McGowan v. Radius Global Solutions, LLC

Filing 14

SCHEDULING CONFERENCE ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Barbara A. McAuliffe on 9/25/2024. Amendment to Pleadings: 12/6/2024; Initial Disclosure: 10/18/2024; Expert Disclosure: 5/16/2025; Supplemental Expert Disclosure: 5/30/2025; Non-Expert Discovery Cutoff: 5/1/2025; Expert Discovery Cutoff: 6/20/2025; Pretrial Motion Filing Deadline: 6/27/2025; Pretrial Conference set for 12/15/2025 at 01:30 PM in Courtroom 6 (KES) before District Judge Kirk E. Sherriff; Jury Trial set for 2/24/2026 at 09:00 AM in Courtroom 6 (KES) before District Judge Kirk E. Sherriff. (Sant Agata, S)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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MARCUS MCGOWAN,

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Plaintiff,
v.
RADIUS GLOBAL SOLUTIONS,
LLC,
Defendant.
________________________________/

Case No. 1:24-cv-00328-KES-BAM
SCHEDULING CONFERENCE ORDER
Amendment
to Pleadings:

December 6, 2024

Initial Disclosure:

October 18, 2024

Expert Disclosure:

May 16, 2025

Supplemental
Expert Disclosure:

May 30, 2025

Non-expert
Discovery Cutoff:

May 1, 2025

Expert
Discovery Cutoff:

June 20, 2025

Pretrial Motion
Filing Deadline:

June 27, 2025

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Pre-Trial
Conference:

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Jury Trial:
(2 days)

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December 15, 2025, 1:30 p.m.
Courtroom 6 (KES)
February 24, 2026, 9:00 a.m.
Courtroom 6 (KES)

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This Court held a Scheduling Conference on September 25, 2024. Plaintiff Marcus McGowan

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appeared by Zoom video. Counsel Tuan Van Uong appeared by Zoom video on behalf of Defendant

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Radius Global Solutions, LLC. Based on the Joint Scheduling Report submitted by the parties, and

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pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b), this Court sets a schedule for this action.

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1.

Current Status of Consent to the Magistrate Judge Jurisdiction
Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c), the parties have not consented to conduct all further

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proceedings in this case, including trial, before the Honorable Barbara A. McAuliffe, U.S. Magistrate

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Judge.

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2.

All stipulated amendments or motions to amend shall be filed by December 6, 2024.

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3.

F.R.Civ.P. 26(a)(1) Initial Disclosures
Initial disclosures shall be completed by October 18, 2024.

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Amendment to the Parties’ Pleadings

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Discovery Cutoffs and Limits

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Initial expert witness disclosures by any party shall be served no later than May 16, 2025.

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Supplemental expert witness disclosures by any party shall be served no later than May 30, 2025.

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Such disclosures must be made pursuant to F.R.Civ.P. 26(a)(2)(A) and (B) and shall include all

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information required thereunder. In addition, F.R.Civ.P. 26(b)(4) and F.R.Civ.P. 26(e) shall

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specifically apply to all discovery relating to expert witnesses and their opinions. Each expert witness

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must be prepared fully to be examined on all subjects and opinions included in the designations.

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Failure to comply with these requirements will result in the imposition of appropriate sanctions, which

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may include the preclusion of testimony or other evidence offered through the expert witness. In

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particular, this Court will enforce preclusion of testimony or other evidence if F.R.Civ.P. 26(e) is not

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strictly complied with.

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All non-expert discovery, including motions to compel, shall be completed no later than May

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1, 2025. All expert discovery, including motions to compel, shall be completed no later than June 20,

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2025. Compliance with these discovery cutoffs requires motions to compel be filed and heard

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sufficiently in advance of the cutoff so that the Court may grant effective relief within the allotted

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discovery time. A parties’ failure to have a discovery dispute heard sufficiently in advance of the
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discovery cutoff may result in denial of the motion as untimely.

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5.

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Non-Dispositive Pre-Trial Motions
Non-dispositive motions are heard on Fridays at 9:00 a.m., before the Honorable Barbara A.

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McAuliffe, United States Magistrate Judge, in Courtroom 8. Before scheduling such motions, the

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parties shall comply with Local Rule 230 or Local Rule 251.

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Counsel must comply with Local Rule 251 with respect to discovery disputes or the motion

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will be denied without prejudice and dropped from calendar. In addition to filing a joint statement

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electronically, a copy of the joint statement shall also be sent Judge McAuliffe’s chambers by email to

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[e-mail]. Counsel for the parties are additionally required to conduct at least one

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telephonic or in person conference as part of their obligations to meet and confer in good faith to

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resolve their discovery dispute prior to seeking judicial intervention. The parties are further cautioned

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that boilerplate objections to written discovery will be summarily denied.

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Upon stipulation of the parties, Judge McAuliffe will resolve discovery disputes by informal

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telephonic conference outside the formal procedures of the Local Rules and Federal Rules of Civil

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Procedure governing noticed motions to compel. The procedures for requesting an informal

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telephonic conference are set forth in Judge McAuliffe’s Case Management Procedures located on the

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Court’s website, http://www.caed.uscourts.gov. If the parties stipulate to an informal ruling on a

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discovery dispute that arises during a deposition, they may request an informal ruling during the

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deposition by contacting Judge McAuliffe’s Courtroom Deputy, Esther Valdez, by telephone at (559)

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499-5788.

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The parties are advised that unless prior leave of the Court is obtained, all moving and

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opposition briefs or legal memorandum in civil cases before Judge McAuliffe 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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limitations do not include exhibits. Briefs that exceed this page limitation, or are sought to be filed

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without leave, may not be considered by the Court.

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Young Attorneys and Motions before Judge McAuliffe: Hearings on motions before Judge

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McAuliffe are often vacated and submitted upon the record and briefs. See L.R. 230(g). However, the

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Court recognizes the value and importance of training young attorneys, and the Court encourages the
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parties to consider assigning the oral argument to an attorney with seven (7) years or less experience

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out of law school. If any party provides notification that a young attorney from at least one party will

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argue the motion, the Court will hold the hearing as scheduled. The parties shall so notify the Court by

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separately including a section after the conclusion of the motion, opposition, or reply briefing

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requesting the hearing remain on calendar. If no party provides such notice, the hearing may be

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vacated without further notice.

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6.

Dispositive Pre-Trial Motions

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All dispositive pre-trial motions shall be filed no later June 27, 2025, and heard pursuant to the

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Local Rules in Courtroom 6 (KES) before United States District Judge Kirk E. Sherriff. In scheduling

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such motions, counsel shall comply with Fed. R. Civ. P 56 and Local Rules 230 and 260.
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 person

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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 where a

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question of fact exists; 2) determine whether the respondent agrees that the motion has merit in whole

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or in part; 3) discuss whether issues can be resolved without the necessity of briefing; 4) narrow the

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issues for review by the court; 5) explore the possibility of settlement before the parties incur the

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expense of briefing a summary judgment motion; and 6) to arrive at a Joint Statement of Undisputed

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Facts.
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 file

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a Joint Statement of Undisputed Facts.
In the Notice of Motion, the moving party shall certify that the parties have met and conferred

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

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7.

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Settlement Conference
A Settlement Conference has not been scheduled. As discussed at the Scheduling Conference,

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the parties will be provided with proposed dates to schedule a settlement conference. If a settlement

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conference is set, the parties are advised that unless otherwise permitted in advance by the Court, the
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attorneys who will try the case shall appear at the settlement conference with the parties and the

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person or persons having full authority to negotiate and settle the case, on any terms, at the conference.

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8.

The pre-trial conference is set for December 15, 2025, at 1:30 p.m. in Courtroom 6 (KES)

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Pre-Trial Conference Date

and will be heard before United States District Judge Kirk E. Sherriff.
The parties are ordered to file a Joint Pretrial Statement pursuant to Local Rule 281(a)(2).

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The parties are further directed to submit a digital copy of their Pretrial Statement in Word format,

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directly to Judge Sherriff’s chambers by email at [e-mail].
Counsels’ attention is directed to Rules 281 and 282 of the Local Rules for the Eastern

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District of California, as to the obligations of counsel in preparing for the pre-trial conference. The

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Court will insist upon strict compliance with those rules. In addition to the matters set forth in the

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Local Rules, the Joint Pretrial Statement shall include a Joint Statement of the Case to be used by the

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Court to explain the nature of the case to the jury during voir dire.

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9.

Trial is set for February 24, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. in Courtroom 6 (KES) before United States

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Trial Date

District Judge Kirk E. Sherriff.

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A.

This is a jury trial.

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B.

Estimate of Trial Time:

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C.

Counsels’ attention is directed to Local Rule 285 for the Eastern District of California.

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10.

2 days.

Effect of This Order
This order represents the best estimate of the court and counsel as to the agenda most suitable

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to dispose of this case. The trial date reserved is specifically reserved for this case. If the parties

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determine at any time that the schedule outlined in this order cannot be met, counsel are ordered to

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notify the court immediately of that fact so that adjustments may be made, either by stipulation or by

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subsequent status conference. The dates set in this Order are considered to be firm and will not

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be modified absent a showing of good cause even if the request to modify is made by stipulation.

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Stipulations extending the deadlines contained herein will not be considered unless they are

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accompanied by affidavits or declarations, and where appropriate, attached exhibits, which
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establish good cause for granting the relief requested. The failure to comply with this order may

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result in the imposition of sanctions.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

/s/ Barbara

September 25, 2024

A. McAuliffe

_

UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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