United States District Court, E.D. California
SCHEDULING CONFERENCE ORDER
This
Court conducted a scheduling conference on June 23, 2016.
Counsel Amanda Whitten telephonically appeared on behalf of
Plaintiff. Counsel Annureet Grewal telephonically appeared on
behalf of Defendant. Pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 16(b), this
Court sets a schedule for this action.
I.
Amendment To The Parties’ Pleadings
The
parties are advised that the filing of motions and/or
stipulations requesting leave to amend the pleadings does not
imply good cause to modify the existing schedule.
Fed.R.Civ.P. 16 (b) (4); see also Johnson v. Mammoth
Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604, 609 (9th Cir. 1992).
Moreover, any request for amendment under Fed.R.Civ.P. 15(a)
must not be: (1) prejudicial to the opposing party; (2) the
product of undue delay; (3) proposed in bad faith; or (4)
futile. See Foman v. Davis, 371 U.S. 178, 182
(1962).
II
Consent To Magistrate Judge
The
parties have not consented to Magistrate Judge jurisdiction.
Out of fairness, the Court believes it is necessary to
forewarn litigants that the Fresno Division of the Eastern
District of California now has the heaviest District Court
Judge caseload in the entire nation. While the Court will use
its best efforts to resolve this case and all other civil
cases in a timely manner, the parties are advised that not
all of the parties’ needs and expectations may be met
as expeditiously as desired. As multiple trials are now being
set to begin upon the same date, parties may find their case
trailing with little notice before the trial begins. The law
requires that the Court give any criminal trial priority over
civil trials or any other matter. The Court must proceed with
a criminal trial even if a civil trial was filed earlier and
set for trial first. Continuances of any civil trial under
these circumstances will no longer be entertained, absent a
specific and stated finding of good cause. All parties should
be informed that any civil trial set to begin during the time
a criminal trial is proceeding will trail the completion of
the criminal trial.
The
parties are reminded of the availability of United States
Magistrate Judge Erica P. Grosjean to conduct all proceedings
in this action. A United States Magistrate Judge is available
to conduct trials, including entry of final judgment,
pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c), Federal Rule of Civil
Procedure 73, and Local Rule 305. The same jury pool is used
by both United States Magistrate Judges and United States
District Court Judges. Any appeal from a judgment entered by
a United States Magistrate Judge is taken directly to the
United States Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit. However,
the parties are hereby informed that no substantive rulings
or decisions will be affected by whether a party chooses to
consent.
Finally,
the Fresno Division of the Eastern District of California,
whenever possible, is utilizing United States Article III
District Court Judges from throughout the nation as Visiting
Judges. Pursuant to the Local Rules, Appendix A,
reassignments will be random, and the parties will receive no
advance notice before their case is reassigned to an Article
III District Court Judge from outside of the Eastern District
of California. Therefore, the parties are directed to
consider consenting to Magistrate Judge jurisdiction to
conduct all further proceedings, including trial.
III.
Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1)
Initial
disclosures shall be completed on or before July 7,
2016.
IV.
Discovery Cutoffs And Limits
All
non-expert discovery shall be completed no later than March
6, 2017. Initial expert witness disclosures shall be served
no later than April 10, 2017. Rebuttal expert witness
disclosures shall be served no later than April 24, 2017.
Such disclosures must be made pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P.
26(a)(2)(A), (B) and (C), and shall include all information
required thereunder. In addition, Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(b)(4)
and Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(e) specifically apply to discovery
relating to expert witnesses and their opinions. Each expert
witness must be fully prepared to be examined on all subjects
and opinions included in the disclosures. Failure to comply
with these requirements will result in the imposition of
appropriate sanctions, including the preclusion of the
expert’s testimony, or of other evidence offered
through the expert. All expert discovery shall be completed
no later than May 22, 2017. The Court sets a Telephonic
Mid-Discovery Status Conference for November 9, 2016, at 9:30
a.m., in Courtroom 10 before Magistrate Judge Erica P.
Grosjean. The parties are to submit a joint report, of up to
five pages, outlining the status of the case, any additional
discovery still planned, potential for settlement, and any
other issues pending that would benefit from the Court's
assistance/direction. Said report is to be filed seven (7)
calendar days prior to the conference with a copy, in Word
format, emailed to chambers at
epgorders@caed.uscourts.gov.
V.
Pretrial Motion Schedule
A.
Non-Dispositive Motions
All
Non-Dispositive Pre-Trial Motions, including any
discovery motions, shall be filed no later than
May 22, 2017, and heard in Courtroom 10
before Magistrate Judge Erica P. Grosjean. Non-dispositive
motions are heard on Fridays at 10:00 a.m. In scheduling such
motions, the parties shall comply with Local Rule 230.
The
parties are advised that unless prior leave of the Court is
obtained before the filing deadline, [1] all moving and
opposition briefs or legal memoranda filed in civil cases
before Magistrate Judge Grosjean shall not exceed twenty five
(25) pages. Reply briefs by the moving party shall not exceed
ten (10) pages. These page limits do not include exhibits.
Counsel
or pro se parties may appear and argue non-dispositive
motions by telephone, provided a request to so do is made to
Michelle Means Rooney, Magistrate Judge Grosjean’s
Courtroom Deputy, no later than five (5) court days before
the noticed hearing date. Requests can be made by calling Ms.
Means Rooney at (559) 499-5962, or via email at
mrooney@caed.uscourts.gov. Although in-person
appearances will not usually be required for out-of-town
attorneys, the Court discourages telephonic appearances for
local attorneys in the Fresno area. In the event that more
than one party requests to appear by telephone, the parties
shall coordinate a one-line conference call to the
chamber’s telephone number at (559) 499-5960.
1.
Informal ...