Opinion
22-cv-04677-AMO (PR)
01-18-2024
JOVANNY J. MENDEZ, Plaintiff, v. C. CONTRERAS, et al., Defendants.
ORDER APPOINTING COUNSEL; REOPENING ACTION; AND SETTING CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE
Araceli Martinez-Olguin United States District Judge
Having determined that it would be beneficial to have counsel assist Plaintiff Jovanny J. Mendez in this matter and having located volunteer counsel willing to represent Mendez, the Court orders as follows:
(1) Fred Norton, Esq. (SBN 224725), Josephine Petrick, Esq. (SBN 280233), and Celine Purcell, Esq. (SBN 305158) of The Norton Law Firm are appointed as counsel for Mendez in this matter, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1) and the Court's Federal Pro Bono Project guidelines. The scope of this referral shall be for:
X all purposes for the duration of the case
[] the limited purpose of representing the litigant in the course of
[] mediation
[] early neutral evaluation
[] settlement conference
[] briefing [] and hearing on the following motion (e.g., motion for summary judgment or motion to dismiss):
[] discovery as follows:
[] other:
(2) The Clerk of the Court shall REOPEN this action, which had previously been administratively closed pending appointment of counsel.
(3) All further proceedings will be stayed for four (4) weeks from the date of this Order. Counsel shall be familiar with General Order No. 25 and the Federal Pro Bono Project Guidelines posted on the Court's website.
(4) The Court SETS a Case Management Conference for Thursday, March 7, 2024 at 10:30 a.m. The proceeding will be held via Zoom webinar. Any changes will be communicated via the case docket, public calendar, or email correspondence. For a copy of the undersigned judge's Standing Order and other information, please refer to the Court's website at https://www.cand.uscourts.gov/iudges/martinez-olguin-araceli-amo/. Webinar Access: All counsel, members of the public, and media may access the webinar information at https://www.cand.uscourts.gov/iudges/martinez-olguin-araceli-amo/. Zoom Guidance and Setup: https://www.cand.uscourts.gov/zoom/. Pursuant to General Order 58: Persons granted access to court proceedings held by telephone or videoconference are reminded that photographing, recording, and rebroadcasting of court proceedings, including screenshots or other visual copying of a hearing, is absolutely prohibited.
(5) At least seven (7) calendar days prior to the Case Management Conference and no later than 12:00 PM PST, the parties shall meet and confer and file a Joint Case Management Conference Statement in accordance with Civil Local Rule 16-9.
(6) Mendez's counsel shall be responsible for filing the Joint Case Management Statement and for securing Mendez's participation on the Zoom webinar.
(7) The Clerk shall send a copy of this Order to Attorneys Norton, Petrick, and Purcell at The Norton Law Firm, 2993rd Street, Suite 200, Oakland, CA 94607-4390. The Clerk shall also send a copy of this Order to Mendez and the defendants' counsel.
IT IS SO ORDERED.