Fireman's Fund Insurance Co. v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc. et al
Filing
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ORDER Granting In Part 12 Joint Motion to Continue Early Neutral Evaluation Conference. Case Management Conference remains on calendar. Joint email due by 2/9/2024 at 10:00 AM. Signed by Magistrate Judge Allison H. Goddard on 2/6/2024. (hmw)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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FIREMAN’S FUND INSURANCE CO.,
Plaintiff,
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v.
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ELECTROLUX HOME PRODUCTS,
INC.,
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Case No.: 3:23-cv-01847-CAB-AHG
ORDER GRANTING IN PART
JOINT MOTION TO CONTINUE
EARLY NEUTRAL EVALUATION
CONFERENCE
[ECF No. 12]
Defendant.
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Before the Court is the parties’ joint motion to continue the Early Neutral Evaluation
Conference (“ENE”), currently scheduled for February 9, 2024. ECF No. 12.
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Parties seeking to continue an ENE must demonstrate good cause. ECF No. 4 at 6
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(“An ENE may be rescheduled only upon a showing of good cause”); Chmb.R. at 2 (stating
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that any request for continuance requires “[a] showing of good cause for the request”); see
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FED. R. CIV. P. 6(b) (“When an act may or must be done within a specified time, the court
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may, for good cause, extend the time”).
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3:23-cv-01847-CAB-AHG
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“Good cause” is a non-rigorous standard that has been construed broadly across
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procedural and statutory contexts. Ahanchian v. Xenon Pictures, Inc., 624 F.3d 1253, 1259
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(9th Cir. 2010). The good cause standard focuses on the diligence of the party seeking to
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extend deadlines and the reasons for seeking the modification. Johnson v. Mammoth
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Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604, 609 (9th Cir. 1992) (“[T]he focus of the inquiry is upon
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the moving party’s reasons for seeking modification. . . . If that party was not diligent, the
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inquiry should end.”) (internal citation omitted). Therefore, “a party demonstrates good
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cause by acting diligently to meet the original deadlines set forth by the court.” Merck v.
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Swift Transp. Co., No. CV-16-01103-PHX-ROS, 2018 WL 4492362, at *2 (D. Ariz. Sept.
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19, 2018).
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Here, the parties have represented to the Court that Defendant has tendered its
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defense in this matter to the manufacturer, who acknowledged that it manufactured the
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appliance at issue and tendered the claim to its insurance carrier. ECF No. 12 at 2; ECF
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No. 12-1 at 2. The insurance carrier has retained counsel to represent the manufacturer, but
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has not yet been able to assess the merits of Plaintiff’s claims. Id. Plaintiff, Defendant, and
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the manufacturer have agreed to conduct a joint forensic examination of the appliance at
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issue. Id. Thus, because the parties believe that settlement discussions will be more
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meaningful after the forensic examination has been completed, the parties request to
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continue the ENE. ECF No. 12 at 3. The parties expect the forensic examination will be
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completed within 60 days and, therefore, request to continue the ENE by approximately 90
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days. Id.
Despite the joint motion’s shortcomings,1 the Court finds good cause to continue the
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ENE. As such, the parties’ joint motion is GRANTED IN PART as follows:
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//
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Compare Chmb.R. at 2 (requiring that “[a]ll requests for continuances must be made by
a joint motion no less than seven calendar days before the affected date”) (emphasis added)
with ECF No. 12 (filed three days before the ENE).
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3:23-cv-01847-CAB-AHG
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1.
The ENE scheduled for February 9, 2024, is CONTINUED.
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The counsel-only2 Case Management Conference (“CMC”) remains on
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calendar for February 9, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. before the Honorable Allison H. Goddard
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via videoconference.
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3.
The Court agrees that the ENE would likely be more productive after the
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forensic examination is completed. However, beyond conjecture that they “reasonably
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believe” the forensic examination and initial findings would be completed within 60 days,
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the parties have not provided enough specific information for the Court to select an ENE
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date. As such, the Court ORDERS the parties to meet and confer regarding a firm date for
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the forensic examination. The parties must jointly email the Court (not filed) (at
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efile_goddard@casd.uscourts.gov) with the firm date for the forensic examination no later
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than February 9, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. The parties must also include in their email the length
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of time it will take for the initial findings to be completed, as well as an explanation of
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what it entails to prepare those findings.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: February 6, 2024
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Clients are always welcome to attend, but are not required.
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3:23-cv-01847-CAB-AHG
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