United States, ex rel. et al v. T L Peterson, Inc. et al

Filing 95

ORDER requiring supplemental briefing re 65 MOTION for Partial Summary Judgment FOR INSTATEMENT OF MAINTENANCE AND CURE, PAYMENT OF PAST MAINTENANCE AND CURE, AND TO SET MAINTENANCE RATES filed by Matthew Zugsberger, ORDER Continuing Hearing on 65 Motion to 9/20/2018 01:30 PM before Magistrate Judge Kandis A. Westmore. Plaintiff's supplemental brief due by 8/17/2018. Defendants' response due by 8/31/2018. Further Case Management Conference continued to 10/9/2018 01:30 PM in Oakland, Courtroom 4, 3rd Floor. Case Management Statement due by 10/2/2018. Signed by Judge Kandis A. Westmore on 7/31/2018. (kawlc1, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 7/31/2018)

1
2
3
4

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

5

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

6
7
8

UNITED STATES, ex rel. MATTHEW
ZUGSBERGER and MATTHEW
ZUGSBERGER,

9

Plaintiffs,

10

United States District Court
Northern District of California

11
12

v.
T L PETERSON, INC., et al.,
Defendants.

Case No. 4:17-cv-02277-KAW
ORDER REQUIRING SUPPLEMENTAL
BRIEFING REGARDING CURE;
ORDER CONTINUING HEARING ON
MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY
JUDGMENT; ORDER CONTINUING
CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE
Dkt. No. 65

13
14

On May 3, 2018, Plaintiff and Relator Matthew Zugsberger filed a motion for partial

15

summary judgment for instatement of maintenance and cure, payment of past maintenance and

16

cure, and to set the maintenance rate. (Dkt. No. 65.)

17

The Ninth Circuit recently established that, “in practice, a seaman will have little difficulty

18

demonstrating his entitlement to maintenance under a summary judgment standard,” and those

19

payments should be promptly made. Barnes v. Sea Hawaii Rafting, LLC, 889 F.3d 517, 539-40,

20

543 (9th Cir. 2018). While the undersigned recognizes that Plaintiff need not provide evidence of

21

the reasonable maintenance rate, because the court may take judicial notice of the prevailing rate

22

in the district, the Court would like the parties to provide some guidance regarding calculating the

23

reasonable rate in the locations where Plaintiff has resided. Plaintiff has also not sufficiently

24

addressed his medical needs to support his request for cure, because the specific information

25

regarding medical treatment was addressed only in the proposed order and without citation to the

26

medical records attached to counsel’s declaration.

27

Accordingly, on or before August 17, 2018, Plaintiff shall provide supplemental briefing,

28

not to exceed 10 pages, regarding how the Court might calculate the reasonable maintenance rate

1

in Upper Lake County, Sacramento, and Chula Vista, and provide further briefing regarding the

2

medical expenses Plaintiff has incurred, what medical treatment is currently anticipated, and how

3

the current recommendations for medical treatment relate to the injuries sustained while in

4

Defendants’ employ. Plaintiff shall furnish a supporting declaration from Plaintiff’s treating

5

physician, Dr. Greene, to explain the recommendations he, and apparently other medical

6

professionals, have made.

7

Defendants may file a response on or before August 31, 2018, not to exceed 10 pages.

8

Given the significantly easier task of establishing entitlement to maintenance and cure in the

9

summary judgment context, due to the breadth of the shipowner’s duty, the Court is not persuaded
by Defendants’ argument that the motion is premature or that these issues cannot otherwise be

11
United States District Court
Northern District of California

10

resolved at this juncture. See Barnes, 889 F.3d at 538. The Court will also not entertain further

12

challenges to Plaintiff’s claim of actual maintenance costs, as that issue was sufficiently briefed in

13

the moving papers.

14

The hearing on the motion for partial summary judgment scheduled for August 16, 2018 is

15

continued to September 20, 2018 at 1:30 p.m. Upon review of the supplemental briefing, the

16

Court may vacate the hearing if it determines that the motion is suitable for resolution without oral

17

argument pursuant to Civil Local Rule 7-1(b).

18
19
20
21

Additionally, the case management conference scheduled for August 21, 2018 is continued
to October 9, 2018. The joint case management statement is due on or before October 2, 2018.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: July 31, 2018
__________________________________
KANDIS A. WESTMORE
United States Magistrate Judge

22
23
24
25
26
27
28
2