American Automobile Ins. Co., et al., v. United Specialty Ins. Co.

Filing 13

STATUS PRETRIAL SCHEDULING ORDER signed by Judge Kimberly J. Mueller on 06/20/2018 ORDERING that any amendments to the pleadings shall be filed no later than 08/20/2018; initial disclosures as required shall be completed by 06/22/2018; all discovery shall be completed by 07/31/2019; Designation of Expert Witnesses due by 04/30/2019 with any supplemental designations due by 05/31/2019; Expert discovery shall be completed by 07/31/2019; Mid-litigation Conference SET for 9/12/2019 at 2:30 PM in Cou rtroom 3 (KJM) before District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller. The court will set a dispositive motion hearing cutoff at the mid-litigation conference. The court will set a Final Pretrial Conference date after the resolution of any dispositive motions, or passage of the dispositive motion cutoff, with a trial date being determined at the pretrial conference. Objections due within 14 calendar days. (Fabillaran, J)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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AMERICAN AUTOMOBILE
INSURANCE COMPANY, et al.,
Plaintiffs,

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STATUS (PRETRIAL SCHEDULING)
v.

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No. 2:18-cv-00461-KJM-EFB

ORDER
UNITED SPECIALTY INSURANCE
COMPANY, et al.,

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Defendants.

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An initial scheduling conference was held in this case on June 7, 2018. Kristian

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Moriarty appeared for plaintiffs; Robert Closson appeared for defendant.

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Having reviewed the parties’ Joint Status Report filed on May 16, 2018, and

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discussed a schedule for the case with counsel at the hearing, the court makes the following

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orders:

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I.

SERVICE OF PROCESS
All named defendants have been served and no further service is permitted without

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leave of court, good cause having been shown.

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II.

ADDITIONAL PARTIES/AMENDMENTS/PLEADINGS

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Any amendments to the pleadings shall be filed no later than August 20, 2018.

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Further joinder of parties or amendments to pleadings is not permitted without leave of court,

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good cause having been shown. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b); Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations,

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Inc., 975 F.2d 604 (9th Cir. 1992).

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III.

JURISDICTION/VENUE

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Jurisdiction is predicated upon 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a). Jurisdiction and venue are not

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disputed.

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IV.

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DISCOVERY
Initial disclosures as required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a) shall be

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completed by June 22, 2018. All discovery shall be completed by July 31, 2019. In this context,

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

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taken and any disputes relative to discovery shall have been resolved by appropriate order if

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necessary and, where discovery has been ordered, the order has been obeyed. All motions to

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compel discovery must be noticed on the magistrate judge’s calendar in accordance with the local

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rules of this court. While the assigned magistrate judge reviews proposed discovery phase

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protective orders, requests to seal or redact are decided by Judge Mueller as discussed in more

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detail below. In addition, while the assigned magistrate judge handles discovery motions, the

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magistrate judge cannot change the schedule set in this order, except that the magistrate judge

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may modify a discovery cutoff to the extent such modification does not have the effect of

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requiring a change to the balance of the schedule.

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The court approves the parties’ stipulation that the limit on the number of

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interrogatories that may be served by a party under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure Rule 33(a)(1)

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is increased to permit each party to serve a total of 100 specially prepared interrogatories.

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V.

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DISCLOSURE OF EXPERT WITNESSES
All counsel are to designate in writing and serve upon all other parties the name,

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address, and area of expertise of each expert that they propose to tender at trial not later than

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April 30, 2019. The designation shall be accompanied by a written report prepared and signed by
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the witness. The report shall comply with Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2)(B). By May 31, 2019, any

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party who previously disclosed expert witnesses may submit a rebuttal list of expert witnesses

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who will express an opinion on a subject covered by an expert designated by an adverse party, if

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the party rebutting an expert witness designation has not previously retained an expert to testify

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on that subject. The rebuttal designation shall be accompanied by a written report, which shall

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also comply with the conditions stated above.

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Failure of a party to comply with the disclosure schedule as set forth above in all

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likelihood will preclude that party from calling the expert witness at the time of trial. An expert

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witness not appearing on the designation will not be permitted to testify unless the party offering

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the witness demonstrates: (a) that the necessity for the witness could not have been reasonably

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anticipated at the time the list was proffered; (b) that the court and opposing counsel were

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promptly notified upon discovery of the witness; and (c) that the witness was promptly made

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available for deposition.

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For purposes of this scheduling order, an “expert” is any person who may be used

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at trial to present evidence under Rules 702, 703 and 705 of the Federal Rules of Evidence, which

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include both “percipient experts” (persons who, because of their expertise, have rendered expert

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opinions in the normal course of their work duties or observations pertinent to the issues in the

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case) and “retained experts” (persons specifically designated by a party to be a testifying expert

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for the purposes of litigation). A party shall identify whether a disclosed expert is percipient,

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retained, or both. It will be assumed that a party designating a retained expert has acquired the

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express permission of the witness to be so listed. Parties designating percipient experts must state

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in the designation who is responsible for arranging the deposition of such persons.

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All experts designated are to be fully prepared at the time of designation to render

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an informed opinion, and give the bases for their opinion, so that they will be able to give full and

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complete testimony at any deposition taken by the opposing party. Experts will not be permitted

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to testify at trial as to any information gathered or evaluated, or opinion formed, after deposition

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taken subsequent to designation. All expert discovery shall be completed by July 31, 2019.

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VI.

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MID-LITIGATION CONFERENCE
A mid-litigation conference is set for September 12, 2019, at 2:30 p.m. before the

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undersigned, to review the parties’ proposals for summary judgment proceedings. No summary

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judgment motion shall be filed before this conference. The court will set a dispositive motion

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hearing cutoff at the mid-litigation conference.

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VII.

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SEALING
No document will be sealed, nor shall a redacted document be filed, without the

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prior approval of the court. If a document for which sealing or redaction is sought relates to the

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record on a motion to be decided by Judge Mueller, the request to seal or redact should be

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directed to her and not the assigned Magistrate Judge. All requests to seal or redact shall be

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governed by Local Rules 141 (sealing) and 140 (redaction); protective orders covering the

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discovery phase of litigation shall not govern the filing of sealed or redacted documents on the

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public docket. The court will only consider requests to seal or redact filed by the proponent of

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sealing or redaction. If a party plans to make a filing that includes material an opposing party has

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identified as confidential and potentially subject to sealing, the filing party shall provide the

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opposing party with sufficient notice in advance of filing to allow for the seeking of an order of

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sealing or redaction from the court.

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VIII.

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FURTHER SCHEDULING
The court will set a Final Pretrial Conference date after the resolution of any

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dispositive motions, or passage of the dispositive motion cutoff, with a trial date being

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determined at the pretrial conference. The parties should be prepared to confirm a trial date

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within 60 to 120 days from the date of the final pretrial conference, and should be available for

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trial accordingly.

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IX.

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SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE
No settlement conference is currently scheduled. A settlement conference may be

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set at the time of the Final Pretrial Conference or at an earlier time at the parties’ request. In the

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event that an earlier court settlement conference date or referral to the Voluntary Dispute

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Resolution Program (VDRP) is requested, the parties shall file said request jointly, in writing.
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Counsel are instructed to have a principal with full settlement authority present at

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any Settlement Conference or to be fully authorized to settle the matter on any terms. Each judge

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has different requirements for the submission of settlement conference statements; the appropriate

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instructions will be sent to you after the settlement judge is assigned.

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X.

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MODIFICATION OF STATUS (PRETRIAL SCHEDULING) ORDER
The parties are reminded that pursuant to Rule 16(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil

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Procedure, the Status (Pretrial Scheduling) Order shall not be modified except by leave of court

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upon a showing of good cause. Agreement of the parties by stipulation alone does not constitute

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good cause. Except in extraordinary circumstances, unavailability of witnesses or counsel does

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not constitute good cause.

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As noted, the assigned magistrate judge is authorized to modify only the discovery

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dates shown above to the extent any such modification does not impact the balance of the

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schedule of the case.

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XI.

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OBJECTIONS TO STATUS (PRETRIAL SCHEDULING) ORDER
This Status Order will become final without further order of the court unless

objections are filed within fourteen (14) calendar days of service of this Order.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: June 20, 2018.

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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