Lee v. United States of America
Filing
28
ORDER that 24 Motion to Extend Pretrial Deadlines (Second Joint Request) is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. The motion is GRANTED to the extent that the discovery cutoff is extended until May 19, 2016, the deadline for filing dispositive moti on is extended until June 10, 2016, and the deadline for filing the joint pretrial order is extended until July 12, 2016. The parties shall have until January 8, 2016, to file a joint status report identifying any discovery disputes that the parties were unable to resolve without court intervention. A status and dispute resolution hearing is set for January 19, 2016, at 9:30 a.m. Signed by Magistrate Judge Peggy A. Leen on 12/3/15. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - MMM)
1
2
3
4
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
5
DISTRICT OF NEVADA
6
***
7
THEODORE LEE,
Case No. 2:14-cv-00606-RCJ-PAL
8
9
10
Plaintiff,
ORDER
v.
(Jt. Mot Ext – Dkt. #24)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Defendant.
11
12
The court set the parties’ Joint Motion for Extension of Pretrial Deadlines (Second Joint
13
Request) (Dkt. #24) for hearing on November 30, 2015. Counsel for Plaintiff did not appear.
14
Staff was initially told that Attorney Mark Bailus was on his way and expected to arrive any
15
moment for the hearing. Chambers was later contacted and told that Mr. Bailus was in state
16
court. E. Carmen Ramirez appeared telephonically on behalf of the United States.
17
The parties requested a 120-day extension of the discovery plan and scheduling order
18
deadlines for various reasons.
19
administrative and international law, the Plaintiff and non-party witnesses live and work outside
20
the country, and the parties have a number of discovery disputes. Counsel for Plaintiff had
21
emergency open heart surgery and has been in recovery only returning to work on September
22
2015. The parties have been working on attempting to resolve their discovery disputes without
23
the court’s intervention, and need an opportunity to engage in further good-faith negotiation.
24
Both sides have agreed to review their discovery responses and provide supplemental responses
25
if appropriate. Finally, counsel for Plaintiff has indicated he intends to submit an offer to settle
26
this case. The process for the United States to review and decide whether or not to accept an
27
offer is time consuming.
First, this case is involves potentially complex issues of
28
1
1
The joint motion initially advised the court that the parties intended to have a second
2
meet-and-confer session on November 24, 2015.
However, counsel for the United States
3
indicated this did not occur. The deadline for designating expert witnesses expired November
4
24, 2015, and neither side disclosed experts. The United States does not know when Mr. Ord
5
intends to make an offer. The United States expects to receive responses to supplemental
6
discovery it served sometime next week, and may supplement its own discovery responses by
7
next week.
8
The court set this matter for hearing because it appeared unlikely the parties will be able
9
to comply with their proposed May 19, 2016, extended discovery cutoff given their unresolved
10
discovery disputes, and the amount of discovery that remains. Additionally, this motion was
11
filed four days before the deadline to designate experts, not twenty-one days before the
12
expiration of the deadline as required by LR 26-4. Finally, the parties did not comply with the
13
requirements of LR 26-4 by specifying the discovery completed to date, providing a specific
14
description of the discovery that remains to be completed, or a proposed schedule for completing
15
all remaining discovery other than requesting a 120-day further extension.
16
The court will approve the parties’ request for a 120-day extension of the existing
17
discovery cutoff, but deny the request for an extension of the deadline to designate experts. The
18
court will also impose a deadline for the parties to complete their meet-and-confer process to
19
either resolve their discovery disputes without court intervention, or present them to the court for
20
a decision in a reasonable period of time to ensure the May 19, 2016, extended discovery cutoff
21
is a viable deadline.
22
IT IS ORDERED that:
23
1. The parties Joint Motion for Extension of Pretrial Deadlines (Second Joint Request)
24
(Dkt. #24) is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. The motion is GRANTED
25
to the extent that the discovery cutoff is extended until May 19, 2016, the deadline
26
for filing dispositive motion is extended until June 10, 2016, and the deadline for
27
filing the joint pretrial order is extended until July 12, 2016.
28
2
1
2
3
4
5
6
2. In the event dispositive motions are filed, the date for filing the joint pretrial order
shall be suspended until 30 days after a decision of the dispositive motions.
3. The disclosures required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(3), and any objections thereto, shall
be included in the pretrial order.
4. The parties’ request for an extension of the deadline to designate experts and rebuttal
experts is DENIED.
7
5. The parties shall have until December 18, 2015, to complete the meet-and-confer
8
process to determine whether they have resolved their discovery disputes or have
9
reached an impasse.
10
6. The parties shall have until January 8, 2016, to file a joint status report identifying
11
any discovery disputes that the parties were unable to resolve without court
12
intervention. The parties shall be required to meet and confer sufficiently in advance
13
to prepare a joint status report which articulates any discovery disputes and the
14
parties’ positions regarding those disputes with sufficient specificity to allow the
15
court to resolve them without the need for further formal briefing. If the parties have
16
been able to resolve their disputes without court intervention, the parties’ joint status
17
report should so indicate and the hearing will be automatically vacated.
18
7. A status and dispute resolution hearing is set for January 19, 2016, at 9:30 a.m.
19
DATED this 3rd day of December, 2015.
20
21
PEGGY A. LEEN
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
3
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.
Why Is My Information Online?