Opinion
REYNOLDS MADDUX WOODWARD LLP, Phillip J. Maddux, Attorneys for Defendant, CTC Services, Inc.
TRACHTMAN & TRACHTMAN, LLP Ryan M. Craig, Benjamin R. Trachtman, Ryan M. Craig, Attorneys for Plaintiff, Siemens Industry, Inc.
STIPULATION AND ORDER TO MODIFY PRETRIAL SCHEDULING ORDER TO CONTINUE TRIAL DATE AND EXTEND OTHER DEADLINES
TROY L. NUNLEY, District Judge.
This Stipulation is made between Plaintiff Siemens Industry, Inc. ("Plaintiff") and Defendant CTC Services, Inc. ("Defendant") in light of the following facts:
WHEREAS, the Court entered its Order re: Status (Pretrial Scheduling) Conference on May 30, 2014 ("Order"), Docket No. 11;
WHEREAS, the parties have conducted ongoing settlement discussions between counsel and in furtherance of potential settlement, the Parties engaged in mediation on April 20, 2015, with the assistance of Sacramento attorney and mediator Kenneth Malovos, Esq.;
WHEREAS, significant progress was made toward settlement at mediation, but the Parties need additional time to secure the participation of an insurance carrier to determine whether a settlement can be reached;
WHEREAS, Defendant's insurance carriers have denied both a duty to defend and potential indemnity to Defendant on the grounds that they did not receive timely notice of Plaintiff's claim in this matter, but the Defendant gave timely notice to its insurance broker, who failed to pass the notice on the Defendant's insurance carriers. The Parties recognize the necessity of obtaining the cooperation of Defendant's insurance broker's insurance carrier to fully resolve and/or settle Plaintiff's damage claims;
WHEREAS, Defendant has filed suit in Sacramento County Superior Court against its insurance broker, who has obtained counsel and the Parties desire to focus their resources on obtaining the insurance broker's insurance carrier's participation in mediation in order to minimize expenditure of resources and reserves available to settle their dispute rather than incur costs of depositions and other discovery in this action and the action filed against defendant's insurance broker;
WHEREAS, the Parties agree that it would be in their collective best interests to continue the trial in this matter to August 1, 2016 at 9:00 a.m., the Final Pre-trial Conference to June 2, 2016 at 2:00 p.m., the Discovery Closure to March 16, 2016, Expert Disclosure to March 24, 2016, the Expert Discovery Closure to May 5, 2016 and the deadline for filing Pre-trial Statements to May 19, 2016;
Though Discovery shall be limited to those items which all counsel for the Parties mutually agree to, and expressly is not meant or understood to be a carte blanche re-opening of Discovery. CTC has requested the opportunity to notice and take the depositions of Dennis Murray, Gordon Livermore, and the person most knowledgeable for the storage conditions of the subject films, after all options for mediation and settlement are exhausted and Siemens has agreed to this limited discovery.
WHEREAS, Plaintiff and Defendant agree to use the extension of time afforded by this Stipulation to explore and focus their efforts on insurance coverage and settlement of their dispute through the mediation process which they have already begun;
WHEREAS, the proposed stipulation for modification of the terms of the Order will not significantly delay or prejudice the timely resolution of this case in the event settlement negotiations and/or further mediation prove unsuccessful inasmuch as counsel have been informed by the Court that a criminal trial, which has precedence over this matter, is currently set for trial on January 20, 2016 and this matter will likely not proceed to trial on the current Trial Date.
STIPULATION
WHEREFORE, IT IS STIPULATED AND AGREED BY AND BETWEEN PLAINTIFF AND DEFENDANT THAT THE DISCOVERY DISCLOSURE BASED ON THE CONDITIONS EXPRESSLY SET FORTH ABOVE IS EXTENDED TO MARCH 16, 2016, EXPERT DISCLOSURE IS EXTENDED SO THAT ALL EXPERTS MUST BE DISCLOSED AND EXPERT REPORTS SERVED NO LATER THAN MARCH 24, 2016, THE CLOSE OF EXPERT DISCOVERY IS EXTENDED SO THAT ALL EXPERT DISCOVERY MUST BE COMPLETED NO LATER THAN MAY 5, 2016, THE DEADLINE FOR FILING PRE-TRIAL STATEMENTS IS EXTENDED SO THAT ALL PRE-TRIAL STATEMENTS MUST BE FILED NOT LATER THAN MAY 19, 2016, AND THAT THE PRETRIAL CONFERENCE BE CONTINUED TO JUNE 2, 2016 AT 2:00 P.M. AND THE TRIAL BE CONTINUED TO AUGUST 1, 2016 AT 9:00 A.M.
IT IS SO STIPULATED.
IT IS SO ORDERED.