Dittmar v. City of North Las Vegas

Filing 155

ORDER granting 153 Motion to Extend Time Deadline to File Motion to Continue Trial. ORDER granting 154 Stipulation to Extend Pretrial - Document Deadlines. Motion due by 12/1/2023. Exhibit List due by 12/11/2023. Proposed Jury Instructions due by 12/11/2023. Proposed Voir Dire due by 12/11/2023. Trial Briefs due by 12/11/2023. Signed by Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey on 12/1/2023. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - CT)

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MELANIE A. HILL, ESQ.
Nevada Bar No. 8796
MELANIE HILL LAW PLLC
1925 Village Center Circle, Suite 150
Las Vegas, NV 89134
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
Attorney for Plaintiff Pamela Dittmar

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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DISTRICT OF NEVADA

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*****

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PAMELA DITTMAR,
Plaintiff,

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v.
CITY OF NORTH LAS VEGAS, a municipal
corporation,

Case No. 2:17-cv-02916-JAD-BNW
STIPULATION AND ORDER TO
EXTEND PRETRIAL-DOCUMENT
DEADLINES; ORDER GRANTING
MOTION TO EXTEND DEADLINE TO
FILE MOTION TO CONTINUE TRIAL

Defendant.
ECF Nos. 153, 154

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NOW COMES the Plaintiff, Pamela Dittmar, by and through her attorneys, Melanie Hill and

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Melanie Hill Law PLLC, and Defendant, City of North Las Vegas, by and through its attorneys, R.

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Todd Creer, Kaitlin H. Paxton, and Kamer Zucker Abbott, who hereby stipulate that the deadlines

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for the parties to file their pretrial memorandum, exhibit and witness lists, proposed voir dire, and

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proposed jury instructions be extended from the current deadline of Monday, December 4, 2023 to

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Monday, December 11, 2023 or thereafter if the court grant’s Plaintiff’s Motion to Continue Trial

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that will be filed by Friday, December 1, 2023. This stipulation is filed pursuant to Local Rule IA 6-

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1 and Local Rule 26-3.

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This is the first request for an extension of these pretrial filing deadlines for the current trial

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stack setting of December 19, 2023. The trial date has been continued two times and Plaintiff is
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STIPULATION TO EXTEND PRETRIAL FILING DEADLINES

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requesting a third continuance of the December 19, 2023 trial this week for the reasons articulated in

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court at the master trial scheduling conference on November 28, 2023. In support of this stipulation

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for extension of the pretrial filing deadlines currently set for Monday, December 4, 2023, the parties

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state as follows:

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1.

The current deadline for all parties to file their respective pretrial filings is December

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4, 2023, two weeks prior to the current trial stack and a week before the currently scheduled calendar

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call on December 11, 2023 at 1:30pm.
2.

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Counsel for Plaintiff had major surgery to break up and remove a 9mm kidney stone

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in her left kidney and a 6mm stone blocking her ureter from her right kidney on Monday, November

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27, 2023. She had a procedure yesterday to remove her catheter and has a procedure Friday to

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remove both ureter stents that were placed during her surgery. Counsel is unable to work, sit, and

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stand due to the pain during her recovery.

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recommended that she not work for six weeks to allow her body to heal from the major surgery,

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surgery that she had while still recovering from her first surgery on September 15, 2023. Additional

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medical history, acute conditions, and medical documentation that was discussed in open court at the

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master trial scheduling conference will be provided in a sealed Declaration of Melanie Hill in

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support of this stipulation and the soon to be filed motion to continue trial further documenting and

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supporting Plaintiff’s counsel’s acute medical conditions necessitating the surgery this week and

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another surgery she underwent less than three months ago on September 15, 2023.
3.

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Plaintiff’s counsel’s doctor, Craig Hunter, has

Due to the emergency nature of both of Plaintiff’s counsel’s surgeries, both of which

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were discovered and scheduled after the last trial continuance was requested on August 22, 2023 and

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granted on August 29, 2023, Plaintiff’s counsel could not have anticipated these two surgeries when

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Plaintiff’s last motion to continue trial was filed due to key witness Dr. Liu’s travel to China during

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the month of September.
4.

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Plaintiff’s counsel has been unable to work to complete the pretrial filings or prepare

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for trial due to both of these surgeries and the underlying conditions they were addressing that will

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be explained in greater detail in Plaintiff’s counsel’s sealed declaration.

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STIPULATION TO EXTEND PRETRIAL FILING DEADLINES

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Plaintiff’s counsel anticipates being able to resume trial preparation on January 11,

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2023, however, she will know more about her current condition after the stints are removed

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tomorrow morning and her level of pain can be reevaluated. Plaintiff’s counsel is also taking pain

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medication that interferes in her ability to work. After the master trial scheduling conference on

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Tuesday, the third hearing Plaintiff’s counsel attended on November 28, 2023, she was exhausted

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and had to rest all day. She was also unable to sit and work due to the pain and surgeries and it is

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also difficult for her to stand and work due to the pressure of gravity while she is healing.
6.

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Based on the foregoing, and to allow for the filing of the motion to continue trial, the

parties stipulate to continue the pretrial filing deadlines until Monday, December 11, 2023, the same
day as calendar call in this case.
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This request for a one-week extension of time is not sought for any improper purpose

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or other purpose of delay. Rather, it is sought to allow time for the court to consider Plaintiff’s

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motion to continue trial and provide sufficient time for counsel for Plaintiff to heal from her two

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surgeries over the last three months and prepare for trial, including preparing all pretrial filings that

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this request to continue the December 4, 2023 deadline applies to: pretrial memorandum, exhibit and

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witness lists, proposed voir dire, and proposed jury instructions.
8.

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Through this stipulation, Plaintiff requests that the Court extend the deadline for the

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parties to file their pretrial filings from the current deadline of Monday, December 4, 2023 until

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Monday, December 11, 2023.
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Courts in the District of Nevada have routinely held that extensions of deadlines for

illness establish good cause for the requested extension.
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In accordance with LR 26-3, a motion to extend any date set by the discovery plan,

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scheduling order, or other order must, in addition to satisfying the requirements of LR IA 6-1, be

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supported by a showing of good cause for the extension. Local R. 26-3. Plaintiff’s counsel submits

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that good cause exists due to Plaintiff’s counsel’s surgery on Monday, November 27, 2023 and

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underlying conditions that have prevented her from working and preparing for the upcoming trial in

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this case on December 19, 2023.

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STIPULATION TO EXTEND PRETRIAL FILING DEADLINES

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WHEREFORE, the parties respectfully request that the Court extend the pretrial filing

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deadline from December 4, 2023 to December 11, 2023 or thereafter if the court grant’s Plaintiff’s

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Motion to Continue Trial that will be filed by Friday, December 1, 2023.
DATED this 30th day of November, 2023.

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MELANIE HILL LAW PLLC

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By:

KAMER ZUCKER ABBOTT

/s/ Melanie A. Hill
Melanie A. Hill, Esq. (NV Bar No. 8796)
1925 Village Center Circle, Ste. 150
Las Vegas, Nevada 89134
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]
[e-mail]
Attorneys for Plaintiff Pamela Dittmar

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By:

/s/ Kaitlin H. Paxton
R. Todd Creer (NV Bar No. 10016)
Kaitlin H. Paxton (NV Bar No. 13625)
6325 South Jones Blvd., Suite 300
Las Vegas, Nevada 89118
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
Attorneys for Defendant City of North
Las Vegas

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ORDER

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IT IS SO ORDERED. And IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the corresponding motion to
extend the deadline to file the motion to continue trial to December 1, 2023, [ECF No. 153] is
GRANTED.
12-1-23
DATE

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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STIPULATION TO EXTEND PRETRIAL FILING DEADLINES