Morales et al v. Unilever United States, Inc.

Filing 34

STATUS (PRETRIAL SCHEDULING) ORDER signed by Senior Judge William B. Shubb on 5/9/14 ORDERING that the 5/27/2014 Status (Pretrial Scheduling) Conference is hereby VACATED. The Parties shall serve the initial disclosures by no later than 5/16/2014; all non-expert discovery shall be completed by 2/13/2015; Plaintiffs shall disclose their experts and produce reports by no later than 3/13/2015; Defendant shall conduct any depositions of plaintiffs' expert witnesses by no later than 4/10/201 5; Defendant shall disclose its experts and produce reports by no later than 4/10/2015; Plaintiffs shall conduct any depositions of defendant's expert witnesses by no later than 5/8/2015; Plaintiffs shall disclose any rebuttal expert witness es and produce rebuttal expert reports by no later than 5/8/2015; Defendant shall conduct any depositions of plaintiffs' rebuttal witnesses by no later than 6/5/2015; all expert discovery shall be completed by 6/12/2015; Plaintiffs motion for class certification shall be filed on or before 7/10/2015; Defendant shall file its opposition on or before 8/21/2015; and plaintiffs shall file their reply on or before 9/18/2015; the court will hear plaintiff's motion for class certificati on on 10/5/2015, or on the next available hearing date; all other motions shall be filed on or before 12/7/2015; the Final Pretrial Conference is SET for 2/16/2016 at 02:00 PM in Courtroom 5 (WBS) before Senior Judge William B. Shubb; a Jury Trial is SET for 4/12/2016 at 09:00 AM in Courtroom 5 (WBS) before Senior Judge William B. Shubb. (Kastilahn, A)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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ALBA MORALES; LAINIE COHEN;
LINDA CLAYMAN; and KENNETH
DREW, on behalf of themselves
and all others similarly
situated,
Plaintiffs,

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CIV. NO. 2:13-2213 WBS EFB

v.
CONOPCO INC., d/b/a UNILEVER,

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Defendant.

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STATUS (PRETRIAL SCHEDULING) ORDER

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After reviewing the parties’ Joint Status Report, the

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court hereby vacates the Status (Pretrial Scheduling) Conference

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scheduled for May 27, 2014, and makes the following findings and

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orders without needing to consult with the parties any further.

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I.

SERVICE OF PROCESS

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All remaining defendants have been served, and no
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further service is permitted without leave of court, good cause

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having been shown under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b).

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II.

JOINDER OF PARTIES/AMENDMENTS

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No further joinder of parties or amendments to

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pleadings will be permitted except with leave of court, good

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cause having been shown under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure

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16(b).

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(9th Cir. 1992).

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See Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604

III. JURISDICTION/VENUE
Jurisdiction is predicated upon the Class Action

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Fairness Act of 2005, 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d), because the amount in

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controversy exceeds five million dollars and a substantial number

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of members of the putative class are citizens of a state

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different from that of defendant.

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hereby found to be proper.

Venue is undisputed and is

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IV.

DISCOVERY

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The parties shall serve the initial disclosures

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required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(1) by no later

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than May 16, 2014.

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All non-expert discovery, including depositions for

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preservation of testimony, is left open, save and except that it

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shall be so conducted as to be completed by February 13, 2015.

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The word “completed” means that all discovery shall have been

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conducted so that all depositions have been taken and any

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disputes relevant to discovery shall have been resolved by

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appropriate order if necessary and, where discovery has been

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ordered, the order has been obeyed.

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discovery must be noticed on the magistrate judge’s calendar in
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All motions to compel

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accordance with the local rules of this court and so that such

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motions may be heard (and any resulting orders obeyed) not later

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than February 13, 2015.

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Plaintiffs shall disclose their experts and produce

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reports by no later than March 13, 2015.

Defendant shall conduct

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any depositions of plaintiffs’ expert witnesses by no later than

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April 10, 2015.

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reports by no later than April 10, 2015.

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conduct any depositions of defendant’s expert witnesses by no

Defendant shall disclose its experts and produce
Plaintiffs shall

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later than May 8, 2015.

Plaintiffs shall disclose any rebuttal

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expert witnesses and produce rebuttal expert reports by no later

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than May 8, 2015.

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plaintiffs’ rebuttal witnesses by no later than June 5, 2015.

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All expert discovery shall be completed by June 12, 2015.

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motions to compel expert discovery must be noticed on the

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magistrate judge’s calendar in accordance with the local rules of

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this court and so that such motions may be heard (and any

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resulting orders obeyed) not later than June 12, 2015.

Defendant shall conduct any depositions of

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V.

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All

MOTION HEARING SCHEDULE

Plaintiffs contemplate filing a motion for class

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certification, and shall file that motion on or before July 10,

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2015.

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21, 2015, and plaintiffs shall file their reply on or before

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September 18, 2015.

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class certification on October 5, 2015, or on the next available

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hearing date.

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Defendant shall file its opposition on or before August

The court will hear plaintiff’s motion for

All other motions, except motions for continuances,
temporary restraining orders, or other emergency applications,
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shall be filed on or before December 7, 2015.

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be noticed for the next available hearing date.

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cautioned to refer to the local rules regarding the requirements

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for noticing and opposing such motions on the court’s regularly

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scheduled law and motion calendar.

All motions shall
Counsel are

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VI.

FINAL PRETRIAL CONFERENCE

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The Final Pretrial Conference is set for February 16,

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2016, at 2:00 p.m. in Courtroom No. 5.

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attended by at least one of the attorneys who will conduct the

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trial for each of the parties and by any unrepresented parties.

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The conference shall be

Counsel for all parties are to be fully prepared for

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trial at the time of the Pretrial Conference, with no matters

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remaining to be accomplished except production of witnesses for

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oral testimony.

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and are referred to Local Rules 281 and 282 relating to the

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contents of and time for filing those statements.

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those subjects listed in Local Rule 281(b), the parties are to

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provide the court with: (1) a plain, concise statement which

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identifies every non-discovery motion which has been made to the

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court, and its resolution; (2) a list of the remaining claims as

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against each defendant; and (3) the estimated number of trial

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days.

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Counsel shall file separate pretrial statements,

In addition to

In providing the plain, concise statements of

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undisputed facts and disputed factual issues contemplated by

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Local Rule 281(b)(3)-(4), the parties shall emphasize the claims

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that remain at issue, and any remaining affirmatively pled

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defenses thereto.

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parties shall also prepare a succinct statement of the case,

If the case is to be tried to a jury, the

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which is appropriate for the court to read to the jury.

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VII.

TRIAL SETTING

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The trial is set for April 12, 2016, at 9:00 a.m.

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Plaintiffs demand a jury trial.

The parties have not provided an

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estimate of how long the trial will last.

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VIII. SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE

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A Settlement Conference will be set at the time of the

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Pretrial Conference.

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the court whether they will stipulate to the trial judge acting

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All parties should be prepared to advise

as settlement judge and waive disqualification by virtue thereof.

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Counsel are instructed to have a principal with full

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settlement authority present at the Settlement Conference or to

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be fully authorized to settle the matter on any terms.

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seven full calendar days before the Settlement Conference,

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counsel for each party shall submit a confidential Settlement

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Conference Statement for review by the settlement judge.

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settlement judge is not the trial judge, the Settlement

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Conference Statements shall not be filed and will not otherwise

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be disclosed to the trial judge.

At least

If the

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IX.

MODIFICATIONS TO SCHEDULING ORDER

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Any requests to modify the dates or terms of this

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Scheduling Order, except requests to change the date of the

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trial, may be heard and decided by the assigned Magistrate Judge.

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All requests to change the trial date shall be heard and decided

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only by the undersigned judge.

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Dated:

May 9, 2014

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