Opinion
2:23-CV-00208-RFB-NJK
06-28-2023
RONALD CARPENTER, JR., an individual; Plaintiff, v. GORDON DENNY, an individual; PV HOLDING CORP. dba AVIS CAR RENTAL, a foreign corporation; CANONICAL GROUP LIMITED, a foreign corporation; DOES I through V, inclusive and ROE CORPORATIONS II through V, inclusive; Defendants. ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY; Intervenor.
STIPULATION AND ORDER TO EXTEND DISCOVERY DEADLINES
(FIRST REQUEST AFTER REMOVAL)
It is hereby stipulated and agreed, by and between Plaintiff RONALD CARPENTER, JR. (“Plaintiff”), Defendant Gordon Denny (“Denny”), Defendant PV Holding Corp., dba Avis Car Rental (“Avis”), Defendant Canonical Group Limited (“CGL”) and Intervenor Allstate Insurance Company (“Allstate,” and together with Plaintiff, Denny, Avis, and CGL, the “Parties”), that discovery deadlines in this matter should be extended by sixty (60) days beyond the dates set forth in the Court's March 8, 2023 Scheduling Order (ECF No. 12).
This is the first request following removal, and the fourth request overall, for an extension of the discovery deadlines in this case. A description of the procedural history of the discovery schedule is set forth herein.
Good cause exists to extend these deadlines on grounds that the parties require additional time to schedule and complete depositions of the seventeen (17) retained expert witnesses that have been disclosed in this case, as well as additional time to notice and complete CGL's deposition of defendant Gordon Denny. Since removal the Parties have diligently proceeded with completing written discovery and have timely made expert disclosures in an effort to ensure all counsel is able to effectively prepare and conduct the necessary depositions. However, given the difficulty in scheduling deposition dates and times that fit within the retained expert witnesses' schedules, and which work for counsel for all four parties in this case, it is proving impractical to complete scheduling and completion of depositions by the existing July 7, 2023 discovery deadline.
This request is sought by all Parties in good faith and not for purposes of delay. Pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 16(b) and LR 26-3, the Parties state the following:
I. NATURE OF CASE AND SCHEDULING HISTORY
This case was commenced by Plaintiff against Defendants Denny and Avis in Clark County state court on August 31, 2020. Plaintiff alleges that he was involved in a motor vehicle accident in November of 2019 that caused him various injuries. He is presently seeking damages for alleged past and future medical expenses, as well as for alleged loss of household services and earning capacity.
On February 16, 2021, Allstate filed a motion to intervene, which was granted on March 25, 2021. On November 2, 2021, Plaintiff filed his first amended complaint adding as a defendant Canonical USA, Inc. Following the addition of Canonical USA, Inc. to the case, the existing parties stipulated to an extension of the original discovery deadlines on January 26, 2022. The same parties stipulated to a second extension of the discovery deadlines on August 16, 2022.
Thereafter, Plaintiff filed a motion to substitute CGL in place of Canonical USA, Inc. as a defendant to the suit, and Denny and Avis filed a motion to extend discovery deadlines. In an order dated January 9, 2023, the state district court entered its order granting Plaintiff leave to amend his complaint to substitute CGL as a party, and also granted Denny and Avis' motion to extend discovery deadlines. Plaintiff filed his second amended complaint adding CGL as a party on January 12, 2023, and CGL removed this case to federal court on February 9, 2023.
On March 8, 2023, this Court entered its Scheduling Order establishing the existing discovery schedule for this matter.
II. DISCOVERY COMPLETED
State Court (Pre-Removal)
1. Denny and Avis served Plaintiff with interrogatories, requests for production, and requests for admission on March 4, 2021;
2. Plaintiff served Denny with interrogatories, requests for production, and requests for admission on April 7, 2021;
3. The expert of Denny and Avis conducted a Rule 35 examination of Plaintiff on April 23, 2021;
4. The report regarding the Rule 35 examination of Plaintiff by the expert of Denny and Avis was produced on May 7, 2021;
5. Denny was deposed by Plaintiff on October 15, 2021;
6. Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Chris Black was deposed on October 25, 2021;
7. Plaintiff served Denny with an additional set of interrogatories and requests for production on November 10, 2021;
8. Plaintiff served former defendant Canonical USA, Inc. with interrogatories and requests for production on March 31, 2022;
9. Plaintiff's passengers at the time of the alleged accident, Cynthia Hartley and Jesse Hartley, were deposed on January 18, 2023;
10. The Parties conducted various written discovery to third party witnesses, including that Plaintiff issued third party subpoenas to the Nevada Highway Patrol, Uber, and Lyft; and
11. The Parties made numerous requests for records from Plaintiff's healthcare providers.
Federal Court (Post-Removal)
12. Denny and Avis' deposition of Plaintiff was commenced on February 21, 2023, but was not completed due to the parties not having a complete set of Plaintiff's healthcare records;
13. Plaintiff made his initial disclosure of expert witnesses on February 21, 2023, identifying nine (9) retained expert witnesses;
14. On March 23, 2023, Plaintiff served additional requests for admission to Denny;
15. On March 23, 2023, Plaintiff served interrogatories and requests for production of documents on CGL;
16. On April 21, 2023, Denny served his objections to Plaintiff's requests for admission;
17. On April 21, 2023, CGL served its objections to Plaintiff's requests for admission to Denny;
18. On April 26, 2023, Defendants' expert Dr. Etcoff conducted an independent psychological testing and exam of the Plaintiff;
19. On May 8, 2021, CGL served its objections and responses to Plaintiff's interrogatories and requests for production;
20. On May 8, 2023, Denny, Avis, CGL, and Allstate made their respective initial disclosures of expert witnesses, collectively identifying seven (7) total retained expert witnesses;
21. On June 8, 2023, the Parties made their respective rebuttal expert witness disclosures; and
22. The Parties made numerous requests for records from Plaintiff's healthcare providers.
III. DISCOVERY THAT REMAINS TO BE COMPLETED
1. Defendants need to complete Plaintiff's deposition after they are able to obtain a complete set of Plaintiff's healthcare records;
2. The Parties are in the process of scheduling CGL's deposition of Gordon Denny, who resides outside of the country;
3. Defendants intend to take the deposition of Plaintiff's live-in girlfriend Tracey Hilario;
4. The deposition of Defendants' expert Dr. Etcoff has been noticed for July 20, 2023;
5. The deposition of Defendants' expert Mr. Mecham has been noticed for August 1, 2023;
6. The deposition of Defendants' expert Dr. Wang has been noticed for August 8, 2023;
7. The deposition of Defendants' expert Dr. Oliveri has been noticed for August 9, 2023;
8. Plaintiff's expert Dr. Fish has provided his availability for deposition on July 28;
9. Plaintiff's expert Dr. Dunn has provided his availability for deposition in the middle of July;
10. Plaintiff's expert Mr. Reyes has provided his availability for deposition in the latter half of July;
11. Plaintiff's expert Dr. Larmore has provided her availability for deposition in the latter half of July;
12. Plaintiff's expert Dr. Freeman has provided his availability for deposition in August;
13. Plaintiff's expert Mr. Croft has provided his availability for deposition in the latter half of July;
14. Plaintiff's expert Mr. Terry has provided his availability for deposition in August;
15. Plaintiff's expert Mr. Lamoreaux has provided his availability for deposition in the latter half of July;
16. The Parties are in the process of obtaining dates of availability for Plaintiff's expert Dr. Loong and Defendants' experts Mr. Droge, Mr. Erwin, and Dr. Agrawal;
17. Defendants intend to depose Plaintiff's pertinent healthcare providers, including, but not limited to, radiologist Keith Lewis, M.D., pain specialist Luis Velazquez, M.D., Hasim Quereshi, D.O., orthopedic surgeon Andrew Cash, M.D., neurologist Enrico Fazzini, D.O., radiologist Travis Snyder, D.O., neuropsychologist Michael Elliott, Ph.D., and psychiatrist, Mihir Patel, D.O.;
18. Defendants intend to depose additional witnesses regarding the accident;
19. Plaintiff may depose the pertinent employees of the Defendants or the
Defendants' Rule 30(b)(6) representatives; and
20. Any additional depositions or written discovery that may be warranted by the results of the contemplated depositions.
IV. REASONS WHY THE REMAINING DISCOVERY WAS NOT COMPLETED
Since the Court's issuance of the scheduling order in this case following removal, the Parties have spent time completing party written discovery and finalizing and analyzing disclosures of numerous expert witnesses, including medical experts, experts on accident reconstruction and biomechanics, and economics experts addressing Plaintiffs claimed special and general damages. Following testimony from Plaintiff at his deposition in February 2023, Defendants were also required to notice and schedule an independent psychological exam of Plaintiff, which did not occur until April 26, 2023. Rebuttal expert designations were timely completed by the Court's June 8, 2023 deadline.
The Parties have needed time to analyze the various expert reports and have made diligent efforts to notice the depositions of all of the disclosed experts. However, due to the busy schedules of the witnesses, many of whom run medical practices, it has proven impractical to identify dates of availability that work for each of the witnesses as well as for counsel for the separate parties. Additionally, efforts to reschedule CGL's deposition of Gordon Denny have been hampered by Mr. Denny's schedule and residence outside the U.S.
The Parties are mindful of the Court's admonition in its Scheduling Order that “this is an old case with numerous extensions in state court and that further delay should be avoided.” ECF No. 12 at 3. However, the Parties submit that they have made efforts to complete discovery by the existing deadlines, including that they have complied with the Court's original deadlines for expert disclosures, and that they have mostly completed written party discovery. The Parties respectfully submit this request for a limited sixty (60) day extension for the purpose of accommodating the scheduling of depositions for witnesses whose availability is largely outside of the Parties' control.
V. PROPOSED SCHEDULE FOR COMPLETING THE REMAINING DISCOVERY
The Parties propose the following discovery deadlines:
Current Deadline
Proposed Deadline
Amend Pleadings/Add Parties:
Closed
Closed
Initial Experts:
Closed
Closed
Rebuttal Experts:
Closed
Closed
Last Day to Complete Discovery:
July 7, 2023
September 5, 2023
Deadline to File Dispositive Motions:
August 8, 2023
October 6, 2023
Joint Pretrial Order
September 8, 2023
November 7, 2023
If dispositive motions are filed, the deadline for filing the joint pretrial order will be suspended until 30 days after the decision on the dispositive motions or further court order.
Trial has not yet been scheduled in this matter.
IT IS SO ORDERED.