Ortiz et al v. Home Depot U.S.A., Inc

Filing 54

ORDER Approving Stipulation. Signed by Judge Lucy H. Koh on 2/25/2011. (lhklc2, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 2/25/2011)

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CLAUDIA CENTER (SBN 158255) JINNY KIM (SBN 208953) RACHAEL LANGSTON (SBN 257950) THE LEGAL AID SOCIETY ­ EMPLOYMENT LAW CENTER 180 MONTGOMERY STREET, SUITE 600 SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94104 TEL: [phone] FAX: [phone] EMAIL: [e-mail]; [e-mail] [e-mail]

JOSHUA KONECKY (SBN 182897) SCHNEIDER WALLACE COTTRELL BRAYTON KONECKY LLP 180 MONTGOMERY STREET, SUITE 2000 SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94104 TEL: [phone] FAX: [phone] TTY: [phone] EMAIL:[e-mail]

Attorneys for Plaintiffs Gabriel Ortiz, Andrew Gonzales, Landon Mickey Miller and Joe Huynh DONALD LIVINGSTON WILLIAM ALLEN (Admitted Pro Hac Vice) AKIN GUMP STRAUSS HAUER & FELD LLP 1333 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036 Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone] Email: [e-mail] [e-mail] Attorneys for Defendant HOME DEPOT U.S.A., INC. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA SAN JOSE DIVISION GABRIEL ORTIZ, ANDREW GONZALES, LANDON MICKEY MILLER, AND JOE HUYNH, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. HOME DEPOT U.S.A., INC., The Honorable Lucy H. Koh Defendant. 1
STIPULATION TO MODIFY CASE MANAGEMENT ORDER Case No. C 09-03485 LHK

TERESA W. GHALI (SBN 252961) AKIN GUMP STRAUSS HAUER & FELD LLP 580 California Street, Suite 1500 San Francisco, CA 94104 Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone] Email: [e-mail]

Case No. C 09-03485 LHK STIPULATION TO MODIFY CASE MANAGEMENT ORDER; ALLEN DECLARATION IN SUPPORT; [PROPOSED] ORDER [Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(f), Civ. L.R. 6-1(b), 6-2, 7-12.]

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On January 26, 2011, following a Case Management Conference, the Court ordered, inter alia, Defendant Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. "make a Fed. R. Civ. P. 30(b)(6) witness available for deposition on a narrow set of topics required by Plaintiffs for mediation." Jan. 26, 2011 Minute Order & Case Management Order (dkt. no. 50). These topics concern whether and the extent to which Defendant can implement technology, such as video phones and video remote interpreting, in its stores to provide effective communication to deaf and hard of hearing workers there. The Court also extended the deadline for completing mediation until March 1, 2011. Id. On January 31, 2011, Defendant responded to Plaintiffs' December 28, 2010 interrogatories and document requests, which covered topics that overlapped the topics for the Rule 30(b)(6) deposition. After reviewing Defendant's responses and conferring with Defendant's counsel William Allen on February 4, the parties agreed that Plaintiffs had sufficient information on the topics at issue to proceed with mediation without the deposition. Continuing the deposition will also allow the parties to focus on mediation, which is scheduled for February 16, 2011. In light of the foregoing, and subject to approval by the Court, the parties agreed to continue the Fed. R. Civ. P. 30(b)(6) deposition until after the mediation. Specifically, the parties agreed to continue the deposition to March 3, 2011 in San Francisco, CA. Under the January 26, 2011 Case Management Order, Plaintiffs' deadline for filing the class certification motion is July 14, 2011, and the non-expert discovery cut-off is December 23, 2011. The parties do not believe that the continuance of this deposition to facilitate the mediation will impact their ability to meet these deadlines, and Defendant has agreed not to use the continuance as an argument in any way against further discovery by Plaintiffs. Accordingly, the parties submit that there is good cause for this short continuance and jointly request that the Court modify its Case Management Order by allowing Defendant to produce the witness on or before March 3, rather than during the week of February 7. A declaration from Mr. Allen in support of this request is enclosed.

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STIPULATION TO MODIFY CASE MANAGEMENT ORDER Case No. C 09-03485 LHK

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Dated: February 8, 2011

Claudia Center Jinny Kim Rachael Langston THE LEGAL AID SOCIETY-EMPLOYMENT LAW CENTER Joshua Konecky SCHNEIDER WALLACE COTTRELL BRAYTON KONECKY LLP /s/ Jinny Kim JINNY KIM Attorneys for Plaintiffs Gabriel Ortiz, Andrew Gonzales, Landon Mickey Miller, and Joe Huynh

Dated: February 8, 2011.

AKIN GUMP STRAUSS HAUER & FELD LLP Donald Livingston William Allen Teresa W. Ghali

/s/ Teresa W. Ghali TERESA GHALI Attorneys for Defendant HOME DEPOT U.S.A., INC. ECF CERTIFICATION Pursuant to General Order No. 45 X. (B), I attest that concurrence in the filing of this document has been obtained from Plaintiffs' counsel. Dated: February 8, 2011. /s/ Teresa W. Ghali TERESA GHALI

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STIPULATION TO MODIFY CASE MANAGEMENT ORDER Case No. C 09-03485 LHK

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DECLARATION OF WILLIAM F. ALLEN I, William F. Allen, declare, 1. I am an attorney in good standing licensed to practice in the District of Columbia, and

have been admitted pro hac vice in Ortiz v. Home Depot U.S.A., Inc., Case No. C 09-03485 LHK (N.D. Cal.). See dkt. no. 41. I am senior counsel at the law firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, attorneys for defendant Home Depot U.S.A. Inc. My office is located at 1333 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC. I make this declaration based on my own personal knowledge and, if called to do so, could and would competently so testify in court. 2. On January 26, 2011, the Court ordered Defendant Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. to "make a

Fed. R. Civ. P. 30(b)(6) witness available for deposition on a narrow set of topics required by Plaintiffs for mediation." Jan. 26, 2011 Minute Order & Case Management Order (dkt. no. 50). These topics concern whether and the extent to which Defendant can implement technology, such as video phones and video remote interpreting, in its stores to provide effective communication to deaf and hard of hearing workers there. The Court also extended the deadline for completing mediation until March 1, 2011. Id. 3. On January 31, 2011, Defendant responded to Plaintiffs' December 28, 2010

interrogatories and document requests. 4. After reviewing Defendant's responses and conferring with me by telephone on

February 4, Plaintiffs' counsel Jinny Kim and Josh Konecky agreed that they had sufficient information to proceed with mediation and agreed to continue the Fed. R. Civ. P. 30(b)(6) deposition provided that Defendant made the designated witness available in San Francisco on a date certain. It is Defendant's view that continuing the deposition until after the mediation will allow the parties to focus on mediation, which is scheduled for February 16, 2011. 5. On February 4, I offered three dates for the first week of March. On February 7, Mr.

Konecky accepted March 3 as the new deposition date. 6. The parties do not believe that the continuance of this deposition to facilitate the

mediation will impact their ability to meet the current discovery and motion practice deadlines. In

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STIPULATION TO MODIFY CASE MANAGEMENT ORDER Case No. C 09-03485 LHK

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addition, Defendant agrees that it will not to use the continuance as an argument in any way against further discovery by Plaintiffs. 7. In addition to the Case Management Order entered on January 26, 2011, the following

time modifications have been made by the Court, upon motion or by stipulation: (1) plaintiffs' motion for continuance of Case Management Conference (see dkt. no. 10); (2) stipulation to extension of time for Defendant to file answer to amended complaint (see dkt. no. 13); and (3) stipulation to extend time for mediation (see dkt. no. 36). 8. Plaintiffs' counsel Jinny Kim has authorized Defendant's counsel to sign the joint

motion on her behalf. I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed this 8th day of February, 2011, in Washington, D.C.

/s/ William F. Allen

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STIPULATION TO MODIFY CASE MANAGEMENT ORDER Case No. C 09-03485 LHK

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STIPULATION TO MODIFY CASE MANAGEMENT ORDER Case No. C 09-03485 LHK

The parties stipulate that Defendant may produce the Fed. R. Civ. 30(b)(6) witness regarding communication technology for deaf and hard of hearing workers on or before March 3, 2011. PURSUANT TO STIPULATION, IT IS SO ORDERED this 25th day of February, 2011. ___ _____________________________ The Hon. Lucy H. Koh United States District Judge