Twede et al v. University of Washington

Filing 45

ORDER granting in part and denying in part 44 Stipulated Motion to extend deadline for expert rebuttal testimony and the discovery cutoff. The Rebuttal Expert Disclosure/Reports are due by 2/6/2018. The court denies extending the discovery cutoff date. Signed by Judge James L. Robart. (PM)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE

8
9
10

ERIK TWEDE, et al.,
Plaintiffs,

11
v.
12
13

ORDER DENYING
STIPULATION TO EXTEND
CASE SCHEDULE DEADLINES

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON,
Defendant.

14
15

CASE NO. C16-1761JLR

Before the court is the parties’ stipulated motion to extend the deadline for expert

16

rebuttal testimony to February 6, 2018, and the discovery cutoff to February 27, 2018.

17

(Stip. Mot. (Dkt. # 44).) The parties request an extension of the expert rebuttal deadline

18

and the discovery cutoff “to conserve resources pending the Court’s forthcoming

19

decision” on Defendant University of Washington’s (“UW”) motion to dismiss. (Id. at 1;

20

see also MTD (Dkt. # 32).) The court recently granted a similar stipulated motion

21

extending the expert rebuttal testimony deadline to January 16, 2018, and the discovery

22

cutoff to February 6, 2018. (12/15/17 Order (Dkt. # 43).) The court has considered the

ORDER - 1

1

present motion and, as described below, GRANTS in part and DENIES in part the

2

parties’ stipulated motion.

3

The problem with the parties’ present request is that the dispositive motions

4

deadline is February 20, 2018. (See Sched. Order (Dkt. # 15) at 1.) The court issues

5

scheduling orders setting the trial and related dates to provide a reasonable schedule for

6

the resolution of disputes. The court generally sets the discovery cut-off approximately

7

30 days prior to the deadline for filing dispositive motions. This ensures that the court

8

has a complete record before it when it considers a motion that could potentially dispose

9

of the case. Second, the schedule generally provides approximately 90 days between the

10

deadline for filing dispositive motions and the trial date. This 90-day period takes into

11

account: (a) an approximate 30-day lag between the date a party files a motion and the

12

date that motion becomes ripe for the court’s consideration, see Local Rules W.D. Wash.

13

LCR 7(d)(3); and (b) an additional 30 days during which the court endeavors to rule on

14

the motion, see id. at LCR 7(b)(5). Anything short of a 90-day period leaves inadequate

15

time for the parties to consider the court’s ruling and plan accordingly for trial or an

16

alternate resolution. Further, by extending the discovery deadline beyond the dispositive

17

motions deadline, the court risks ruling on summary judgment in the absence of a

18

complete record. Thus, the court is unwilling to steal time from this 90-day period to

19

provide additional discovery time for the parties.

20

Nevertheless, the court is not without some flexibility with respect to the parties’

21

case schedule. The court is willing to extend the rebuttal expert witness deadline to

22

February 6, 2018, because this date is consistent with the revised discovery cutoff of

ORDER - 2

1

February 6, 2018 (see 12/15/17 Order) and still two weeks prior to the dispositive

2

motions deadline of February 20, 2018 (see Sched. Order). Therefore, the court grants

3

this request. The court is unwilling, however, to move the discovery cutoff to February

4

27, 2018, because this date falls after the February 20, 2018, dispositive motions

5

deadline. Therefore, the court denies this request. Accordingly, the court GRANTS in

6

part and DENIES in part the parties’ stipulated motion (Dkt. # 44) as described herein.

7

Dated this 11th day of January, 2018.

8
9

A

10

JAMES L. ROBART
United States District Judge

11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22

ORDER - 3