Coleman, et al v. Schwarzenegger, et al

Filing 6230

ORDER signed by District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller on 7/29/19 APPROVING 6228 Stipulation and Proposed Order, MODIFYING 640 Order of Reference to expressly provide that, for any report filed by the Special Master that has not been circulated to the parties for review and comment prior to filing, the parties will have 30 days from the date of service to file objections to, or move to modify, reject, or adopt, such a report. (Coll, A)

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XAVIER BECERRA
Attorney General of California
MONICA N. ANDERSON
Senior Assistant Attorney General
ADRIANO HRVATIN
Supervising Deputy Attorneys General
ELISE OWENS THORN, State Bar No. 145931
TYLER V. HEATH, State Bar No. 271478
ROBERT W. HENKELS, State Bar No. 255410
Deputy Attorneys General
1300 I Street, Suite 125
P.O. Box 944255
Sacramento, CA 94244-2550
Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]
Attorneys for Defendants

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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SACRAMENTO DIVISION
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RALPH COLEMAN, et al.,

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v.

Case No. 2:90-cv-00520 KJM-DB (PC)
Plaintiffs, STIPULATION AND ORDER
MODIFYING THE DECEMBER 11, 1995
ORDER OF REFERENCE [DKT NO. 640]

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GAVIN NEWSOM., et al.,

Judge:

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The Honorable Kimberly J.
Mueller

Defendants.
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On July 3, 2019, the Court issued its order approving the 2018 Program Guide Revision.

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(ECF No. 6211.) Paragraph 4 of the July 3 order requires “[w]ithin twenty-one days from the

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date of this order, the parties shall meet and confer and submit to the court a proposed stipulation

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and order for modification of the ten-day objection period in the Order of Reference to add a

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provision governing the objection period for reports from the Special Master that are not

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circulated to the parties for review and comment prior to filing.” (Id. at 19.)

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[3414451.2]

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Stip. & Order to Modify the Order of Reference (2:90-cv-00520 KJM-DB (PC))

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The 1995 Order of Reference bestowed upon the Special Master the duty to “make interim

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reports to the court on the progress of the remedial plan” and to “prepare and file with the court

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periodic reports assessing defendants’ compliance with such remedial plan as the court may

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order.” (Dkt. No. 640 at 4.) The Order of Reference imposed, as an additional condition on the

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filing of the compliance reports, that the Special Master serve the parties with a draft of each

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compliance report “to afford counsel a reasonable time within which to submit to the special

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master specific, written objections.” (Id.) Over the course of this case, the Special Master has

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regularly provided the parties with a minimum of thirty days in which to submit objections to the

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draft compliance reports.

The Order of Reference further provides that any compliance report

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“shall be adopted as the findings of fact and conclusions of law of the court, unless, within ten

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days after being served with the filing of the report, either side moves to reject or modify the

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report.” (Id.)

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The Order of Reference is silent as to the deadline to respond to reports filed by the Special

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Master that are not circulated to the parties for review and comment prior to filing. It is thus

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unclear whether the 10-day deadline contained in Section C of the Order of Reference or the

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twenty-one day deadline provided by Rule 53 (f) (2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for

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parties to file objections to, or to move to modify or adopt, a report of a Special Master governs.

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The parties have met and conferred and agree that the Court should set as the deadline for

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the parties to respond to reports filed by the Special Master that are not served on the parties

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before they are filed, at thirty days from the date of service of the filed report.

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Accordingly, the parties jointly request that the Court modify the Order of Reference to

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expressly provide that, for any report filed by the Special Master that has not been circulated to

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the parties for review and comment prior to filing, the parties will have thirty days from the date

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of service to file objections to, or move to modify, reject, or adopt, such a report. No other aspect

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of the Order of Reference is herein modified.

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///

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///

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[3414451.2]

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Stip. & Order to Modify the Order of Reference (2:90-cv-00520 KJM-DB (PC))

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The Special Master has reviewed and approved this stipulation and proposed order as
required by the Court’s July 3, 2019 Order. (ECF No. 6211 at 19.)
IT IS SO STIPULATED.
Dated: July 24, 2019

XAVIER BECERRA
Attorney General of California
ADRIANO HRVATIN
Supervising Deputy Attorney General

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/S/ ELISE OWENS THORN
Elise Owens Thorn
Deputy Attorney General
Attorneys for Defendants

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Dated: July 24, 2019

/S/ LISA ELLS
Lisa Ells
Attorneys for Plaintiffs

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: July 29, 2019

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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[3414451.2]

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Stip. & Order to Modify the Order of Reference (2:90-cv-00520 KJM-DB (PC))