Patriot Rail Corp. v. Sierra Railroad Company

Filing 193

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Edmund F. Brennan on 2/7/2012 ORDERING 191 Motion to Strike and 192 Motion to Compel are DENIED since this court lacks authority to consider motions after the close of discovery; the 2/29/2011 hearing on the remainder of parties' motions is VACATED; if parties desire to re-notice those motions, they shall notice the motions before the assigned district judge and comply with Local Rule 230. (Waggoner, D)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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PATRIOT RAIL CORP.,
Plaintiff,

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vs.

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No. CIV S-09-009 MCE EFB

SIERRA RAILROAD COMPANY,
Defendant.

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ORDER
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On February 3, 2012, plaintiff filed a motion to strike one of defendant’s supplemental

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expert reports and a motion for sanctions due to alleged discovery misconduct and violations of

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the assigned district judge’s scheduling orders. Dckt. No. 191. Plaintiff noticed the motion

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under Local Rule 251 and set the matter for hearing before the undersigned on February 29,

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2012. Then, on February 6, 2012, defendant filed a motion for an order compelling plaintiff to

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produce supplemental responses to discovery, and a motion for sanctions due to alleged

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discovery misconduct and violations of the court’s orders. Dckt. No. 192. Defendant also

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noticed the motion under Local Rule 251 and set the matter for hearing before the undersigned

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on February 29, 2012.

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However, the discovery deadlines in this case (both expert and non-expert), which were

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extended multiple times, expired more than a year ago.1 As set forth in the district judge’s

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original Pretrial Scheduling Order, the discovery deadline is the date on which all discovery is to

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be “completed,” which “means that all discovery shall have been conducted so that all

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depositions have been taken and any disputes relative to discovery shall have been resolved by

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appropriate order if necessary and, where discovery has been ordered, the order has been

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complied with.” See May 18, 2009 Pretrial Scheduling Order, Dckt. No. 20 at 2.

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Therefore, defendant’s motion to compel, Dckt. No. 192, and the portions of both
plaintiff and defendant’s motions seeking discovery sanctions, Dckt. Nos. 191 and 192, are

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denied since this court has no authority to consider discovery motions after the close of

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discovery.2 Additionally, the February 29, 2011 hearing on the remainder of the parties’ motions

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(plaintiff’s motion to strike defendant’s supplemental expert report and motion for sanctions for

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violation of the district judge’s scheduling order, and defendant’s motion for sanctions for

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violation of the court’s orders) is vacated. If the parties desire to re-notice those motions, they

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shall notice the motions before the assigned district judge and shall comply with Local Rule 230.

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SO ORDERED.
DATED: February 7, 2012.

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The non-expert discovery deadline expired on September 10, 2010, and the deadline for
completing expert discovery expires sometime before the November 15, 2010 dispositive motion
deadline. See Dckt. No. 104 at 4-5 (providing third parties until September 10, 2010 to respond
to outstanding subpoenas and providing that “[t]he parties will complete all discovery of expert
witnesses in a timely manner in order to comply with the deadline for filing dispositive
motions”); see also Dckt. Nos. 100, 166.
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The parties may file a motion to further modify the Pretrial Scheduling Order, but that
motion must be heard and decided by the district judge.
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