Mansourian, et al v. Regents Davis, et al

Filing 649

ORDER signed by Judge Kimberly J. Mueller on 12/12/11 ORDERING that Defendant's Request 641 is DENIED. Additionally, Plaintiff's MOTION TO STRIKE [641[ is DENIED as moot. (Mena-Sanchez, L)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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AREZOU MANSOURIAN; et al.,
Plaintiffs,

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vs.

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No. CIV S-03-2591 KJM-EFB

REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF
CALIFORNIA, UNIVERSITY OF
CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS; et al.,
Defendants.

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ORDER
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This matter is before the court on the request of defendant Regents of the

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University of California for leave to file a dispositive motion in limine. (ECF 639.) As

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explained below, defendant’s request is DENIED.

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Defendant seeks to file a dispositive motion in limine contending that plaintiffs

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are not entitled to damages in this case. (Def.’s Status Conf. Statement (“Mot.”) at 1, ECF 639.)

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Defendant stresses that “this is not a situation where Defendant could have filed a dispositive

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motion on this issue but did not do so.” (Id. at 4.) Plaintiffs counter that such a motion would be

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untimely and that the question of whether plaintiffs may be entitled to damages has been

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resolved by the previously assigned district judge. (Pls.’ Opp’n at 1, ECF 644.)

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A motion in limine is “any motion . . . to exclude anticipated prejudicial evidence

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before the evidence is actually offered.” Luce v. United States, 469 U.S. 38, 40 n.2 (1984). A

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motion in limine is by definition an evidentiary motion; courts look with disfavor upon

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presenting dispositive motions in the guise of motions in limine. See Shewbridge v. El Dorado

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Irrigation Dist., 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 31535, at *11 (E.D. Cal. Apr. 30, 2007). Here,

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defendant’s request is in reality a request to file a standard dispositive motion, not a motion in

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limine. The deadline for hearing dispositive motions in this case was December 3, 2010. (ECF

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436.) As such, the court would have to modify the scheduling order in order to reopen the period

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for the filing of dispositive motions. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b)(4) states that “[a]

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schedule may be modified only for good cause and with the judge’s consent.” “Rule 16(b)’s

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‘good cause’ standard primarily considers the diligence of the party seeking the amendment. The

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district court may modify the pretrial schedule ‘if it cannot reasonably be met despite the

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diligence of the party seeking the extension.’” Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, 975 F.2d 604,

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609 (9th Cir. 1992) (quoting FED. R. CIV. P. 16 advisory committee’s notes (1983 amendment)).

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“Although the existence or degree of prejudice to the party opposing the modification might

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supply additional reasons to deny a motion, the focus of the inquiry is upon the moving party’s

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reasons for seeking modification. [citation omitted] If the party was not diligent, the inquiry

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should end.” Id.
Here, the court finds that defendant could have been more diligent. On the one

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hand, it is questionable whether or not defendant could have discovered its ultimate doubts

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regarding plaintiffs’ claim for damages until the court issued its decision regarding liability,

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which it did on August 3, 2011. (ECF 628.) In fact defendant did raise the question of

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entitlement to damages in various ways in two early dispositive motions, on June 5, 2007 (ECF

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188) and on January 11, 2008 (ECF 284). On the other hand, defendant waited nearly three

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months after the court issued its decision on liability to file the present request; the three month

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period included approximately three weeks after the defense alluded generally to further issues it

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wished to raise with the court regarding damages. (See ECF 636.)

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More importantly, however, defendant has not shown good cause, given the

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record in this matter. Defendant contends that its “initial research indicates that the issue of

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whether Plaintiffs can recover damages for a Title IX violation, where their specific complaints

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about wrestling are irrelevant to the identified Title IX violation, is a unique issue that no other

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court has addressed.” (Def.’s Mot. at 3.) However, the previously assigned district judge found

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that “plaintiffs are entitled to damages for the actual harm they suffered” because “defendant UC

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Davis failed to demonstrate a continuing practice of program expansion [in violation of Title

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IX].” (Aug. 3, 2011 Order, ECF 628 at 145.) The same judge conveyed his sense that “the

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juxtaposition of the court’s conclusions [at the end of the liability phase] would seem to place

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severe limitations on the damages these plaintiffs may recover.” (Id. at 146.) That judge also

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took punitive damages off the table, in light of his findings that all individual defendants were

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entitled to qualified immunity and that defendant Gill-Fisher did not cause any constitutional

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deprivation. (Id. at 145.)

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All things considered, the court finds that further briefing on a motion in limine

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will not eliminate the need for a trial to clarify the remaining questions as to damages and

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plaintiffs’ entitlement to them. In the damages phase, plaintiffs will be tasked with showing – if

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they can – that they suffered actual harm as a result of defendant’s actions (or lack thereof). It is

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for the jury to decide any disputed questions of fact that emerge from the proceeding.

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For the foregoing reasons, defendant’s request is DENIED. Additionally,
plaintiffs’ motion to strike (ECF 641) is DENIED as moot.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: December 12, 2011.

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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