Lyon v. Diocese of Venice

Filing 20

ORDER granting in part and denying in part 19 Joint Motion to Enlarge Case Management Deadlines and Incorporated Memorandum of Law in Support. The discovery deadline is extended to October 31, 2016. The mediation deadline is extended to Novemb er 7, 2016. The dispositive motions, Daubert motions, and Markman motions deadline is extended to November 14, 2016. All other deadlines in the Court's 18 Case Management and Scheduling Order remain in effect. Signed by Magistrate Judge Carol Mirando on 8/23/2016. (LS)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
FORT MYERS DIVISION
PATRICIA LYON, an individual
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No: 2:15-cv-204-FtM-38CM

DIOCESE OF VENICE and ST.
ELIZABETH SETON SCHOOL,
Defendants.
ORDER
This matter comes before the Court upon review of the Joint Motion to Enlarge
Case Management Deadlines and Incorporated Memorandum of Law in Support
(Doc. 19) filed on August 11, 2016. On November 2, 2016, the Court entered a Case
Management and Scheduling Order (“CMSO”). Doc. 18. Currently, the discovery
deadline is September 30, 2016; the mediation deadline is October 14, 2016, the
dispositive motions, Daubert motions, and Markman motions deadline is October 31,
2016; the deadline for meeting in person to prepare a joint final pretrial statement is
December 22, 2016; and the deadline for the joint final pretrial statement, all other
motions, and trial briefs is February 10, 2017. Doc. 18 at 1-2. The final pretrial
conference is scheduled for February 24, 2017 at 9:30 a.m., and the trial term is
scheduled to begin on March 6, 2017.

Id. at 2.

The parties now seek to continue the trial term and extend the remaining
pretrial deadlines by thirty (30) days. Doc. 19 at 2. As support, the parties state

that they anticipate taking a total of three depositions in this case. Id. at 1. These
depositions originally were scheduled during the months of July and August, 2016,
but had to be rescheduled due to court-ordered events in other matters. Id. In
addition, since early July 2016, the parties began to coordinate mediation dates with
their selected mediator, James Nulman; however, the earliest mediation date that
the parties could select based on availability of all parties and the mediator was
October 31, 2016. Id. at 2.
District courts have broad discretion when managing their cases in order to
ensure that the cases move to a timely and orderly conclusion. Chrysler Int’l Corp.

v. Chemaly, 280 F.3d 1358, 1360 (11th Cir. 2002). Rule 16 requires a showing of
good cause for modification of a court’s scheduling order. Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(4).
“This good cause standard precludes modification unless the schedule cannot be met
despite the diligence of the party seeking the extension.” Sosa v. Airprint Sys., Inc.,
133 F. 3d 1417, 1418 (11th Cir. 1998) (internal quotations and citations omitted).
Here, the parties essentially seek to continue the trial term to April 3, 2017. 1
Although the parties agree that an extension of the mediation deadline is necessary
due to the scheduling conflicts that precluded an earlier mediation date, they have
not offered sufficient details why the pretrial deadlines cannot be met despite their
diligence. See Doc. 19 at 2. For instance, the parties agree that “in light of the need
to extend mediation, discovery should be extended by one month as well. Id. The

The parties proposed that a trial term begin on April, 2017. Doc. 19 at 3. The 2017
trial calendar for the Honorable Sheri Polster Chappell is available at
https://www.flmd.uscourts.gov.
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current depositions are all scheduled for September 21, 22, and 23, before the current
discovery deadline and even before the parties’ selected mediation deadline. Id.
This matter is set for a three to four day jury trial during the trial term of
March 6, 2017. Doc. 18 at 2. Because of the Court’s heavy trial calendar, the Court
is not inclined to extend the trial deadline under the circumstances at bar. However,
because of the stipulated nature of the instant motion, the parties’ representation
that they have been diligent so far in engaging each other in discovery, and because
this is the parties’ first requested extension, the Court will grant an extension of the
discovery deadline, a partial extension of the mediation deadline, and a partial
extension of the dispositive motions, Daubert motions, and Markman motions
deadline.
ACCORDINGLY, it is hereby
ORDERED:
1.

Joint Motion to Enlarge Case Management Deadlines and Incorporated

Memorandum of Law in Support (Doc. 19) is GRANTED in part.
2.

The discovery deadline is extended to October 31, 2016. The mediation

deadline is extended to November 7, 2016.

The dispositive motions, Daubert

motions, and Markman motions deadline is extended to November 14, 2016.
3.

All other deadlines and directives in the Court’s Case Management and

Scheduling Order (Doc. 18) remain in effect.

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DONE and ORDERED in Fort Myers, Florida on this 23rd day of August, 2016.

Copies:
Counsel of record

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