Daley et al v. EZ Loader Custom Boat Trailers, Inc.

Filing 83

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER granting 72 Plaintiff's Motion for Extension of Time to File. Responses to Defendant Brad Jorgensens pending Motion for Summary Judgment (Dkt. 69 ) are now due on or before 7/15/2016. Signed by Judge B. Lynn Winmill. (caused to be mailed to non Registered Participants at the addresses listed on the Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF) by (cjs)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF IDAHO

CASEY DALEY, as Personal
Representative of the Estates of Troy
and Jerusha Twiss,
Plaintiffs,

Case No. 4:14-cv-00534-BLW
MEMORANDUM DECISION AND
ORDER

vs.
EZ LOADER CUSTOM BOAT
TRAILERS, Inc., an Arkansas
Corporation, UNIQUE FUNCTIONAL
PRODUCTS, formerly a California
Corporation, DEXTER MARINE
PRODUCTS, LLC, a Delaware Limited
Liability Company, TROY LONG, an
individual, FIRST CLASS RENTALS, a
Utah Limited Liability Company, and
BRAD JORGENSEN, an individual,
Defendants.

INTRODUCTION
Before the Court is Plaintiff Casey Daley’s Motion to Extend Due Date to Oppose
Defendant Brad Jorgensen’s Motion for Summary Judgment (Dkt. 72). For the reasons
explained below, the Court will grant the motion.
MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER - 1

BACKGROUND
Plaintiff’s parents were killed in a motorcycle accident in July 2013. While riding
together on a motorcycle, they were hit by a boat trailer, which had come unhitched from
a truck traveling in the opposite lane. Plaintiff alleges claims of strict liability in tort and
negligence. She seeks recovery from six defendants: (1) EZ Loader Custom Boat
Trailers, the manufacturer of the boat trailer; (2) Unique Functional Products, the
manufacturer of component parts integrated into the boat trailer; (3) Dexter Marine
Products, LLC, which allegedly purchased Unique Functional Products; (4) First Class
Rentals, the company that rented the boat trailer; (5) Troy Long, the owner and operator
of First Class Rentals; and (6) Brad Jorgensen, the individual who rented the boat trailer.
See Fourth Am. Comp., Dkt. 45.
In August 2015, the Court entered a Case Management Order establishing various
deadlines, including an October 15, 2016 discovery cutoff. In April 2016 – well before
the discovery period concluded – Defendant Brad Jorgensen moved for summary
judgment. See Dkt. 69. Plaintiff requests additional time to respond to the motion under
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(d). See Dkt. 72. Defendants Unique Functional
Products and EZ Loader Custom Boat Trailers join the motion for an extension. See
Dkts. 77, 79. The moving party, Defendant Brad Jorgensen, has not opposed the
requested extension.
DISCUSSION
Under Rule 56(d), the Court may defer consideration of a motion for summary

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER - 2

judgment if the party opposing the motion shows that it “cannot present facts essential to
justify its opposition.” A party requesting a continuance pursuant to Rule 56(d) must
identify by affidavit “the specific facts that further discovery would reveal, and explain
why those facts would preclude summary judgment.” Tatum v. City of San Francisco,
441 F.3d 1090, 1100 (9th Cir. 2006).
Here, at the time Jorgensen filed his motion for summary judgment, various
parties or witnesses – including Jorgensen himself – had not been deposed. Mr.
Jorgensen’s deposition is tentatively scheduled for later this month and Plaintiff has
requested a short extension – until June 13, 2016 – to file her opposing brief. This
request is reasonable under the circumstances, and, as noted above, Jorgensen does not
oppose the request.
Plaintiff also informs the Court that Jorgensen’s summary-judgment motion “will
impact not only Plaintiff’s claim against Jorgensen, but also the affirmative defenses of
the other defendants who will seek to prove that Jorgensen and his son-in-law, Braxton
Carter, should be assigned comparative fault for failing to ensure that the trailer coupler
was properly secured around the hitch ball on the towing vehicle.” Motion Mem., Dkt.
72-1. And, in fact, Defendant EZ Loader Custom Boat Trailers has asked the Court to
extend the deadline for responding to defendant Jorgensen’s motion for summary
judgment until the parties have finished deposing five individuals located in Utah,
including defendant Brad Jorgensen, Braxton Carter (the driver of the towing vehicle),
Madison Carter (a passenger in the towing vehicle), and Troy Long and Jordan Lea of

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER - 3

Defendant First Class Rentals. See Dkt. 72. These depositions are tentatively scheduled
to occur in May, though they may be postponed depending on the trial schedule for one
of the attorneys.
Under these circumstances, the Court finds good cause to grant an extension. At
this time, the Court will not grant the open-ended extension requested by Defendant EZ
Loader, but will instead extend the deadline for filing response briefs to July 15, 2016.
This extension should give the parties sufficient time to complete the Utah depositions,
obtain transcripts, and utilize information in these depositions in any written responses to
the pending summary-judgment motion.
The Court also advises the parties that if multiple parties intend to move for
summary judgment, the Court prefers to hear all motions at the same time, to the extent
feasible. Additionally, the Court prefers streamlined briefing. For example, if various
defendants move for summary judgment, the Court would typically prefer one longer
response brief from the plaintiff, rather than considering multiple shorter briefs.
Accordingly, if multiple motions are filed, the parties should be prepared to meet and
confer with each other, and with the law clerk assigned to this case, to discuss how best
to streamline the briefing and otherwise prepare any summary-judgment motions for
hearing.
ORDER
IT IS ORDERED that:
(1)

Plaintiffs’ Motion for Extension of Time (Dkt. 72) is GRANTED.

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER - 4

(2)

Responses to Defendant Brad Jorgensen’s pending Motion for Summary

Judgment (Dkt. 69) are now due on or before July 15, 2016.
DATED: May 13, 2016

_________________________
B. Lynn Winmill
Chief Judge
United States District Court

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER - 5