Federal Insurance Company as subrogee of Bama Air Inc and Bridgeport Associates, Inc. v. Cessna Aircraft Company et al

Filing 25

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER granting 24 Motion to Continue. Report of Parties Planning Meeting deadline 9/7/2017. Scheduling Conference set for 9/14/2017 at 11:15 AM in Telephone GLR - CONFERENCE LINE 1-888-363-4749 ACCESS CODE 8533057 before Magistrate Judge Gerald L. Rushfelt. Signed by Magistrate Judge Gerald L. Rushfelt on 6/27/17. (kao)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF KANSAS
FEDERAL INSURANCE COMPANY, as
subrogee of Bama Air, Inc. and Bridgeport,
Associates, Inc.,
Plaintiff,

Case No. 16-CV-2755-JWL-GLR

v.
CESSNA AIRCRAFT COMPANY, TEXTRON
AVIATION INC. and TAT TECHNOLOGIES,
Defendant.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
The Court has before it the Consent Motion to Continue the Date for the Scheduling
Conference and the Deadlines for the Report of the Planning Meeting and the Rule 26 Initial
Disclosures (ECF 24).
Plaintiff and Defendants Cessna Aircraft Company (“Cessna”) and Textron Aviation Inc.
(“Textron”) have jointly filed the motion. It asks the Court to continue for 60 days the
scheduling conference, presently set for July 13, 2017. The motion also asks the Court to extend
by 45 days the deadline for the parties to conduct their planning meeting and to exchange the
disclosures required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 26. The co-defendant TAT Technologies (TAT) has not
entered an appearance in the case and, consequently, has not joined in the motion.
The Court notes the history of this case: Plaintiff filed its Complaint on November 3,
2016. Defendants Cessna and Textron filed their Answer on December 22, 2016. On April 17,
2017, the Court entered its Initial Order Regarding Planning and Scheduling (ECF 12). It set the
scheduling conference for July 13, 2017. It also set deadlines of June 22 and 29, 2017,

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respectively for the parties to conduct their planning conference and submit to the Court their
report.
The third defendant in this case, TAT Technologies, has not yet entered an appearance.
The parties suggest that TAT is located in the country of Israel. Plaintiff Federal Insurance
Company has filed three returns of summons, purportedly to show service upon Defendant TAT.
One suggests service by certified mail on April 28, 2017, upon Limco Airepair Inc. at Oklahoma
City, Oklahoma (ECF 15). The second suggests service by certified mail on April 26, 2017,
upon Piedmont Aviation Component Services, LLC at Raleigh, North Carolina (ECF 16). The
third suggests service by international mail on January 30, 2017, upon TAT Technologies in
Geder, Israel (ECF 17).
Two pending motions challenge the validity of the purported service upon the non-parties
Piedmont Aviation Component Services, LLC and Limco Airepair and Defendant TAT. (ECF
19 and 21) The motions contend that the purported service upon them is invalid and that the
Court has no jurisdiction to proceed against them or the defendant TAT. By contrast, Plaintiff
has filed Plaintiff’s Motion to Conduct Limited Jurisdictional Discovery and Motion to Extend
the Deadline to Respond to Limco Airepair Inc.’s Motion to Quash Purported Service of Process
and Supporting Memorandum. (ECF 21) All three of these motions remain pending. The Court
will address them in due order.
The parties cite no rule or other authority for their present motion to continue the
scheduling order and related deadlines. Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(2) provides as follows: “The judge
must issue the scheduling order as soon as practicable, but unless the judge finds good cause for
delay, the judge must issue it within the earlier of 90 days after any defendant has been served
with the complaint or 60 days after any defendant has appeared.”

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Given the foregoing uncertainty of the status of the defendant TAT Technologies and the
several pending motions, the Court finds good cause, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(2), to
extend the deadline for the parties to confer and submit the report of a planning meeting and to
continue the scheduling conference.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the Consent Motion to Continue the Date for the
Scheduling Conference and the Deadlines for the Report of the Planning Meeting and the Rule
26 Initial Disclosures (ECF 24) is granted. Accordingly, the Scheduling Conference is
continued to September 14, 2017, at 11:15 a.m. Central Time. The deadline for the parties to
complete their planning meeting and to submit to the Court their report is extended to September
7, 2017.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: June 27, 2017
s/Gerald L. Rushfelt
Gerald L. Rushfelt
U.S. Magistrate Judge

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