Zwick v. Zwick

Filing 20

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Edmund F. Brennan on 5/4/2017 ORDERING that the 16 Order to Show Cause is DISCHARGED. (Zignago, K.)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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ELKA ZWICK,

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Plaintiff,

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No. 2:16-cv-734-EFB

v.

ORDER

MICHAEL ZWICK,

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Defendant.

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This case was previously set for a settlement conference to be held on April 13, 2017. In

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violation of the court’s order, both parties failed to submit settlement conference statements seven

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days prior to the settlement conference, or by April 6, 2017. See ECF No. 14. Instead, they

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submitted a joint stipulation requesting modification of the dates in the scheduling order. But

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even that request was filed after the deadline for submitting settlement conference statements and

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it did not address the parties’ failure to submit their statements. See ECF No. 15. In light of the

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violation of the court’s order, the settlement conference was vacated and counsel for both parties

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were ordered to show cause why sanctions should not be imposed. ECF No. 16. Plaintiff’s

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counsel responded stating the he failed to file a settlement statement due to a calendaring error.

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ECF No. 18.

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Defendant’s counsel states that he overlooked the briefing deadline. ECF Nos. 17. The

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explanations are troubling.1 While counsel each express the opinion that holding a settlement

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conference on April 13 would not have been productive in any event, that fails to take account of

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the very heavy caseload in this district and the large numbers of cases in which the parties are

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requesting and awaiting available dates for settlement conferences. When a date is reserved for

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the parties in one case, as occurred here, it becomes unavailable to the parties in other cases.2

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Although the court is not imposing sanctions at this time, counsel are admonished that future

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violations of scheduling orders or the court’s Local Rules or Federal Rules of Civil Procedure will

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result in sanctions. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(f); E.D. Cal. Local Rule 110. The order to show cause

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issued on April 10, 2017, ECF No. 16, is therefore discharged.
So Ordered.
DATED: May 4, 2017.

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Neither explanation constitutes good cause excusing their failure to comply with the
court’s order. See Wei v. State of Hawaii, 763 F.2d 370, 372 (9th Cir. 1985).
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Due to the number of cases in this district, the court’s available settlement conference
dates are booked for the next four months.
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