Kowal v. Action Watersports of Incline Village, LLC

Filing 12

STIPULATION and ORDER signed by District Judge John A. Mendez on 1/4/19 AMENDING the case deadlines listed in 8 Status Pretrial Scheduling Order as follows: All dispositive motions shall be filed by 8/27/2019, and hearing on such motions shall be on 9/24/2019 at 1:30 p.m. All discovery shall be completed by 6/21/2019. Designation of Expert Witnesses due by 7/12/2019, and supplemental disclosure and disclosure of any rebuttal experts due by 7/26/2019. The Final Pretrial Conference is SET for 11/1/2019 at 11:00 AM, and the Jury Trial is SET for 12/9/2019 at 09:00 AM, BOTH in Courtroom 6 (JAM) before District Judge John A. Mendez. (Coll, A)

1 MARKER E. LOVELL, JR. (208659)
ANNA GOURGIOTOPOULOU (304998)
2 GIBSON ROBB & LINDH LLP
201 Mission Street, Suite 2700
3 San Francisco, California 94105
Telephone:
[phone]
4 Facsimile:
[phone]
Email:
[e-mail]
5
[e-mail]
6 Attorneys for Defendant
ACTION WATERSPORTS OF INCLINE VILLAGE, LLC
7
8 CRAIG L. JUDSON (114926)
SHARON M. NAGLE (179124)
9 BOLD, POLISNER, MADDOW, NELSON & JUDSON
A Professional Corporation
10 2125 Oak Grove Road, Suite 210
Walnut Creek, CA 94598
11 Telephone:
[phone]
Facsimile:
[phone]
12 Email:
[e-mail]
13 Attorneys for Plaintiffs
ELIZABETH KOWAL and CONSTANTINE PHILIPIDES
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15

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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SACRAMENTO DIVISION

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19 ELIZABETH KOWAL, CONSTANTINE
PHILIPIDES,
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Plaintiffs,
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v.
22
ACTION WATERSPORTS OF INCLINE
23 VILLAGE, LLC; DOES 1 through 50,
inclusive,
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Defendants.
25

Case No. 2:17-cv-01469-JAM-DB
STIPULATION TO CONTINUE CASE
DEADLINES AND TRIAL DATE

26 / / /
27 / / /
28 / / /
GIBSON ROBB & LINDH LLP
201 Mission Street, Suite 2700
San Francisco, CA 94105
Tel.: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

STIPULATION TO CONTINUE CASE DEADLINES AND TRIAL DATE
Case No. 2:17-cv-01469-JAM-DB; Our File No. 8004.44

1

Plaintiffs ELIZABETH KOWAL and CONSTANTINE PHILIPIDES (“Plaintiffs”) and

2 Defendant ACTION WATERSPORTS OF INCLINE VILLAGE, LLC (“Defendant”),
3 (collectively, “the Parties”) jointly stipulate and respectfully request the Court to continue the case
4 deadlines and trial date set through the Status (Pre-Trial Scheduling) Order of February 2, 2018,
5 for the following reasons.
6

1.

Plaintiffs filed the present action on July 14, 2017.

7

2.

Defendant filed its Answer to the Complaint on November 1, 2017.

8

3.

On February 2, 2018, the Court issued its Status (Pre-Trial Scheduling) Order

9 setting forth, inter alia, the dates for completion of discovery, motion practice and trial of the
10 instant matter. (Doc. 8).
11

4.

The Parties now stipulate and respectfully request that these deadlines, including

12 the trial date, be modified as follows:
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Event

Current Date

Discovery Cut-Off

March 15, 2019

Stipulated Proposed New
Date
June 21, 2019

16

Expert Disclosures

January 11, 2019

July 12, 2019

17

Supplemental
Disclosure of Expert
Witnesses
Dispositive Motion
Filing Deadline
Dispositive Motion
Hearing Deadline
Final Pre-Trial
Conference
Trial Date

January 25, 2019

July 26, 2019

April 23, 2019

August 12, 2019

May 21, 2019

September 17, 2019

June 28, 2019

November 13, 2019

August 5, 2019

December 9, 2019

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5.

Good cause exists for the Court to grant the requested relief because despite the

26 Parties’ diligent efforts to adhere to the case schedule as initially ordered, unforeseen
27 developments outside the Parties’ control are expected to interfere with the existing litigation
28 deadlines. The Parties are working together resolve the matter through mediation, and contacted a
GIBSON ROBB & LINDH LLP

2

201 Mission Street, Suite 2700
San Francisco, CA 94105
Tel.: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

STIPULATION TO CONTINUE CASE DEADLINES AND TRIAL DATE
Case No. 2:17-cv-01469-JAM-DB; Our File No. 8004.44

1 mutually acceptable neutral, Chris Lavdiotis, to schedule a mediation session in early 2019. Given
2 the underlying legal and factual issues of this case and the amount of Plaintiffs’ claimed damages,
3 the Parties agree that a full-day mediation is necessary in order to meaningfully discuss these
4 matters and hopefully resolve their differences. Nevertheless, on or around December 12, 2018,
5 the Parties were informed that Mr. Lavdiotis has no availability for a full day mediation before
6 March 2019. Accordingly, the Parties are in the process of scheduling the mediation for March 6,
7 2019. The deadlines to complete expert disclosures precede this mediation date, and the deadline
8 to complete discovery is less than ten days thereafter.
9

6.

The requested new deadlines and trial date will give the Parties the opportunity to

10 focus on resolving their differences through the March mediation before incurring the time and
11 expense of engaging and disclosing expert witnesses, and will further give them sufficient time to
12 complete fact and expert discovery and resolve discovery disputes, if any, should the matter not
13 settle in March.
14

7.

In view of this requested continuance of the deadlines to complete discovery, the

15 Parties respectfully request that the Court also continue the deadlines to file and hear case
16 dispositive motions, as the dates currently set for such motions precede the proposed new dates for
17 close of discovery.
18

8.

Given that this case is an admiralty and maritime matter, the proposed continued

19 trial and pre-trial dates will also allow the Parties sufficient time to meet and confer prior to filing
20 any motions on the issue of limitation of Defendant’s liability and the potential bifurcation of
21 liability from limitation issues and/or alteration of normal trial procedures. The new case schedule
22 will provide the Parties with further opportunity to engage in settlement discussions before
23 incurring the expense of such anticipated pre-trial motions and cost of a potentially phased trial.
24

9.

Good cause further exists for the requested relief because lead trial counsel for

25 Defendant, Marker Lovell, Jr., will be unavailable in the weeks leading up to the current trial date
26 of August 5, 2019, due to a pro bono engagement. Mr. Lovell has been appointed President of the
27 Orinda-Moraga Pools Association (OMPA), a local non-profit organization dedicated to the
28 promotion of Contra Costa County’s recreational swimming teams. In his capacity as OMPA
GIBSON ROBB & LINDH LLP

3

201 Mission Street, Suite 2700
San Francisco, CA 94105
Tel.: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

STIPULATION TO CONTINUE CASE DEADLINES AND TRIAL DATE
Case No. 2:17-cv-01469-JAM-DB; Our File No. 8004.44

1 President, Mr. Lovell is responsible for organizing and overseeing the 2019 OMPA Championship
2 Meet, which is scheduled to take place on August 2-4, 2019. Such responsibilities are expected to
3 interfere with lead trial counsel’s ability to effectively participate in trial preparation of this matter,
4 including drafting and arguing pre-trial motions, as well as his ability to appear before the Court
5 on the current trial start date of August 5, 2019.
6

10.

This is the first request for continuance submitted by the Parties in this case.

7

NOW, THEREFORE, for the foregoing reasons, the Parties respectfully request that the

8 Court grant this Stipulation and continue the case deadlines and trial date previously set by the
9 Court’s Scheduling Order (Doc. 8) as herein set forth.
10

Undersigned counsel for Defendant, Marker E. Lovell, Jr., certifies that all electronic

11 signatures below have been duly authorized by signatory counsel per Local Rule 131(e).
12
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Respectfully submitted,
Dated: January 4, 2019

GIBSON ROBB & LINDH LLP

15
16

By: /s/ MARKER E. LOVELL, JR.
Marker E. Lovell, Jr.
[e-mail]
Attorneys for Defendant
ACTION WATERSPORTS OF
INCLINE VILLAGE, LLC

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Dated: January 4, 2019

BOLD, POLISNER, MADDOW, NELSON
& JUDSON

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By: /s/ SHARON NAGLE
Sharon M. Nagle
[e-mail]
Attorneys for Plaintiffs
ELIZABETH KOWAL and
CONSTANTINE PHILIPIDES

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GIBSON ROBB & LINDH LLP

4

201 Mission Street, Suite 2700
San Francisco, CA 94105
Tel.: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

STIPULATION TO CONTINUE CASE DEADLINES AND TRIAL DATE
Case No. 2:17-cv-01469-JAM-DB; Our File No. 8004.44

1
2

ORDER (AS MODIFIED BY THE COURT)
Having reviewed the stipulation above of Plaintiffs ELIZABETH KOWAL and

3 CONSTANTINE PHILIPIDES and Defendant ACTION WATERSPORTS OF INCLINE
4 VILLAGE, LLC, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED:
5

The case deadlines listed in the Status (Pre-Trial Scheduling) Order dated February 2,

6 2018, (Doc. 8) shall be amended as follows:
7
Event

Current Date

Discovery Cut-Off

March 15, 2019

Stipulated Proposed New
Date
June 21, 2019

10

Expert Disclosures

January 11, 2019

July 12, 2019

11

Supplemental
Disclosure of Expert
Witnesses
Dispositive Motion
Filing Deadline
Dispositive Motion
Hearing Deadline

January 25, 2019

July 26, 2019

April 23, 2019

August 27, 2019

May 21, 2019

September 24, 2019 at 1:30

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9

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p.m.

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Final Pre-Trial
Conference

June 28, 2019

a.m.

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November 1, 2019 at 11:00

Trial Date

August 5, 2019

December 9, 2019 at 9:00
a.m.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: 1/4/2019

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/s/ John A. Mendez_____________
Hon. John A. Mendez
United States District Court Judge

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GIBSON ROBB & LINDH LLP

5

201 Mission Street, Suite 2700
San Francisco, CA 94105
Tel.: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

STIPULATION TO CONTINUE CASE DEADLINES AND TRIAL DATE
Case No. 2:17-cv-01469-JAM-DB; Our File No. 8004.44