Jones v. Scottland et al
Filing
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MODIFIED DISCOVERY AND SCHEDULING ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Edmund F. Brennan on 4/7/2016: Discovery is extended to 4/29/2016; Dispositive motions shall be filed on or before 6/29/2016; and Pretrial conference and trial dates will be set, as appropriate. 38 Motion to modify the scheduling order terminated. (Yin, K)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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LESLIE JAMES JONES,
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No. 2:12-cv-0633-TLN-EFB P (TEMP)
Plaintiff,
v.
MODIFIED DISCOVERY AND
A.Z. SCOTLAND, et al.,
SCHEDULING ORDER
Defendants.
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Plaintiff is a former state prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis in this civil
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rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. On September 18, 2015, defendants filed a motion to
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modify the Discovery and Scheduling Order, which was issued on April 21, 2015. Pursuant to
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that Order, the period for conducting discovery concluded on September 18, 2015, and the date
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by which dispositive motions were to be filed was November 20, 2015. ECF No. 31. In their
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pending motion, defendants assert that, despite their diligence in timely propounding written
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discovery, they were unaware of additional medical records until plaintiff’s deposition, which
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was held just days before the discovery deadline. Because plaintiff has declined to give his
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consent for the release of those records, defendants must now issue subpoenas duces tecum to
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third-parties. Plaintiff has not filed an opposition to defendants’ motion.
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A party seeking leave of court to amend the schedule of a case must satisfy Federal Rule
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of Civil Procedure 16(b)’s “good cause” standard. The good cause standard of Rule 16(b) focuses
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primarily on the diligence of the moving party, id., and the reasons for seeking modification, c.f.
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ex rel. Farnan v. Capistrano Unified Sch. Dist., 654 F.3d 975, 984 (9th Cir. 2011). If the party
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seeking to amend the scheduling order fails to show due diligence, the inquiry should end and the
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court should not grant the motion to modify. Zivkovic v. Southern California Edison, Co., 302
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F.3d 1080, 1087 (9th Cir. 2002).
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Here, defendants have exercised due diligence. On July 25, 2015, defendants served
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interrogatories and requests for production of documents seeking, inter alia, information relating
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to plaintiff’s medical conditions. Goodwin Decl. ¶¶ 2-3, Exs. A-B. Plaintiff’s responses did not
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describe or provide copies of documents related to medical care that he received following his
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release from prison, and defendants did not learn of plaintiff’s post-release medical needs or care
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until his September 16, 2015, deposition. Id. ¶¶ 9-10. Due to plaintiff’s failure to provide this
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information until the eve of the discovery deadline, the court finds that defendants have shown
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good cause for a modification of the Discovery and Scheduling Order.
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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:
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1. The discovery deadline is extended to April 29, 2016;
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2. Dispositive motions shall be filed on or before June 29, 2016; and
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3. Pretrial conference and trial dates will be set, as appropriate, following adjudication of
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any dispositive motion, or the expiration of time for filing such a motion.
DATED: April 7, 2016.
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