Wallis et al v. Centennial Insurance Company Inc et al
Filing
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ORDER re 234 , 235 , 238 Objections to the Court's 233 Final Pretrial Order, signed by Senior Judge William B. Shubb on 8/16/2013. (Kirksey Smith, K)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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DALE M. WALLIS, D.V.M., JAMES
L. WALLIS, and HYGIEIA
BIOLOGICAL LABORATORIES, INC.,
a California Corporation,
NO. CIV. 2:08-02558 WBS GGH
ORDER
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Plaintiffs,
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v.
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CENTENNIAL INSURANCE COMPANY,
INC., a New York corporation,
and ATLANTIC MUTUAL INSURANCE,
CO., INC., a New York
corporation,
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Defendants,
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/
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AND RELATED COUNTERCLAIMS AND
THIRD-PARTY COMPLAINT.
/
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All the parties have filed objections (See Docket Nos.
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234, 235, 238.) the Final Pretrial Order (“Order”), (Docket No.
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233), filed in this case on August 7, 2013.
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I.
Defendants’ Objection to the Final Pretrial Order
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Pursuant to defendants request, the Order is amended
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such that no later than seven calendar days before the trial
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date, counsel for each party shall file trial briefs pursuant to
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Local Rule 16-285.
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II.
Third-Party Defendant Mendoza’s Objections to the Order
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Pursuant to defendant Mendoza’s objection, the Order is
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amended to add as Mendoza’s exhibits those documents listed on
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pages 14-15 of her Objections and Requests for Modification to
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the Court’s Final Pretrial Order.
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15:26 (Docket No. 235).)
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commencing with the first number not used by plaintiffs.
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issues raised in defendant Mendoza’s objections that have not
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been ruled upon in prior orders will be dealt with at the time of
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trial.
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III. Plaintiffs’ Objections to the Order
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A.
(TPD’s Objections at 14:28-
Mendoza’s exhibits shall bear numbers,
All
Bond
Even if defendants were required to post a bond
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pursuant to sections 1616 et seq. of the California Insurance
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Code by virtue of becoming insolvent during this action,
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plaintiffs’ request, on the eve of trial, is untimely.
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2012, plaintiffs knew that the court would not stay this case
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because of defendants’ liquidations.
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(Docket No. 141).)
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stay over all claims not subject to arbitration.
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Plaintiffs have since allowed the case to proceed for over a year
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without any request for a bond.
By May 1,
(See May 1, 2012 Order
On that same date, the court also lifted the
(Id. at 8:6-9.)
They provide no explanation as
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to why they waited until this late date to request a bond.1
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bond request also remains insufficiently documented.
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B.
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The
Default of Atlantic Mutual
Plaintiffs’ request for a hearing before trial on the
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issue of Atlantic Mutual’s default is also untimely.
Plaintiffs
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did not raise the issue of Atlantic Mutual’s failure to file a
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timely answer at the pretrial conference held on August 5, 2013.
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At that time, the answer was already late.
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plaintiffs raised the issue in their objections to the Order,
Immediately after
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Atlantic Mutual filed its answer.
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for Atlantic Mutual states that the failure to file the answer by
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August 2, 2013 was a mistake.
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2).)
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(See Docket No. 239.)
Counsel
(Evans Decl. ¶ 10 (Docket No. 239-
As it appears that there will be no prejudice to
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plaintiffs because the answer was eleven days late, the court
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denies plaintiffs’ request for a hearing on whether default
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should be entered as to Atlantic Mutual.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED:
August 16, 2013
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Plaintiffs now object to Atlantic Mutual filing an
answer to the First Amended Complaint without first posting a
bond. They made no such objection when Centennial filed its
answer to the First Amended Complaint on April 18, 2013.
(See Docket No. 218.)
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