Opinion
1:20-cv-00813-ADA-HBK (PC)
09-21-2023
MICHELLE-LAEL B. NORSWORTHY, Plaintiff, v. JANEL ESPINOZA, MICHAEL PALLARES, IKWINDER SINGH, ROBERT MITCHELL, ROSELLE BRANCH, LESLIE TAYLOR, CHENOA DILL, SERGEANT GIBSON, GERARDO GARCIA-TORRES, OFFICER SHOALS, and OFFICER GOETHE, Defendants.
AMENDED CASE MANAGEMENT AND SCHEDULING ORDER
HELENA M. BARCH-KUCHTA, UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
On September 14, 2023, due to the filing of Plaintiff's Second Amended Complaint, the Court held a telephonic status conference to discuss revised proposed deadlines to the previously amended Case Management and Scheduling Order. Attorneys Phillip J. Wiese and Christopher Banks appeared on behalf of Plaintiff and Deputy Attorney Generals Alice M. Segal and Paul Kozina appeared on behalf of Defendants. The Court will adopt the proposed deadlines for discovery and dispositive motions as set forth in the Parties' joint status report filed September 14, 2023. (Doc. No. 87). The Court will further set this case for trial before the district court.
On October 20, 2022, the Court vacated the deadlines in the governing discovery and scheduling order (Doc. No. 66) pending the Court's ruling on Plaintiff's motion for leave to file a second amended complaint.
Accordingly, the following deadlines and procedures will govern this action.
I. Deadlines and Dates
Action or Event
Date
Deadline to complete non-expert discovery including motions to compel. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 37.
2/29/2024
Deadline for expert discovery including the production and exchange of expert reports. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(a)(2).
04/29/2024
Deadline to advise the Court of settlement, ADR, VDRP or mediation efforts to date. See Local Rules 270, 271. The parties may contact Chambers prior to this date to arrange a settlement conference.
05/01/2024
Deadline to file pre-trial dispositive motions. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56.
05/20/2024
Deadline to file final joint pretrial statement, motion(s) in limine, proposed jury instructions, and verdict form. See Local Rules 281, 282.
10/11/2024
Date of the final pretrial conference. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 16(e); See Local Rule 280, 281, 282, 283.
10/28/2024 at 1:30 p.m.
Trial Date
12/10/2024 at 8:30 a.m.
II. Discovery
The parties are bound by the limitations on discovery imposed under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Court's Local Rules. The Court follows the rule that the completion date means that all discovery must be finished by the deadline set in the Rule 16 Case Management and Scheduling Order. Litigants-by their own agreement-may conduct discovery after the formal completion date but the Court is not inclined to consider discovery disputes after the discovery completion date. In fact, motions to compel filed after the discovery deadline are presumptively untimely and may be denied on that basis alone.
Filing Motions, Deadlines and Hearings
Unless the Court grants prior leave, all moving and opposition briefs or legal memorandum in civil cases before Judge Barch-Kuchta shall not exceed twenty-five (25) pages. Reply briefs by the moving party shall not exceed ten (10) pages. These page limitations do not include exhibits or declarations. Briefs exceeding this page limitation without leave of Court may be stricken or not considered. Counsel may choose to appear telephonically to argue non-dispositive motions before Magistrate Judge Barch-Kuchta, provided they indicate their intent to appear telephonically on their pleadings at least one week before the hearing. The Court's teleconference line is 1-888-204-5984; Access Code 4446176.
Local Rule 230(b) governs the deadlines for a party to file a response and/or a reply to a motion. As a rule, the Court will consider motions based on a review of the papers without oral argument under Local Rule 230(g). If the Court decides a hearing is necessary following review of the record and briefs on file, the Court will set a hearing.
Informal Discovery Conference Prior to Filing Motion to Compel
Prior to filing a discovery motion under Fed.R.Civ.P. 37, a party must receive permission from the Court, which the Court will grant following an informal discovery conference. An informal discovery conference is separate and apart from the Mid-Discovery Conference above.
Please refer to Judge Barch-Kuchta's “Civil Procedures” included under the “Case Management Procedures” tab on this Court's webpage. A party requesting an informal discovery conference should contact Chambers for available dates. The Court will schedule the conference as soon as possible, taking into consideration the urgency of the issue. Before contacting the Court, the parties must meet and confer by speaking in person, over the telephone, or via video conference in attempt to resolve the dispute.
Available at http://www.caed.uscourts.gov/caednew/index.cfm/judges/all-judges/502311/.
At least 24-hours before the conference, each party shall simultaneously submit a letter brief, outlining their position regarding the dispute. The letter briefs shall be no longer than three (3) pages in length. Letter briefs should not be filed but shall be emailed to Chambers at hbkorders@edca.uscourts.gov.
Motions to Compel
After taking part in the informal discovery conference, the parties must conduct at least one more telephonic or video call as part of their obligations to meet and confer in good faith to resolve their discovery dispute prior to seeking judicial intervention. If a party files a motion to compel under Fed.R.Civ.P. 37, the parties must prepare and file a Joint Statement Regarding Discovery Disagreement in compliance with Local Rule 251. Failure to follow Local Rule 251 will result in the Court denying the motion without prejudice and dropping the motion from calendar. In addition to filing a Joint Statement electronically, a copy of the Joint Statement, in Word format, shall also emailed to Chambers at hbkorders@caed.uscourts.gov.
III. Mandatory Settlement Conference (Local Rule 270)
By the above date, the parties shall submit a Joint Settlement Statement indicating whether they have engaged in settlement discussions or mediation and/or whether they request the Court to set a settlement conference. If so, a settlement conference will be set by separate order. The parties are advised that unless otherwise allowed in advance by the Court, the attorneys who will try the case shall appear at the settlement conference with the parties and the person or persons having full authority to negotiate and settle the case, on any terms, at the conference. The parties may contact Chambers any time prior to this date if they wish to schedule a settlement conference or participate in the VDRP program set forth in Local Rule 271.
IV. Dispositive Pre-Trial Motions
All dispositive pre-trial motions shall be filed no later than May 20, 2024, and heard pursuant to the Local Rules in Courtroom 6 before United States Magistrate Judge Helena Barch-Kuchta for preparation of Findings and Recommendation to the district court In scheduling such motions, counsel shall comply with Fed. R. Civ. P 56 and Local Rules 230 and 260. Prior to filing a motion for summary judgment or motion for summary adjudication, the parties are ORDERED to meet, in person or by telephone, and confer to discuss the issues to be raised in the motion. The purpose of the meeting shall be to: 1) avoid filing motions for summary judgment where a question of fact exists; 2) determine whether the respondent agrees that the motion has merit in whole or in part; 3) discuss whether issues can be resolved without the necessity of briefing; 4) narrow the issues for review by the court; 5) explore the possibility of settlement before the parties incur the expense of briefing a summary judgment motion; and 6) to arrive at a Joint Statement of Undisputed Facts. The moving party shall initiate the meeting and provide a draft of the Joint Statement of Undisputed Facts. In addition to the requirements of Local Rule 260, the moving party shall file a Joint Statement of Undisputed Facts. In the Notice of Motion, the moving party shall certify that the parties have met and conferred as ordered above or set forth a statement of good cause for the failure to meet and confer.
V. Pre-Trial Conference Date
The Pre-Trial conference is set for October 28, 2024 at 1:30 p.m in Courtroom 1 before United States District Judge Ana de Alba. The parties are ordered to file a Joint Pretrial Statement pursuant to Local Rule 281(a)(2). The parties are further directed to submit a digital copy of their Pretrial Statement in Word format, directly to Judge de Alba's chambers by email at adaorders@caed.uscourts.gov. Counsels' attention is directed to Rules 281 and 282 of the Local Rules for the Eastern District of California, as to the obligations of counsel in preparing for the pre-trial conference. The Court will insist upon strict compliance with those rules. In addition to the matters set forth in the Local Rules, the Joint Pretrial Statement shall include a Joint Statement of the Case to be used by the Court to explain the nature of the case to the jury during voir dire.
VI. Trial Date
Trial is set for December 10, 2024 at 8:30 a.m. in Courtroom 1 before Judge de Alba.
A. This is a JURY trial.
B. Counsels' estimate of trial time: 5-8 days.
C. Counsels' attention is directed to Local Rule 285 for the Eastern District of California.
VII. Effect of This Order
This Amended CMSO represents the best estimate of the Court and parties as to the schedule most suitable for this case. The dates set in this Order are firm and will not be modified absent a showing of good cause even if the request to modify is made by stipulation. Stipulations extending the deadlines will not be considered unless they are accompanied by affidavits or declarations, and where appropriate, attached exhibits, which establish good cause for granting the relief requested. The failure to comply with this Order may result in the imposition of sanctions.