KCA Penland Holdings Corp v. Great Lakes Directional Drilling, Inc.

Filing 17

ORDER amending 10 Pretrial Order and Case Management Plan: Estimated Trial Time: 3 days. Consensual Discovery Completion due by 2/24/2017, Mediation Report deadline set for 1/31/2017, Jury Trial set for 3/6/2017 09:30 AM in Courtroom, 200 W Broad St, Statesville, NC 28677 before District Judge Richard Voorhees. Signed by Magistrate Judge David Keesler on 12/14/2016. (kby)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
STATESVILLE DIVISION
CIVIL ACTION NO. 5:14-CV-175-RLV-DCK
KCA PENLAND HOLDINGS CORP.,
Plaintiff,
v.
GREAT LAKES DIRECTIONAL
DRILLING, INC.,
Defendant.

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ORDER

THIS MATTER IS BEFORE THE COURT on the “Consent Motion To Amend Pretrial
Order And Case Management Plan” (Document No. 16) filed December 14, 2016. This motion
has been referred to the undersigned Magistrate Judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b), and
immediate review is appropriate. Having carefully considered the motion and the record, the
undersigned will grant the motion, with modification.
The undersigned observes that the parties wish to re-set all the case deadlines in this matter,
less than one month from the current trial date of January 9, 2017. (Document Nos. 16 and 16-1).
Discovery was to have been completed by June 15, 2016; and dispositive motions and a mediation
report were due by August 31, 2016. See (Document No. 10). Moreover, the parties were recently
advised that they could file a motion to extend time to file a mediation report and/or to prepare for
trial, but that “[t]he Court will not extend the trial date beyond March 2017.” (Document No. 15,
p.2).
Judge Voorhees’ March 2017 trial term begins on March 6, 2017. As such, most of the
parties’ requests in the pending motion, including to file dispositive motions and provide expert

reports in March, are inconsistent with that deadline. Regarding discovery, the “Pretrial Order
And Case Management Plan” provides the following instruction:
Counsel are directed to initiate discovery requests and notice or
subpoena depositions sufficiently in advance of the discovery
completion deadline so as to comply with this Order. Discovery
requests that seek responses or schedule depositions after the
discovery completion deadline are not enforceable except by order
of the court for good cause shown. The parties may consent to
extensions of the discovery completion deadline so long as any
such extension expires not later than ten (10) days prior to
scheduled trial time.
(Document No. 10, p.2) (emphasis added)
Finally, the undersigned recognizes that both parties suggest that they have fairly recently
switched lead counsel; however, the parties do not explain why previous lead counsel failed to
complete discovery, or file a timely mediation report or dispositive motion. (Document No. 16).
Defendant’s counsel, Ms. Reschly, filed a notice of appearance in this matter after all those
deadlines had passed. See (Document Nos. 10 and 13). Plaintiff’s counsel, Mr. Donaldson, is the
only counsel of record to appear in this case, and apparently has been involved in this case since
filing the underlying “Complaint” (Document No. 1-1) in the Superior Court of Iredell County,
North Carolina, on September 18, 2014. (Document No. 1-1, p.11).
IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED that the “Consent Motion To Amend Pretrial Order
And Case Management Plan” (Document No. 16) is GRANTED, with modification. The
deadlines in the “Pretrial Order And Case Management Plan” (Document No. 10) are amended as
follows:
Mediation Report

January 31, 2017;

Consensual Discovery Completion

February 24, 2017; and

Trial

March 6, 2017.

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SO ORDERED.
Signed: December 14, 2016

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