Dimitre v. California State University Employees' Union et al

Filing 39

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Deborah Barnes on 2/19/2019 DENYING plaintiff's 34 Amended Motion to Compel. The 2/22/2019 hearing is VACATED. (Zignago, K.)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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THOMAS DIMITRE,

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No. 2:17-cv-1698 KJM DB

Plaintiff,
v.

ORDER

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY
EMPLOYEES UNION,
Defendant.

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On October 28, 2018, plaintiff filed a motion to compel and noticed the motion for

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hearing before the undersigned pursuant to Local Rule 302(c)(1). (ECF Nos. 29 & 30.) On

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January 22, 2019, the hearing of that motion was vacated due to plaintiff’s failure to comply with

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Local Rule 251. (ECF No. 33.)

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On January 30, 2019, plaintiff filed an amended motion to compel. (ECF No. 34.)

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Defendant filed an opposition on February 8, 2019. (ECF No. 35.) Plaintiff, however, has again

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failed to comply with Local Rule 251 and with the undersigned’s Standard Information.

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In this regard, plaintiff’s amended motion states that after plaintiff filed the original

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motion to compel, defendant “produces an additional 11,000 pages of documents.” (ECF No. 34

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at 3.) Plaintiff then sent two emails to defendant requesting to meet and confer. (Id. at 3-4.)

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Plaintiff received no response and filed the amended motion to compel on January 30, 2019.
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Pursuant to Local Rule 251(a), motions regarding discovery disagreements may be heard

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by filing a notice of motion and motion scheduling the motion for hearing at least twenty-one

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days therefrom. Local Rule 251(b) provides that a discovery motion “shall not be heard unless []

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the parties have conferred and attempted to resolve their differences[.]” In this regard, “[c]ounsel

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for all interested parties shall confer in advance of the filing of the motion or in advance of the

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hearing of the motion in a good faith effort to resolve the differences that are the subject of the

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motion.” (Id.) If, after meeting and conferring, the moving party remains dissatisfied, that party

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shall draft and file a “Joint Statement re Discovery Disagreement.” Local Rule 251(c). The

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failure to file a Joint Statement may result in the hearing being dropped from calendar. Local

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Rule 251(a).
Moreover, pursuant to the undersigned’s Standard Information, “[w]ritten correspondence

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between the parties . . . is insufficient to satisfy the parties’ meet and confer obligations under

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Local Rule 251(b).” See http://www.caed.uscourts.gov/caednew/index.cfm/judges/all-

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judges/united-states-magistrate-judge-deborah-barnes-db. And parties must meet and confer in

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person—distance permitting—prior to the filing of a discovery motion and “must again confer in

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person or via telephone or video conferencing” prior to the filing of the Joint Statement. Id.

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If, after attempting to meet and confer in person or via telephone or video conferencing,

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both prior to filing the motion and again prior to the filing of the Joint Statement, counsel for the

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moving party was unable, after a good faith effort, to secure the opposing party’s cooperation in

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meeting and conferring or in preparing the Joint Statement, counsel for the moving party may file

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an affidavit so stating. Local Rule 251(d). Here, however, after plaintiff’s original motion was

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dropped from calendar, plaintiff simply sent two emails to defense counsel. Receiving no

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response plaintiff filed an amended motion to compel, and took no further action. That course of

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conduct fails to satisfy the requirements under the Local Rules and the undersigned’s Standard

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Information.

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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

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1. Plaintiff’s January 30, 2019 amended motion to compel (ECF No. 34) is denied

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without prejudice to renewal1; and

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2. The February 22, 2019 hearing of plaintiff’s motion is vacated.
Dated: February 19, 2019

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DLB:6
DB\orders\orders.civil\dimitre1698.mtc.js.den.ord

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If plaintiff elects to bring a renewed motion to compel, the parties’ briefing shall also address
whether discovery in this action should be re-opened, for how long, and how that might impact
future dates in this action.
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