Opinion
THE REICH LAW FIRM, Jeff Reich, Attorneys for Plaintiffs.
CHARLSTON, REVI CH & WOLLITZ LLP, Bruce T. Smyth, Attorneys for Defendant.
STIPULATION AND ORDER RE DISCOVERY CUT-OFF AND AMENDMENT OF SCHEDULING ORDER
SHEILA K. OBERTO, Magistrate Judge.
WHEREAS, the parties through their respective counsel note that this is the parties' fifth stipulation and request to reset discovery dates;
WHEREAS, the parties note that they have each aggressively pursued discovery in the instant case; however, there are voluminous documents in this case, a number of witnesses who matter to the case, and a multitude of material issues;
WHEREAS, there are two additional non-party witnesses identified subsequent to the last stipulation and order regarding discovery, whose depositions should be taken for this case, but despite diligent efforts over the last two weeks to serve one of such witnesses, a Los Angeles attorney, they have not yet been served;
WHEREAS, the parties through their respective counsel have scheduled a Settlement Conference before the Honorable Barbara McAuliffe, United States Magistrate Judge, on November 2nd this year;
WHEREAS, under the current schedule, the parties must provide expert reports on October 30, 2015, attend the settlement conference on November 2, 2015, counter-designate experts on November 5, 2015, complete expert deposition discovery by November 12, 2015 and file non-dispositive and dispositive motions by November 16, 2015, and counsel do not believe that they will be able to accomplish those tasks in that limited time period;
WHEREAS, after meeting and conferring, the counsel have agreed to seek the extensions on scheduling dates proposed hereinbelow;
WHEREAS, the parties through their respective counsel consequently ask for the Court's additional indulgence to grant another request to extend the discovery, motion and expert cutoffs;
NOW, THEREFORE, it is hereby stipulated by Plaintiffs and Defendant, by and through their respective counsel of record, as follows:
1. The various deadlines for discovery and pre-trial and trial dates currently set shall be continued for some two weeks, more or less, to the following dates, or such other dates in reasonable proximity thereto convenient to the Court's schedule, as follows:
Court Settlement Conference date: November 2, 2015.
Non Expert Discovery cutoff: November 9, 2015.
Expert Disclosure: November 13, 2015.
Supplemental Expert Disclosure: November 24, 2015.
Expert Discovery cutoff: December 3, 2015.
Non Dispositive Motions:
Filing: December 7, 2015.
Hearing: January 6, 2016.
Dispositive Motions:
Filing: December 7, 2015.
Hearing: January 11, 2016.
Pre-Trial Conference: January 27, 2016, at 10:00 a.m., Courtroom 2., at 8:30 a.m., Courtroom 2.
Trial: March 22, 2016, at 8:30 a.m., Courtroom 2.
2. The Case Scheduling Order, dated November 26, 2013, and the Order Re Discovery Cut-Off and Amending Scheduling Order, signed October 2, 2015, shall be amended to reflect the new dates.
ORDER
The parties seek additional time to conduct non-expert discovery because two non-party witnesses were only recently discovered and must be deposed. As a result, the parties wish to extend all deadlines except the Pre-Trial and Trial dates. However, the parties' request continues the deadline for hearing motions to January 11, 2016, which is slightly more than two weeks before the existing January 27, 2016, Pre-Trial Conference. Two weeks is insufficient time for the District Court to issue an order on any motion for summary judgment and for the parties to file a joint Pre-Trial Conference statement, which is currently due on January 20, 2015. Thus, the parties' request requires modification to the Pre-Trial and Trial dates. As already explained in the previous orders, Judge Ishii's trial calendar is extremely impacted. The nearest available trial date is October 18, 2016. As such, the parties' request is granted, but the Pre-Trial and Trial dates shall be continued due to the requested extensions to the discovery and motion deadlines. The schedule is modified as follows:
Court Settlement Conference date: November 2, 2015, Courtroom 8
Non Expert Discovery cutoff: November 9, 2015
Expert Disclosure: November 13, 2015
Supplemental Expert Disclosure: November 24, 2015
Expert Discovery cutoff: December 3, 2015
Non Dispositive Motions:
Filing: December 7, 2015
Hearing: January 6, 2016
Dispositive Motions:
Filing: December 7, 2015
Hearing: January 11, 2016
Pre-Trial Conference: August 8, 2016, at 10:00 a.m., Courtroom 2, at 8:30 a.m., Courtroom 2
Trial: October 18, 2016, at 8:30 a.m., Courtroom 2
IT IS SO ORDERED.