Opinion
2:22-cv-01420-GMN-MDC
02-13-2024
SALVADOR PLASCENCIA, individually; and KYLE HAIL, Plaintiffs, v. HARTFORD FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY, a Connecticut Corporation; DOES, I through X, inclusive; ROE BUSINESS ENTITIES, I through X, inclusive, Defendants.
WRIGHT, FINLAY & ZAK, LLP, DARREN T. BRENNER, STEPHANIE GARABEDIAN, Attorneys for Defendant Hartford Fire Insurance Company DENNIS M. PRINCE, KEVIN T. STRONG, PRINCE LAW GROUP, Attorneys for Plaintiffs, Salvador Plascencia and Kyle Hail
WRIGHT, FINLAY & ZAK, LLP, DARREN T. BRENNER, STEPHANIE GARABEDIAN, Attorneys for Defendant Hartford Fire Insurance Company
DENNIS M. PRINCE, KEVIN T. STRONG, PRINCE LAW GROUP, Attorneys for Plaintiffs, Salvador Plascencia and Kyle Hail
STIPULATION AND ORDER TO EXTEND THE CLOSE OF DISCOVERY, DISPOSITIVE MOTIONS DEADLINE, AND JOINT PRETRIAL ORDER DEADLINE (FOURTH REQUEST)
MAXIMILIANO D. COUVILLIER III UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED AND AGREED, by and between Plaintiffs SALVADOR PLASCENCIA and KYLE HAIL, through their counsel of record, Dennis M. Prince and Kevin T. Strong of PRINCE LAW GROUP and Defendant HARTFORD FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY, through its counsel of record, Darren T. Brenner and Stephanie Garabedian of WRIGHT, FINLAY & ZAK, LLP, that the discovery deadlines in this matter shall be extended ninety (90) days pursuant to LR 26-3. This is the parties' fourth request for an extension of the discovery deadlines. The parties set forth the following information in support of their stipulation.
I.
DISCOVERY COMPLETED TO DATE
A. FRCP 26(a) Disclosures and Supplements
| Title | Date Served |
| Plaintiffs' Initial Disclosure of Documents and Witnesses Pursuant to FRCP 26(a)(1) | Nov. 30, 2022 |
| Hartford Fire Insurance Company's Initial Disclosure of Witnesses and Documents Pursuant to FED. R. CIV. P. Rule 26.1(a)(1) | Dec. 5, 2022 |
| Plaintiffs' First Supplement to Their Initial Disclosure of Documents and Witnesses Pursuant to FRCP 26(a)(1) | Jan. 27, 2023 |
| Hartford Fire Insurance Company's First Supplemental Disclosure of Witnesses and Documents Pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. Rule 26.1(a)(1) | April 17, 2023 |
| Plaintiffs' Second Supplement to Their Initial Disclosure of Documents and Witnesses Pursuant to FRCP 26(a)(1) | May 12, 2023 |
| Hartford Fire Insurance Company's Second Supplemental Disclosure of Witnesses and Documents Pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. Rule 26.1(a)(1) | June 28, 2023 |
| Plaintiffs' Third Supplement to Their Initial Disclosure of Documents and Witnesses Pursuant to FRCP 26(a)(1) | June 29, 2023 |
| Hartford Fire Insurance Company's Third Supplemental Disclosure of Witnesses and Documents Pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. Rule 26.1(a)(1) | July 13, 2023 |
| Hartford Fire Insurance Company's Fourth Supplemental Disclosure of Witnesses and Documents Pursuant to Fed. R. CIV. P. Rule 26.1(a)(1) | October 2, 2023 |
| Plaintiffs' Initial Expert Disclosure Pursuant to FRCP 26(a)(2) | January 25, 2024 |
| Hartford Fire Insurance Company's Initial Disclosure of Expert Witnesses | January 25, 2024 |
B. Written Discovery
| Title | Date Served |
| Plaintiff Salvador Plascencia's First Set of Interrogatories to Defendant Hartford Fire Insurance Company | February 8, 2023 |
| Plaintiff Kyle Hail's First Set of Interrogatories to Defendant Hartford Fire Insurance Company | February 8, 2023 |
| Plaintiffs' First Set of Interrogatories to Defendant Hartford Fire Insurance Company | February 8, 2023 |
| Hartford Fire Insurance Company's First Set of Interrogatories to Plaintiff Salvador Plascencia | March 13, 2023 |
| Hartford Fire Insurance Company's First Set of Requests for Production of Documents to Plaintiff Salvador Plascencia | March 13, 2023 |
| Hartford Fire Insurance Company's First Set of Requests for Admissions to Plaintiff Salvador Plascencia | March 13, 2023 |
| Hartford Fire Insurance Company's First Set of Interrogatories to Plaintiff Kyle Hail | March 13, 2023 |
| Hartford Fire Insurance Company's First Set of Requests for Production of Documents to Plaintiff Kyle Hail | March 13, 2023 |
| Hartford Fire Insurance Company's First Set of Requests for Admissions to Plaintiff Kyle Hail | March 13, 2023 |
| Hartford Fire Insurance Company's Responses to Plaintiff Salvador Plascencia's First Set of Interrogatories | April 17, 2023 |
| Hartford Fire Insurance Company's Responses to Plaintiff Kyle Hail's First Set of Interrogatories | April 17, 2023 |
| Hartford Fire Insurance Company's Responses to Plaintiffs Salvador Plascencia and Kyle Hail's First Set of Requests for Production of Documents | April 17, 2023 |
| Plaintiff Salvador Plascencia's Answers to Defendant Hartford Fire Insurance Company's First Set of Interrogatories | May 10, 2023 |
| Plaintiff Salvador Plascencia's Responses to Defendant Hartford Fire Insurance Company's First Set of Requests for Production of Documents | May 10, 2023 |
| Plaintiff Salvador Plascencia's Responses to Defendant Hartford Fire Insurance Company's First Set of Requests for Admissions | May 10, 2023 |
| Plaintiff Kyle Hail's Answers to Defendant Hartford Fire Insurance Company's First Set of Interrogatories | May 10, 2023 |
| Plaintiff Kyle Hail's Responses to Defendant Hartford Fire Insurance Company's First Set of Requests for Production of Documents | May 10, 2023 |
| Plaintiff Kyle Hail's Responses to Defendant Hartford Fire Insurance Company's First Set of Requests for Admissions | May 10, 2023 |
| Hartford Fire Insurance Company's Second Set of Requests for Production of Documents to Plaintiff Kyle Hail | September 5, 2023 |
| Plaintiff Kyle Hail's Responses to Defendant Hartford Fire Insurance Company's Second Set of Requests for Production of Documents | October 5, 2023 |
C. Depositions
| Deponent | Date |
| Plaintiff Salvador Plascencia | June 30, 2023 |
| Plaintiff Kyle Hail | September 1, 2023 |
D. Subpoenas Issued
| Subpoena | Date |
| Concentra regarding Plaintiffs Salvador Plascencia and Kyle Hail | May 3, 2023 |
| Desert Radiology regarding Plaintiff Kyle Hail | May 3, 2023 |
| Desert Orthopaedic Center regarding Plaintiff Salvador Plascencia | May 3, 2023 |
| Southern Hills Hospital | June 29, 2023 |
| Achieve Physical Therapy | June 30, 2023 |
II.
DISCOVERY TO BE COMPLETED
1. Plaintiffs will take the depositions of Defendant's relevant claims handling personnel who were involved in the investigation, evaluation, and handling of their respective underinsured motorist claims.
2. Plaintiffs will take the deposition of the FRCP 30(b)(6) witness for Defendant.
3. The parties will depose their respective expert witnesses.
4. The parties will engage in additional written discovery and notice any additional depositions.
The parties anticipate that they may need to conduct other forms of discovery not specifically delineated herein on an as-needed basis. Therefore, the list outlined above is in no way intended to be a comprehensive list of the outstanding discovery that remains to be completed.
III.
REASONS DISCOVERY WAS NOT COMPLETED WITHIN THE TIME LIMITS AND NEEDS TO BE EXTENDED
“[D]istrict courts . . . retain broad discretion to control their dockets ....” Shahrokhi v. Harter, No. 2:21-cv-01126-RFB-NJK, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 247936, at *4 (D. Nev. Dec. 30, 2021). To prevail on a request to extend discovery deadlines, the parties must establish good cause. Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604, 608-09 (9th Cir. 1992). “Good cause to extend a discovery deadline exists if it cannot reasonably be met despite the diligence of the party seeking the extension.” Las Vegas Skydiving Adventures LLC v. Groupon, Inc., No. 2:18-cv-02342-APG-VCF, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 166073, at *6 (D. Nev. Sep. 10, 2020) (internal quotations omitted). For the reasons set forth below, the parties respectfully submit that good cause supports their request for an extension of the close of discovery, dispositive motions deadline and joint pretrial order deadline.
The parties respectfully request an extension of the discovery deadlines in this matter for numerous reasons. Throughout the last couple months of 2023, the parties attempted to schedule the depositions of Defendant Hartford Fire Insurance Company's (“Hartford”) relevant claims personnel and other witnesses. Despite the parties' diligent efforts to complete this discovery, several circumstances arose, through no fault of the parties, that delayed these depositions. Plaintiffs' undersigned counsel of record, Dennis M. Prince (“Mr. Prince”), participated in a trial in the matter stayed EC 215 Las Vegas, LLC, et al. v. Siegel LV North Strip Tolleson, LLC, Eighth Judicial District Court Case No. A-22-851840-B. The trial litigated a dispute centered upon the entry of a preliminary injection pertaining to the use of land on Las Vegas Boulevard. The trial was only scheduled to last from October 9, 2023 through October 11, 2023. Unfortunately, several unforeseeable delays arose from numerous arguments presented throughout trial, which precluded the parties from presenting their respective witnesses and evidence during the allotted three days. As a result, the parties required three additional dates, October 16, 2023; November 1, 2023; and November 2, 2023 to complete the trial. The continuation of the trial required Plaintiffs' lead trial counsel, Mr. Prince, to devote additional time and resources to complete the trial.
In early December 2023, the mother of Plaintiff's undersigned counsel of record, Kevin T. Strong, was involved in a motor vehicle collision, which necessitated the cancellation of the deposition of Hartford's claims adjuster, Sarah Grossman. In December 2023, Mr. Prince welcomed the birth of his child, which caused him to take time away from the office. The scheduling of Ms. Grossman's deposition has also been difficult because she lives in a small, remote town in Idaho, which complicated Hartford's counsel, Darren T. Brenner's (“Mr. Brenner”) ability to travel for Ms. Grossman's deposition.
The parties are also dealing with future scheduling conflicts for the month of February. On February 6, 2024, Mr. Prince underwent a surgical procedure, which required him to take some time away from the office. On February 9, 2023, Mr. Strong's 10-month-old son underwent major surgery, which has required Mr. Strong to work from home for an extended period of time to help with his son's post-surgery care. Mr. Brenner will be out of the jurisdiction during the week of February 20 and will be preparing for an oral argument before the Nevada Supreme Court during the first week of March 2023. Despite these conflicts, the parties have confirmed the scheduling of the following depositions:
| Sarah Grossman: | March 21, 2023 |
| Troy Myers: | April 4, 2023 |
The parties are still in the process of scheduling deposition dates for their respective retained experts and Hartford's FRCP 30(b)(6) witness, but anticipate this deposition will be scheduled well within the requested 90-day extension period. The parties also expect to mediate this case following the completion of this outstanding discovery, which they reasonably believe will help to increase the chances of resolution. For the reasons set forth above, the parties respectfully submit that good cause supports their requested stipulation for a ninety (90) day extension of the discovery deadlines. The parties' requested extension of the discovery deadlines is not made in bad faith or to cause any unnecessary delays in the resolution of this matter.
IV.
PROPOSED SCHEDULE FOR COMPLETING DISCOVERY
| Current Date | Proposed Date | |
| Amend Pleadings and Add Parties: | Closed | Closed |
| Initial Expert Disclosures: | Closed | Closed |
| Rebuttal Expert Disclosures: | Closed | Closed |
| Close of Discovery: | March 4, 2024 | |
| Dispositive Motions | November 1, 2023 | July 3, 2024 |
| Joint Pretrial Order | December 1, 2023 | August 2, 2024 |
The actual deadline falls on Sunday, June 2, 2024.
Based on the foregoing, the parties respectfully request this Court grant their Stipulation and Order to Extend the Close of Discovery, Dispositive Motions Deadline, and Joint Pretrial Order Deadline (Fourth Request).
ORDER
IT IS SO ORDERED.