California Sportfishing Protection Alliance v. Chico Scrap Metal, Inc. et al
Filing
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ORDER signed by District Judge Troy L. Nunley on 9/5/2017 GRANTING 293 Motion to Continue the trial date pending the Ninth Circuits decision in Robertson and VACATES the trial date. ORDERING the parties to file a Joint Status Report within six months of the date of this Order updating the Court on the status of Robertson. (Washington, S)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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CALIFORNIA SPORTFISHING
PROTECTION ALLIANCE, a non-profit
corporation,
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Plaintiff,
v.
No. 2:10-cv-01207-TLN-DB
ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS’
MOTION TO CONTINUE THE TRIAL
DATE PENDING NINTH CIRCUIT
DECISION IN U.S. v. ROBERTSON
CHICO SCRAP METAL, INC., a
California corporation, and GEORGE W.
SCOTT, SR. individually and as trustee of
GEORGE W. SCOTT, SR. REVOCABLE
INTER VIVOS TRUST DATED
SEPTEMBER 25, 1995,
Defendants.
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This matter is before the Court pursuant to Defendants’ Chico Scrap Metal, Inc., and
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George W. Scott, Sr. individually and as Trustee of George W. Scott, Sr. Revocable Inter Vivos
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Trust (collectively “Defendants”) Motion to Continue the Trial Date Pending the Ninth Circuit’s
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Decision in U.S. v. Robertson. (ECF No. 293.) Plaintiff California Sportfishing Protection
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Alliance (“Plaintiff”) opposes Defendants’ motion. (ECF No. 296.) Defendants filed a reply.
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(ECF No. 297.) The Court has carefully considered the arguments raised by both parties. For the
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reasons set forth below, Defendants’ Motion to Continue the Trial Date Pending the Ninth Circuit
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Decision in U.S. v. Robertson (ECF No. 293) is hereby GRANTED.
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I.
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Plaintiff filed its complaint, seeking relief from “Defendants’ discharges of pollutants in
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surface water from [Defendant’s] scrap metal recycling facility (“Facility”).” (ECF No. 97 ¶ 9.)
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Plaintiff alleged Defendants discharged surface water “to a series of irrigation ditches that
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discharge to the North Fork Honcut Creek, which flows into Honcut Creek, which flows into the
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Feather River, which drains to the Sacramento River and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.”
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(ECF No. 97 ¶ 10.) Plaintiff argued these discharges violated, among other statutes and
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regulations, provisions of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, 33 U.S.C. Section 1251, et
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seq. (“Clean Water Act”). (ECF No. 97 ¶ 1.)
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BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Defendants denied the Facility discharged pollutants or violated the Clean Water Act.
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(ECF No. 108 ¶¶ 2 & 9.) Defendants denied there was “sufficient connectivity between the ditch
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and the allegedly connected year-round creeks and rivers.” (ECF No. 293 at 7.) The parties
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agreed that “[w]hen it rains, storm water associated with the Facility’s industrial activities is
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discharged from the Facility.” (ECF No. 221 at 2.)
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The parties later sought summary judgment on, among other issues, whether Plaintiff had
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“sufficiently established the element of its [Clean Water Act] claims that requires it to show the
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discharges about which it complains are into ‘navigable waters.’” (ECF No. 221 at 6.) The Court
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decided that if the Facility’s discharges reach the Feather River by way of other bodies of water,
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even intermittently, and those discharges affect the integrity of the Feather River, then the
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Facility’s discharges are subject to the Clean Water Act. (ECF No. 221 at 8) (citing N. Cal. River
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Watch v. City of Healdsburg, 496 F.3d 993 (9th Cir. 2007) (“Healdsburg”)).
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Defendant anticipates a pending case, U.S. v. Robertson, Ninth Circuit Case No. 16-30178
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(“Robertson”), may alter the Healdsburg standard on which this Court relied. (ECF No. 293 at
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6.) Robertson argues recent precedent in U.S. v. Davis, 825 F.3d 1014 (9th Cir. 2016) overruled
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the approach the Healdsburg court applied when it adopted the definition of navigable waters that
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Justice Kennedy articulated in his concurrence in Rapanos v. United States, 547 U.S. 715 (2006).
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(ECF No. 296 at 5.) Defendant moves to continue the trial date until after the Ninth Circuit
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decides Robertson. (ECF No. 293 at 5.) Plaintiff opposes the motion. (ECF No. 296 at 3.)
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II.
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Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b)(4), “[a] schedule may be modified only for
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good cause and with the judge’s consent.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(4). “The trial court may, ‘with
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propriety, find it is efficient for its own docket and the fairest course for the parties to enter a stay
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of an action before it, pending resolution of independent proceedings that bear upon the case.’”
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United States v. LaPant, No. 2:16-CV-01498-KJM-DB, 2017 WL 2721981, at *1 (E.D. Cal. June
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23, 2017) (quoting Leyva v. Certified Grocers of Cal., Ltd., 593 F.2d 857, 863–64 (9th Cir.
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1979)).
STANDARD OF LAW
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In evaluating a motion to stay proceedings and continue a trial date, the court must
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consider, (1) the damage that may result from granting the stay or continuance, “(2) the hardship
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or inequity a party may suffer in being required to go forward, and (3) the orderly course of
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justice measured in terms of the simplifying or complicating of issues, proof, and questions of law
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expected to result from a stay.” LaPant, 2017 WL 2721981 at *1 (citing CMAX, Inc. v. Hall, 300
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F.2d 265, 268 (9th Cir. 1962); Lockyer v. Mirant Corp., 398 F.3d 1098, 1110 (9th Cir. 2005)).
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III.
ANALYSIS
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Defendants argue good cause exists for the Court to continue the trial date because the
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Ninth Circuit’s decision in Robertson may have a tremendous impact on this case and the Ninth
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Circuit will likely issue its decision within months. (ECF No. 293 at 13.) Defendants argue the
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time and expense of a trial will be significant for both the parties and the Court and those
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resources may be wasted if Robertson overturns the definition of navigable waters. (ECF No. 293
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at 14.) Defendants add the delay will be reasonable as the Ninth Circuit has already heard
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arguments in Robertson and typically issues orders within three to twelve months, so the
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continuance would only be for a matter of months. (ECF No. 293 at 14–15.)
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Plaintiff objects to the delay, arguing the definition of navigable waters is settled and this
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Court has already decided a portion of this case based on that definition. (ECF No. 296 at 4.)
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Plaintiff argues Defendants’ reasons are speculative as the Ninth Circuit may affirm the present
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definition and may not issue any decision for up to a year. (ECF No. 296 at 6.) Finally, Plaintiff
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contends Defendants have not shown good cause for the delay. Plaintiff argues it will be harmed
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because an entire wet season will pass, which may result in further discharge from the Facility,
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the case involves an elderly witness, and delay will increase litigation cost for its counsel. (ECF
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No. 296 at 8.) Plaintiff adds litigation cost is not a valid basis for claiming hardship or inequity,
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and Defendants were not diligent because 34 days elapsed between the date oral argument was set
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in Robertson and the date Defendants filed their motion. (ECF No. 296 at 8–9.)
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The Court finds the factors weigh in favor of granting Defendants’ motion and continuing
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the trial date. First, Defendants have shown the delay would likely be a matter of several months,
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in comparison to the several years during which the parties have engaged in extensive discovery
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and motions practice, the elderly witness has been deposed so his testimony would be available
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through transcript, and the record reflects that Plaintiff took two samples near the Facility which
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were both “non-detect” for lead. (ECF No. 297 at 3–4.)
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Second, while being required to defend a suit may not alone justify delaying the entire
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case, Lockyer, 398 F.3d at 1112, the parties here have completed all discovery and are
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contemplating only moving a trial date some months until the Ninth Circuit has issued its
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decision. Unlike Lockyear, where the separate proceeding was “unlikely to decide, or to
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contribute to the decision of, the factual and legal issues before the district court,” id. at 1113,
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here, the decision in Robertson may have a significant impact. The parties may lose their entire
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investment in the process of the trial if Robertson announces a different definition should have
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been in use, but there are no financial costs identified to setting a new trial date after the
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Robertson decision.
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Third, rescheduling the trial will promote the orderly course of justice by clarifying which
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definition of navigable waters should control at trial. If Robertson does not announce a change in
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the definition, all parties can move to trial with certainty. It is also possible that Robertson may
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simplify a critical question in the case or even divest this Court of jurisdiction. The efficient
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administration and management of the Court’s docket favors rescheduling in this circumstance.
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LaPant, 2017 WL 2721981 at *2 (Judge Mueller considering the effect of a decision in Robertson
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and declining to stay that case entirely, but delaying the completion of discovery until July 2018
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and rescheduling the trial date to May 2019).
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Finally, the Court does not agree that 34 days between the time oral arguments were
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scheduled in Robertson and Defendants filed their brief evidences a lack of diligence. The period
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included identifying the date for argument in Robertson, meeting and conferring with Plaintiff,
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and drafting and filing the motion. (ECF No. 296 at 9.) Plaintiff has not provided any authority
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supporting its contention that this period of time for these activities is an unreasonable delay.
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IV.
CONCLUSION
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For the reasons set forth above, the Court hereby GRANTS Defendants’ motion (ECF No.
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293) to continue the trial date pending the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Robertson and vacates the
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trial date. The parties are hereby ordered to file a Joint Status Report within six months of the
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date of this Order updating the Court on the status of Robertson.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
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Dated: September 5, 2017
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Troy L. Nunley
United States District Judge
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