San Francisco Herring Association et al v. Pacific Gas and Electric Company et al

Filing 67

ORDER DEFINING CLAIMS AND SETTING SCHEDULE FOR TRIAL OF THE FIRST PHASE - Fact discovery cutoff: 1/15/2016. Trial set for 8/15/2016 08:30 AM in Courtroom 12, 19th Floor, San Francisco before Hon. William H. Orrick. Signed by Judge William H. Orrick on 08/11/2015. (jmdS, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 8/11/2015)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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SAN FRANCISCO HERRING
ASSOCIATION, et al.,
Plaintiffs,

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Case No. 14-cv-04393-WHO

v.
PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC
COMPANY, et al.,

ORDER DEFINING CLAIMS AND
SETTING SCHEDULE FOR TRIAL OF
THE FIRST PHASE
Re: Dkt. Nos. 63, 65

Defendants.

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In entering the Order Lifting Stay Concerning Known Clarke Property Claims, Dkt. No.

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63, I directed the parties to meet and confer over the delineation of the Known Clarke Property

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Claims, on which I lifted a stay, as opposed to the Broader Environmental Claims, which require

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extensive testing protocols before they can be tried. I also directed the parties to meet and confer

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about the schedule of the Known Clarke Property Claims for trial. The parties could not reach

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agreement and submitted a Joint Statement, Dkt. No. 65, which we discussed at some length

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during the Case Management Conference on August 4, 2015.

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Counsel for plaintiffs essentially reiterated Clarke’s concern that the severance of any

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claims will prejudice Clarke. I have considered those concerns again and still disagree. As I

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wrote before, “[W]hile I recognize the possible overlap between the two categories of claims, I

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disagree with Clarke that the remediation of his property will necessarily be insufficient if I sever

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the claims. I agree with PG&E that cleanup of a known hazard is environmentally advantageous.

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I do not see a potential for inconsistent rulings. If further remediation of the problems affecting

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the Clarke property is warranted as determined when the Broader Environmental Claims are

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litigated, Clarke will get the benefit of that remediation.” Dkt. No. 63, p. 1. Plaintiffs’ counsel

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conceded during the Case Management Conference that the trial on the Broader Environmental

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Claims is at least three years away, given the amount of testing that needs to be completed. The

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Known Clarke Property Claims are ready for discovery and trial now, and the parties have already

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spent four years attempting but failing to reach agreement. It is time to adjudicate them. And

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though plaintiffs’ counsel argued that it would be a burden for Clarke to prepare for two trials

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instead of one, that burden will fall primarily on counsel and not Clarke, since the overwhelming

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bulk of Clarke’s claims will have been addressed in the phase one trial. Plaintiff San Francisco

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Herring Association’s claims are severed for the second phase of the trial. There will not be

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significant overlap in the evidence presented for each phase and there will be no prejudicial

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burden on either Clarke or his counsel.

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Accordingly, the first phase of this trial on the Known Clarke Property Claims is limited to

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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the state law claims as they relate to the Clarke Property. These include Counts 4-7 in the

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Complaint and Clarke’s claims for punitive damages that arise from those counts. This phase does

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not include the Broader Environmental Claims, for which the stay remains in effect. The stayed,

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phase two claims include all Resource Conservation and Recovery Act claims; all Clean Water

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Act claims; all claims brought by plaintiff San Francisco Herring Association; all public nuisance

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claims; and any remaining issues not tried in the first phase of the case.

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Given the lack of discovery to date, I am reinstating the original Trial and Pretrial
Schedule, as requested by plaintiffs. It is:

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Fact Discovery Cut-Off:

January 15, 2016

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Simultaneous Expert Disclosures:

March 1, 2016

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Rebuttal Expert Disclosures:

April 1, 2016

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Expert Discovery Cut-Off:

May 16, 2016

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Last Day to Hear Dispositive Motions:

May 18, 2016

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Pretrial Conference:

July 18, 2016

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Trial:

August 15, 2016

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A further Case Management Conference is set for February 16, 2016 at 2:00 p.m.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: August 11, 2015
______________________________________
WILLIAM H. ORRICK
United States District Judge

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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