Ogilvie v. Thrifty PayLess Inc

Filing 30

ORDER granting in part and denying in part parties' 29 Stipulated to Extend Case Deadlines: Discovery completed by 7/3/2019, Expert Witness Disclosure/Reports under FRCP 26(a)(2) due by 7/3/2019, Motions due by 7/3/2019, signed by Judge James L. Robart. (SWT)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE

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MARJORIE OGILVIE,

CASE NO. C18-0718JLR

Plaintiff,

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v.
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THRIFTY PAYLESS INC., et al.,

ORDER GRANTING IN PART
AND DENYING IN PART
STIPULATED MOTION TO
EXTEND CASE DEADLINES

Defendants.

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Before the court is the parties’ stipulated motion to extend certain case deadlines.

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(See Stip. Mot. (Dkt. # 29).) In the motion, the parties request that the court “extend the

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disclosure of expert testimony, filing of motions related to discovery[,] and the discovery

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cut-off for 90 days.” (Id. at 2.) The parties’ plan would alter the deadlines as follows:

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Disclosure of expert
testimony
All motions related to
discovery filed by
Discovery completed by

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ORDER - 1

Current Date
April 18, 2019

Parties’ Proposed Date
July 17, 2019

May 20, 2019

August 18, 2019

June 17, 2019

September 15, 2019

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(Id. at 1-2; Sched. Order (Dkt. # 17) at 1.) Based on the court’s review of the motion and

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the governing law, the court GRANTS in part and DENIES in part the motion.

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The court issues scheduling orders to provide a reasonable timeline for the

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resolution of disputes. The court generally sets the discovery cut-off 30 days prior to the

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deadline for filing dispositive motions in order to ensure that the court has a complete

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record when considering a motion that could resolve the case. In addition, the schedule

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generally provides 90 days between the deadline for filing dispositive motions and the

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trial date. This 90-day period takes into account: (a) an approximate 30-day lag between

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the date a party files a motion and the date that motion becomes ripe for the court’s

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consideration, see Local Rules W.D. Wash. LCR 7(d)(3); and (b) an additional 30 days

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during which the court endeavors to rule on the motion, id. LCR 7(b)(5). Anything short

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of a 90-day period leaves inadequate time for the parties to consider the court’s ruling

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and plan for trial or an alternate resolution. In the event parties are unable to meet these

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deadlines, any request to continue a trial typically results in a trial being rescheduled at

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the end of the court’s current trial calendar.

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The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provide that a schedule may be modified

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only for good cause and with the judge’s consent. Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(4). In

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contravention of the principles outlined above, the parties’ motion, among other things,

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sets the discovery deadline almost two months after the July 17, 2019, dispositive

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motions deadline, which means that the court may have to rule on a dispositive motion

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without a complete record. (Stip. Mot. at 2; Sched. Order at 1.) The parties’ motion also

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sets the discovery deadline just one month before the October 15, 2019, trial date, leaving

ORDER - 2

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the parties little time to prepare for trial with all the evidence. (Id.) The court concludes

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that the parties have not shown good cause for this 90-day extension.

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The parties represent that they need the extension “for the purposes of conducting

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depositions and completing an expert examination of the Plaintiff.” (Stip. Mot. at 2.)

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The court notes that this case was originally filed on March 26, 2018, in Snohomish

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County Superior Court and removed to this court on May 17, 2018. (See Not. of Rem.

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(Dkt. # 1); Compl. (Dkt. # 1-1).) As such, the parties had around one year to meet the

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relevant deadlines. (See Sched. Order.) And as explained above, the parties’ proposed

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90-day extension creates an unreasonable case schedule.

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However, the court finds good cause to extend the deadlines at issue to July 3,

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2019. This extension should give the parties ample time to conduct depositions,

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complete expert examinations, and meet the relevant deadlines without creating an

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unreasonable case schedule. 1

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If the parties require further extensions to these deadlines, the parties can file a
stipulation agreeing to reschedule the trial at the end of the court’s trial calendar, which currently
is during the summer of 2020.

ORDER - 3

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The court therefore GRANTS in part and DENIES in part the parties’ stipulated

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motion (Dkt. # 29) and extends the deadlines for disclosure of expert testimony, filing of

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motions related to discovery, and completing discovery to July 3, 2019.

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Dated this 27th day of March, 2019.

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A

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JAMES L. ROBART
United States District Judge

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ORDER - 4