Ace American Insurance Company v. AJAX Paving Industries of Florida, LLC

Filing 38

ORDER granting 37 the Joint Stipulation to Extend Discovery and Mediation Deadlines in the Amended Case Management and Scheduling Order, construed as the Joint Motion to Extend the Discovery and Mediation Deadlines. Signed by Magistrate Judge Carol Mirando on 1/5/2017. (HJ)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
FORT MYERS DIVISION
ACE AMERICAN INSURANCE
COMPANY,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No: 2:15-cv-629-FtM-99CM

AJAX PAVING INDUSTRIES OF
FLORIDA, LLC,
Defendant/Third
Party Plaintiff
ASPHALT MILLING SERVICES,
LLC,
Third Party Defendant.
_______________________________/
ORDER
This matter comes before the Court upon review of the Joint Stipulation to
Extend Discovery and Mediation Deadlines in the Amended Case Management and
Scheduling Order (Doc. 37) filed on January 4, 2017, construed as the Joint Motion
to Extend the Discovery and Mediation Deadlines.

The parties seek to extend the

discovery deadline of January 6, 2017 to March 15, 2017 and the mediation deadline
of January 9, 2017 to April 5, 2017.

Doc. 37 at 3.

The parties state that although

they have been working to comply with the CMSO deadlines, they have encountered
scheduling difficulties and witness availability issues.

Id.

On June 30, 2016, Senior United States District Judge John E. Steele entered
a Case Management and Scheduling Order (“CMSO”).

Doc. 25.

On August 25,

2016, the Court entered an Amended CMSO, setting the discovery deadline to
January 6, 2017, the mediation deadline to January 9, 2017, the deadline for
dispositive motions to February 6, 2017, and a trial term of June 5, 2017.

Doc. 36.

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 Court will grant the requested extension because the parties
demonstrate good cause.

Doc. 37 at 4.

Although the parties state that this

extension will not disturb other CMSO deadlines, the extended discovery deadline
will be one month after the deadline for dispositive motions.

Id. As a result, in the

interest of judicial economy, the Court will sua sponte extend the remaining CMSO
deadlines.

The Court reminds the parties that this is the second extension of the

CMSO deadlines requested by the parties and this case has been pending over one
year. 1 Docs. 1, 35, 36.

Furthermore, should the parties desire another extension

of the CMSO deadlines in the future, the proper procedural posture is to file a motion
for extension, not the parties’ joint stipulation.

1

Plaintiff initiated this lawsuit by filing a Complaint on October 9, 2015. Doc. 1.

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ACCORDINGLY, it is hereby
ORDERED:
1.

The Joint Stipulation to Extend Discovery and Mediation Deadlines in

the Amended Case Management and Scheduling Order (Doc. 37), construed as the
Joint Motion to Extend the Discovery and Mediation Deadlines, is GRANTED.
2.

A second amended case management and scheduling order will be issued

under separate cover.
DONE and ORDERED in Fort Myers, Florida on this 5th day of January, 2017.

Copies:
Counsel of record

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