United States District Court, E.D. California
SCHEDULING ORDER (FED. R. CIV. P. 16)
JENNIFER L. THURSTON UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
I.
Date of Scheduling Conference
July 1,
2016.
II.
Appearances of Counsel
Lawrence
Freiman appeared on behalf of Plaintiff. Michael Wilson
appeared on behalf of Defendant.
III.
Magistrate Judge Consent:
Notice
of Congested Docket and Court Policy of
Trailing
Due to
the District Judges’ heavy caseload, the newly adopted
policy of the Fresno Division of the Eastern District is to
trail all civil cases. The parties are hereby notified that
for a trial date set before a District Judge, the parties
will trail indefinitely behind any higher priority criminal
or older civil case set on the same date until a courtroom
becomes available. The trial date will not be reset to a
continued date.
The
Magistrate Judges’ availability is far more realistic
and accommodating to parties than that of the U.S. District
Judges who carry the heaviest caseloads in the nation and who
must prioritize criminal and older civil cases over more
recently filed civil cases. A United States Magistrate Judge
may 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. 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.
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, such
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. Within 10 days of the date of this
order, counsel SHALL file a consent/decline form (provided by
the Court at the inception of this case) indicating whether
they will consent to the jurisdiction of the Magistrate
Judge.
IV.
Pleading Amendment Deadline
Any
requested pleading amendments are ordered to be filed, either
through a stipulation or motion to amend, no later than
September 30, 2016. Any motion to amend the pleading shall be
heard by the Honorable Dale A. Drozd, United States District
Court Judge.
V.
Discovery Plan and Cut-Off Date
The
parties are ordered to exchange the initial disclosures
required by Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(a)(1) on or before July 12, 2016.
The
parties are ordered to complete all discovery pertaining to
non-experts on or before March 10, 2017 and all discovery
pertaining to experts on or before May 19, 2017
The
parties are directed to disclose all expert
witnesses[1], in writing, on or before March 24, 2017,
and to disclose all rebuttal experts on or before April 21,
2017. The written designation of retained and non-retained
experts shall be made pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. Rule
26(a)(2), (A), (B), and (C) and shall include all information
required thereunder. Failure to designate experts in
compliance with this order may result in the Court excluding
the testimony or other evidence offered through such experts
that are not disclosed pursuant to this order.
The
provisions of Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(b)(4) and (5) shall apply to
all discovery relating to experts and their opinions. Experts
must be fully prepared to be examined on all subjects and
opinions included in the designation. Failure to comply will
result in the imposition of sanctions, which may include
striking the expert designation and preclusion of expert
testimony.
The
provisions of Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(e) regarding a party's duty
to timely supplement disclosures and responses to discovery
requests will be strictly enforced.
A
mid-discovery status conference is scheduled for October 31,
2016 at 8:30 a.m. before the Honorable Jennifer L. Thurston,
U.S. Magistrate Judge, located at 510 19th Street,
Bakersfield, California. Counsel SHALL file a joint
mid-discovery status conference report one week before the
conference. Counsel also SHALL lodge the status report via
e-mail to JLTorders@caed.uscourts.gov. The joint
statement SHALL outline the discovery counsel have completed
and that which needs to be completed as well as any
impediments to completing the discovery within the deadlines
set forth in this order. Counsel may appear via CourtCall,
providing a written ...