Meehan v. Holland America Line Inc et al

Filing 20

ORDER granting 19 Stipulated Motion to continue the expert witness disclosure deadline; Expert Witness Disclosure/Reports under FRCP 26(a)(2) due by 9/13/2017. Signed by Judge James L. Robart. (PM)

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE 8 9 10 MARIE A. MEEHAN, Plaintiff, 11 v. CASE NO. C15-1520JLR ORDER GRANTING STIPULATED MOTION 12 13 HOLLAND AMERICA LINE, INC., et al., 14 Defendants. 15 Before the court is the parties’ stipulated motion to continue the expert witness 16 disclosure deadline from July 26, 2017, to September 13, 2017. (Stip. (Dkt. # 19).) The 17 court GRANTS the motion and extends the expert disclosure deadline to September 13, 18 2017. The court, however, warns the parties that the court is disinclined to grant any 19 further adjustment in the case schedule based on the facts submitted in the parties’ 20 stipulated motion. Specifically, the court is disinclined to grant any extension in the 21 September 25, 2017, discovery cutoff or any of the subsequent case schedule deadlines. 22 ORDER - 1 1 (See Sched. Ord. (Dkt. # 18) at 1.) Thus, the parties must complete whatever expert 2 witness discovery they intend to take between September 13 and September 25, 2017. 3 Further, the parties have now extended expert witness disclosures beyond the August 25, 4 2017, deadline for motions related to discovery. (See id.) Because the parties stipulate to 5 this change, they will bear any consequences associated with this alteration in the case 6 schedule. 7 The court issues scheduling orders setting trial and related dates to provide a 8 reasonable schedule for the resolution of disputes. First, the court generally sets the 9 discovery cutoff 30 days prior to the deadline for filing dispositive motions in order to 10 ensure that the court has before it a complete record when it considers a motion that could 11 potentially dispose of the case. Second, the schedule generally provides 90 days between 12 the deadline for filing dispositive motions and the trial date. This 90-day period takes 13 into account: (a) an approximate 30-day lag between the date a party files a dispositive 14 motion and the date that motion becomes ripe for the court’s consideration, see Local 15 Rules W.D. Wash. LCR 7(d)(3); and (b) an additional 30 days during which the court 16 endeavors to rule on the motion, id. at LCR 7(b)(5). Anything short of a 90-day period 17 leaves inadequate time for the parties to consider the court’s ruling and plan for trial or 18 alternate resolution of the case. For the foregoing reasons, the court is disinclined to alter 19 any of these deadlines. To obtain any adjustment of these deadlines, the parties generally 20 must request a change in the trial date and show good cause for their request. The parties 21 should be aware that the court is presently setting trial dates in September 2018. Absent 22 ORDER - 2 1 unusual circumstances, the court schedules new trial dates at the end of the court’s 2 calendar. 3 Dated this 30th day of May, 2017. 4 5 A 6 JAMES L. ROBART United States District Judge 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 ORDER - 3

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