J & J Sports Productions Inc v. Jernegan et al

Filing 60

ORDER by Judge ARMSTRONG denying 52 Motion to Strike (lrc, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 2/5/2013)

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1 2 3 4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 5 FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 6 OAKLAND DIVISION 7 8 9 J & J SPORTS PRODUCTIONS, INC., 10 Plaintiff, 11 Case No: C 11-02095 ORDER DENYING MOTION TO STRIKE vs. 12 DOROTHY KING JERNEGAN, et al., 13 Docket 52 Defendants. 14 Plaintiff J & J Sports Productions, Inc. ("Plaintiff") brings the instant action for 15 16 unlawful interception and broadcast of its program, The Floyd Mayweather v. Shane 17 Mosley Welterweight Championship Fight Program, against Everett and Jones Barbeque 18 Jack London, LLC and its owners John and Dorothy Jernegan (collectively, "Defendants"). 19 The parties are presently before the Court on Plaintiff's motion to strike Defendants' 20 affirmative defenses. Dkt. 52. Defendants oppose the motion. Dkt. 53. Having read and 21 considered the papers filed in connection with this matter and being fully informed, the 22 Court hereby DENIES Plaintiff's motion to strike without prejudice, for the reasons stated 23 below. The Court, in its discretion, finds this matter suitable for resolution without oral 24 argument. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 78(b); N.D. Cal. Civ. L.R. 7-1(b). 25 I. 26 DISCUSSION In the instant motion, Plaintiff seeks to strike Defendants' affirmative defenses under 27 Rule 12(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure on the ground that the defenses are 28 legally insufficient. Dkt. 52. In response, Defendants argue, among other things, that 1 Plaintiff's motion should be denied for failing to meet and confer prior to the filing of the 2 motion. The Court agrees. 3 Paragraph five of this Court's Standing Orders provides: 4 All parties shall meet and confer before filing any motion before the Court. The motion and any other non-stipulated request shall include a certification, which may be included in the body of the document, that the parties have complied with the meet and confer requirement. The Court may disregard any papers submitted that do not comply with this rule. 5 6 7 See Civil Standing Orders ΒΆ 5, Dkt. 18. 8 The parties have failed to comply with this requirement, which is essential to the 9 parties' representation that there is a dispute which requires the Court's resolution. Until 10 such time as the parties have met and conferred to discuss the issues, it is premature to 11 conclude that there exists a dispute necessitating the Court's intervention. The meet and 12 confer requirement is essential to conserving the limited time and resources of the Court 13 and the parties by obviating the filing of unnecessary motions. Had the parties met and 14 conferred as required, they may have been able to resolve some or all of the issues 15 presented in Plaintiff's motion. See Wong v. Astrue, 2008 WL 4167507, at *2 (N.D. Cal. 16 2008) (Armstrong, J.) ("The purpose of the requirement is to encourage settlement, resolve 17 disputes which need not involve the Court, and avoid unnecessary litigation, thus saving the 18 parties', the Court's, and the taxpayers' limited time, money, and resources."). Accordingly, 19 because the parties did not meet and confer on the issues presented by the instant motion, 20 Plaintiff's motion to strike is DENIED without prejudice. It is incumbent upon litigants 21 before this Court to familiarize themselves not only with the Local Rules, but also with this 22 Court's Standing Orders. There is simply no excuse for Plaintiff's failure to comply with 23 the meet and confer requirement set forth in this Court's Standing Orders. 24 II. CONCLUSION 25 For the reasons stated above, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT: 26 1. Plaintiff's motion to strike is DENIED without prejudice. 2. The parties shall meet and confer in person or by telephone prior to filing any 27 28 future motions. -2- 1 3. 2 3 This Order terminates Docket 52. IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: 2/5/13 ______________________________ SAUNDRA BROWN ARMSTRONG United States District Judge 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 -3-

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