Certified Nutraceuticals Inc. v. The Clorox Company et al
Filing
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ORDER Granting Defendants' Motion to Amend the Scheduling Order to Submit Successive Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 156 ). Signed by Judge Thomas J. Whelan on 3/3/2022. (All non-registered users served via U.S. Mail Service)(jrm)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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CERTIFIED NUTRACEUTICALS, INC.,
a California Corporation,
Case No.: 3:18-cv-744 W (KSC)
ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS’
MOTION TO AMEND THE
SCHEDULING ORDER TO SUBMIT
SUCCESSIVE MOTION FOR
SUMMARY JUDGMENT [DOC. 156]
Plaintiff,
v.
THE CLOROX COMPANY, et al,
Defendants.
Defendants The Clorox Company, Nutranext, and Neocell Holding Company
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(collectively, “Defendants”) request a modification of the scheduling order to
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accommodate a successive motion for summary judgment with respect to Plaintiff’s
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remaining claim for injunctive relief. (Mot. [Doc. 156].) Plaintiff Certified
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Nutraceuticals, Inc. opposes the Motion on grounds that Defendants failed to meet their
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burden to show “good cause” because they were aware of the facts now presented when
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they filed their first summary judgment motion on September 14, 2020—the last day to
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file dispositive motions. (Opp’n [Doc. 159].)
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The Court decides the matter without oral argument pursuant to Civil Local Rule
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7.1(d)(1). For the reasons discussed below, Defendants’ Motion to Amend the
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Scheduling Order [Doc. 156] is GRANTED.
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3:18-cv-744 W (KSC)
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I.
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BACKGROUND
Defendants moved for summary judgment on September 14, 2020—the last day to
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file dispositive motions in this case. [Doc. 117]. On September 29, 2021, the Court
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granted in part and denied in part Defendants’ Motion, dismissing all of Plaintiff’s claims
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except for its claim for injunctive relief. [Doc. 141]. Then on October 28, 2021,
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Defendants filed an ex parte application seeking: (1) clarification of certain language in
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the Court’s Summary Judgment Order; and (2) modification of the scheduling order to
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permit Defendants to file a second motion for summary judgment after the dispositive
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motion deadline.
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On November 3, 2021, the Court clarified the Summary Judgment Order, denied
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Defendants’ request to modify the scheduling order without prejudice, and instructed
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Defendants to file a noticed motion instead. [Doc. 155]. Defendants did so on November
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24, 2021. [Doc. 156]. Plaintiff opposed the noticed motion on December 20, 2021 [Doc.
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159], and Defendants filed their reply on December 27, 2021 [Doc. 161].
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II.
LEGAL STANDARD
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b)(4) provides that scheduling orders “may be
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modified only for good cause and with the judge’s consent.” The party seeking an
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amendment bears the burden of showing good cause. Zivkovic v. S. Cal. Edison Co., 302
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F.3d 1080, 1087 (9th Cir. 2002). On the one hand, this “good cause” inquiry “primarily
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considers the diligence of the party seeking the amendment,” and “the focus of the
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inquiry is upon the moving party’s reasons for seeking modification.” Johnson v.
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Mammoth Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604, 609 (9th Cir. 1992). “If that party was not
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diligent, the inquiry should end.” Id. On the other hand, the Supreme Court “has long
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recognized that a district court possesses inherent powers that are governed not by rule or
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statute but by the control necessarily vested in courts to manage their own affairs so as to
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achieve the orderly and expeditious disposition of cases.” Dietz v. Bouldin, 579 U.S. 40,
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45 (2016) (internal quotations and citation omitted). Indeed, under the Civil Justice
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3:18-cv-744 W (KSC)
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Reform Act, 28 U.S.C. Section 471, “[f]ederal trial courts are now required, by statute, to
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implement techniques and strategies designed to dispose of cases in an efficient and
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inexpensive manner.” Schwarzkopf Techs. Corp. v. Ingersoll Cutting Tool Co., 142
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F.R.D. 420, 423 (D. Del. 1992). Additionally, “all of the Federal Rules of Civil
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Procedure [] are subject to the injunction of Rule 1 that they be construed to secure the
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just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action.” Herbert v. Lando, 441 U.S.
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153, 177 (1979) (internal quotations and citation omitted).
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III.
DISCUSSION
Defendants argue that good cause exists to modify the scheduling order to allow a
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second motion for summary judgment with respect to Plaintiff’s remaining claim for
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injunctive relief. (Mot. at 3.) They argue that a second motion “would promote
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efficiency by resolving this matter without the need for trial,” and that they were diligent
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because the issues they “wish to address in a second motion for summary judgment did
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not crystalize until the issuance of the Court’s [Summary Judgment] Order and the
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subsequent Clarification.” (Id. at 3-4, 7.)
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Plaintiff counters that there is no good cause because Defendants “are solely at
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fault for failing to make any arguments regarding injunctive relief in their First [Motion
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for Summary Judgment], and cannot now get a second bite at the apple.” (Opp’n at 3.)
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Moreover, “despite [] Defendants’ argument that the issue did not crystalize, [they]
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should have been aware of what the issues were when they filed the First [Motion for
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Summary Judgment].” (Id. at 6.)
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It is true that Defendants could have argued the deficiency of Plaintiff’s injunctive
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relief claim in their first motion for summary judgment. As Defendants even admit, that
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claim is “subject to dismissal based on facts already identified.” (Mot. at 3; emphasis
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added.) But jumping to trial on one claim for injunctive relief without at least attempting
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to dispose the issue on the papers is inefficient and a waste of judicial resources. See,
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e.g., Thornton v. Ethicon Inc., 2021 WL 2661220, at *2 (D. Ariz. Apr. 26, 2021)
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3:18-cv-744 W (KSC)
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(“Although Defendants did not act diligently to file their supplemental motion for
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summary judgment by the deadline … the Court finds that addressing the punitive
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damages claim now, rather than reserving the issue for trial, would best serve the interests
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of justice and judicial economy.”) Thus, permitting a successive motion for summary
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judgment will further the purposes of the Civil Justice Reform Act and Federal Rule of
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Civil Procedure 1 “to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination” of this
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matter.
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IV.
CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, the Court GRANTS Defendants’ Motion to Amend the
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Scheduling Order to File a Successive Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. 156] and
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ORDERS as follows:
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A.
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Defendants’ deadline to file a successive motion for summary judgment is
April 4, 2022;
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Defendants shall contact the Court to obtain a hearing date prior to filing
their motion.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
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Dated: March 3, 2022
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3:18-cv-744 W (KSC)
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