Mai v. Berkshire Life Insurance Company of America et al

Filing 8

ORDER denying 7 joint Motion to Continue ENE. The Court CONVERTS the ENE to a telephonic, attorney-only ENE to be held on March 11, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. Signed by Magistrate Judge Barbara Lynn Major on 3/5/2010. (tkl) (jrl).

1 2 3 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 v. BERKSHIRE LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY OF AMERICA, a business entity of unknown form; and DOES 1 through 10, inclusive, Defendant. ROSALIE MAI, an individual, Plaintiff, ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Case No. 10cv235-JM (BLM) ORDER DENYING JOINT MOTION AND CONVERTING EARLY NEUTRAL EVALUATION CONFERENCE TO TELEPHONIC EARLY NEUTRAL EVALUATION CONFERENCE [Doc. No. 7] UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

On March 4, 2010, the parties to the above matter stipulated "that the ENE Conference currently set for March 12, 2010, be continued to April 9 at 10:00 a.m. and all related dates and deadlines, including the parties' initial disclosures..., be continued until after April 9, 2010." Doc. No. 7. Pursuant to the Local Rules for the Southern

District of California, "stipulations must be recognized as binding on the court only when approved by the judge" and "[a]ny stipulation for which court approval is sought must be filed as a `joint motion.'" L.R. 7.2(a), (b). Therefore, the Court will construe the instant stipulation as a joint motion. Citing the unavailability of Plaintiff's counsel, the parties
10cv235-JM (BLM)

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first request that the Early Neutral Evaluation Conference ("ENE") scheduled for March 12, 2010 be continued to April 9, 2010. Doc. No.

7. Local Rule 16.1(c) requires that an ENE take place within forty-five days of the filing of the first answer. The parties proposed date is

well outside this time frame; therefore, their request is DENIED. Instead, the Court CONVERTS the ENE to a telephonic, attorney-only ENE to be held on March 11, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. conference call. The Court will initiate the

The parties need not submit confidential statements.

The parties also request that the deadline for initial disclosures be continued until after April 9, 2010. Doc. No. 7. The Court notes

that the deadline for making the disclosures required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(1)(A) through (E) was February 26, 2010. doc. no. 5 at 5. See

However, the parties did not file the instant motion

until March 4, 2010, six days after the deadline had passed. Therefore, the parties' request is DENIED and they are ORDERED to immediately make the required disclosures. IT IS SO ORDERED.

DATED:

March 5, 2010

BARBARA L. MAJOR United States Magistrate Judge

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10cv235-JM (BLM)