Hernandez v. Hartford Life Insurance Company

Filing 8

STATUS (PRETRIAL SCHEDULING) ORDER signed by Senior Judge William B. Shubb on 6/24/16: Discovery due by 9/30/2016. Trial set for 2/28/2017 at 09:00 AM in Courtroom 5 (WBS) before Senior Judge William B. Shubb. (Kaminski, H)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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JEMIAH HERNANDEZ,

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CIV. NO. 2:16-00426 WBS AC

Plaintiff,
v.
HARTFORD LIFE INSURANCE
COMPANY and DOES 1-100,
Defendants.

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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 July 5, 2016, 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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The named defendant has been served and no further

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service is permitted without leave of court, good cause having

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

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No further joinder of parties or amendments to

JOINDER OF PARTIES/AMENDMENTS

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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).

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

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III. JURISDICTION/VENUE

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Jurisdiction is predicated upon federal question

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jurisdiction, 28 U.S.C. § 1331, because plaintiff’s claim arises

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under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974

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(“ERISA”), 29 U.S.C. §§ 1001-1461.

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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 dispute whether any discovery is proper

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under a de novo standard of review in this ERISA action.

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court, however, will determine the relevance of any non-

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administrative record evidence when resolving a motion for

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summary judgment or the bench trial.

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“obtain discovery regarding any nonprivileged matter that is

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relevant to any party’s claim or defense.”

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26(b)(1).

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The

The parties may therefore

Fed. R. Civ. P.

Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26 (a)(1),

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the parties agree that initial disclosures shall be served by

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June 24, 2016.

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December 1, 2016.

Defendant will file the administrative record by

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All discovery, including depositions for preservation

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of testimony, is left open, save and except that it shall be so

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conducted as to be completed by September 30, 2016.
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The word

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

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that all depositions have been taken and any disputes relevant to

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discovery shall have been resolved by appropriate order if

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

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been obeyed.

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the magistrate judge’s calendar in accordance with the local

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rules of this court and so that such motions may be heard (and

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any resulting orders obeyed) not later than September 30, 2016.

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All motions to compel discovery must be noticed on

The court will waive the pre-trial requirements in

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Eastern District Local Rules 281-283, 285, and 290 for a pretrial

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statement, pretrial conference, witness lists, exhibit lists, and

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trial briefs as the parties do not anticipate calling live

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witnesses or experts and expect that the evidence presented at

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trial will consist solely of the administrative record and

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damages evidence.

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trial based on opening and responsive trial briefs.

The parties will be permitted to conduct a

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V.

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The parties will file their opening briefs on January

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BRIEFING SCHEDULE

17, 2017 and their responsive briefs on January 24, 2017.

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VI.

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The trial is set for February 28, 2017 at 9:00 a.m.

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TRIAL SETTING

The parties estimate that the hearing will last one to two hours.

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VII.

SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE

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The parties agree to participate in a Settlement

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Conference with a magistrate judge.

The parties shall contact

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the assigned magistrate judge’s courtroom deputy no later than

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July 19, 2016, by phone or email to schedule a settlement

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conference.

The early settlement conference shall be conducted
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no later than October 5, 2016.

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assigned magistrate judge is available at www.caed.uscourts.gov

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under the “Judges” tab.

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Contact information for the

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 calendar days before the Settlement Conference counsel for

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each party shall submit a confidential Settlement Conference

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Statement for review by the settlement judge.

At least

Such statements

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shall not be filed, but shall be emailed to

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[e-mail].

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Conference Statement, each party shall e-file a one page document

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entitled “Notice of Submission of Confidential Settlement

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Conference Statement.”

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Upon emailing the Settlement

No later than seven days before the date of the early

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settlement conference, counsel for each party shall file a waiver

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of disqualification of the assigned magistrate judge pursuant to

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Local Rule 270(b).

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disqualification by each party, the settlement conference will be

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vacated and reassigned to another magistrate judge.

Absent the filing of a waiver of

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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:

June 24, 2016

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