its docket in a

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manner which will promote economy of time and effort for itself, for counsel, and for litigants”).

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5.

Under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 26(c) and 26(d), a court may limit the

negotiations do not automatically excuse a party from its discovery obligations, the parties can

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seek a stay prior to the cutoff date. See Sofo v. Pan-American Life Ins. Co., 13 F.3d 239, 242

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(7th Cir. 1994); Wichita Falls Office Assocs. V. Banc One Corp., 978 F.2d 915, 918 (5th Cir.

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1993) (finding that a “trial judge’s decision to curtail discovery is granted great deference,” and

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N ELSON M ULLINS R ILEY & S CA RBOROUGH
A TTORNEYS AT L A W
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scope of discovery or control its sequence. See Britton, 523 U.S. at 598. Although settlement

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noting that the discovery had been pushed back a number of times because of pending settlement

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negotiations).

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6.

The Parties agree that the relief sought herein is necessary to handle the case in

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the most economical fashion, yet allow sufficient time to schedule and complete discovery if

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necessary, consistent with the scheduling obligations of counsel. The relief sought in this

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Motion is not being requested for delay, but so that justice may be done.

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WHEREFORE, The Parties jointly request that discovery and all pretrial deadlines be

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stayed and that the initial Scheduling Conference be continued for 90 days after entry of the

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[Proposed] Order to allow the Parties to conduct ongoing settlement negotiations.

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[Signatures on the following page]

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JOINT MOTION TO STAY DISCOVERY AND ALL PRETRIAL DEADLINES & ORDER

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DATED: September 15, 2020

Respectfully submitted,

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NELSON MULLINS RILEY & SCARBOROUGH LLP
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/s/ Shawtina F. Lewis
Shawtina F. Lewis (SBN 259255)
19191 South Vermont Avenue, Suite 900
Torrance, CA 90502
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: 424.221.7499
[e-mail]
Attorney for Defendants
C. R. Bard, Inc. and Bard Peripheral Vascular, Inc.

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N ELSON M ULLINS R ILEY & S CA RBOROUGH
A TTORNEYS AT L A W
L OS A NGELES

LLP

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DATED: September 15, 2020

Respectfully submitted,

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FEARS NACHAWATI LAW FIRM
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/s/ Arati Furness (as authorized on 9/8/2020)
Arati Furness, CA Bar No. 225435
(admitted in EDCA)
Steven S. Schulte
Texas Bar No. 24051306
Eric M. Przybysz
Darren McDowell
5473 Blair Road
Dallas, Texas 75231
T: [phone]/F: [phone]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]

Attorneys for Plaintiff

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JOINT MOTION TO STAY DISCOVERY AND ALL PRETRIAL DEADLINES & ORDER

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

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I hereby certify that on September 15, 2020, I electronically filed the foregoing with the

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Clerk of Court using the CM/ECF system and I served a copy of the foregoing pleading on all

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counsel for all parties, via the CM/ECF system and/or mailing same by United States Mail,

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properly addressed, and first class postage prepaid, to all counsel of record in this matter.

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By:

/s/ Shawtina F. Lewis
Shawtina F. Lewis

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N ELSON M ULLINS R ILEY & S CA RBOROUGH
A TTORNEYS AT L A W
L OS A NGELES

LLP

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JOINT MOTION TO STAY DISCOVERY AND ALL PRETRIAL DEADLINES & ORDER

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ORDER

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Having considered the parties’ stipulation, the Court hereby GRANTS the parties’

Courtroom 8 (BAM) before Magistrate Judge Barbara A. McAuliffe. All discovery and

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pretrial deadlines in this action are hereby stayed until the Initial Scheduling Conference. The

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parties shall file a Joint Scheduling Report in full compliance with the requirements set forth in

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the Order Setting Mandatory Scheduling Conference and the Court’s September 10, 2020 Minute

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N ELSON M ULLINS R ILEY & S CA RBOROUGH
A TTORNEYS AT L A W
L OS A NGELES

request. The Initial Scheduling Conference remains set for December 9, 2020, at 9:30 AM in

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Order at least one (1) full week prior to the Scheduling Conference. (See Doc. Nos. 42, 43.) The

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parties may appear at the conference by telephone with each party using the following dial-in

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number and access code: dial-in number 1-877-411-9748; access code 3219139. If the parties

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file a notice of settlement prior to the conference, then the conference will be vacated. However,

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if the parties are unable to reach a settlement, then the conference will proceed.

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Additionally, the Court notes that the parties filed their stipulation in Leonhart v. C R

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Bard, Inc., et al., Case No. 2:20-cv-01677-DAD-BAM. However, that matter is closed and,

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pursuant to the Court’s Order Relating and Reassigning Cases dated September 4, 2020, the new

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case number is 1:20-cv-01677-DAD-BAM. Accordingly, the parties are directed to file all future

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filings for this case in Case No. 1:20-cv-01677-DAD-BAM.

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The Clerk of Court is directed to file a copy of the parties’ Joint Motion to Stay

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Discovery and All Pretrial Deadlines (Case No. 2:20-cv-01677-DAD-BAM, Doc. No. 42) in

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Leonhart v. C R Bard, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-01677-DAD-BAM. The Clerk of Court is

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further directed to file this order in Leonhart v. C R Bard, Inc., et al., Case No. 2:20-cv-01677-

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DAD-BAM, and in Leonhart v. C R Bard, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-01677-DAD-BAM.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

September 15, 2020

/s/ Barbara

A. McAuliffe

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UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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JOINT MOTION TO STAY DISCOVERY AND ALL PRETRIAL DEADLINES & ORDER