Engineered Door Industries, Inc. v. K.O.O. Construction, Inc. et al.

Filing 31

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Edmund F. Brennan on 10/5/2017 ACCORDINGLY it is hereby ORDERED that the 9/26/2017 order to show cause is DISCHARGED and no sanctions are imposed. (Reader, L)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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ENGINEERED DOOR INDUSTRIES,
INC.,
Plaintiff,

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ORDER
v.

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No. 2:16-cv-836-EFB PS

K.O.O. CONSTRUCTION, INC., et al.,
Defendants.

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On August 16, 2016, the court issued a pretrial scheduling order, which set a final pretrial

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conference for September 27, 2017. ECF No. 25 at 3. That order also directed the parties to file

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a joint pretrial statement by no later than September 13, 2017. Id. The parties failed to timely file

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a joint pretrial statement. Accordingly, the final pretrial conference was continued, and the

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parties were ordered, by no later than October 2, 2017, to file a pretrial statement and show cause,

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in writing, why sanctions should not be imposed for failure to comply with the court’s scheduling

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order. ECF No. 26.
Rather than respond to the order to show cause, plaintiff filed a notice of settlement (ECF

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No. 27) and the parties filed a stipulation for voluntary dismissal pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil

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Procedure 41(a)(1) (ECF No. 28).1 The parties, however, failed to show cause why sanctions

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should not be imposed for their failure to comply with the court’s order.

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The parties were not permitted to disregard the court’s scheduling order merely because

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they settled the case. Instead, they should have immediately notified the court that a settlement

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had been reached or, if settlement negotiations were ongoing and good cause warranted an

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extension, requested an extension of time to file the pretrial statement. Taking no action was not

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an available option. Similarly, the parties’ stipulation for voluntary dismissal does not address or

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justify their disregard of the court’s order to show cause.

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Notwithstanding the parties’ failure to show cause why sanctions should not be imposed,

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the court declines to impose sanctions in light the parties’ ability to resolve their dispute. Instead,

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this order will serve as an admonishment to counsel. Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that

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the September 26, 2017 order to show cause is discharged and no sanctions are imposed.

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DATED: October 5, 2017.

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The Clerk closed the case on October 4, 2017, pursuant to that stipulation. ECF No. 29;
see Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(a)(1)(ii).
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