Opinion
2:21-CV-00533-TL
05-15-2023
DENNIS E. DAVIS, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Plaintiff, v. SYMETRA LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, Defendant.
TOUSLEY BRAIN STEPHENS PLLC Kim D. Stephens, P.S., WSBA #11984 Rebecca L. Solomon, WSBA #51520 1200 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1700 STUEVE SIEGEL HANSON LLP Patrick J. Stueve (admitted pro hac vice) Lindsay Todd Perkins (admitted pro hac vice) Ethan M. Lange (admitted pro hac vice) David A. Hickey (admitted pro hac vice) MILLER SCHIRGER, LLC John J. Schirger (admitted pro hac vice) Matthew W. Lytle (admitted pro hac vice) Joseph M. Feierabend (admitted pro hac vice) MILLER SCHIRGER, LLC Counsel for Plaintiff Dennis E. Davis WILLKIE FARR & GALLAHER LLP Laura Geist, pro hac vice Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP Medora A. Marisseau, WSBA No. 23114 Karr Tuttle Campbell Attorney for Defendant SYMETRA LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
TOUSLEY BRAIN STEPHENS PLLC
Kim D. Stephens, P.S., WSBA #11984
Rebecca L. Solomon, WSBA #51520 1200 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1700
STUEVE SIEGEL HANSON LLP
Patrick J. Stueve (admitted pro hac vice)
Lindsay Todd Perkins (admitted pro hac vice)
Ethan M. Lange (admitted pro hac vice)
David A. Hickey (admitted pro hac vice)
MILLER SCHIRGER, LLC
John J. Schirger (admitted pro hac vice)
Matthew W. Lytle (admitted pro hac vice)
Joseph M. Feierabend (admitted pro hac vice)
MILLER SCHIRGER, LLC
Counsel for Plaintiff Dennis E. Davis
WILLKIE FARR & GALLAHER LLP
Laura Geist, pro hac vice
Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP
Medora A. Marisseau, WSBA No. 23114
Karr Tuttle Campbell
Attorney for Defendant SYMETRA LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
STIPULATION AND JOINT MOTION TO MODIFY SCHEDULING ORDER AND PROPOSED ORDER
Tana Lin, United States District Judge
Pursuant to Local Civil Rules 16(b)(6) and this Court's Standing Order for All Civil Cases, Section II(G), Plaintiff Dennis Davis and Defendant Symetra Life Insurance Company jointly and respectfully move this Court to modify the current scheduling orders at ECF No. 49.
Good cause exists for the modification and the Parties respectively request the Court consider the following modifications to the case schedule. The Parties are diligently pursuing discovery and completed rounds of written discovery and document production. Symetra has also taken the Plaintiff's deposition and produced requested policy data. The Parties are proceeding with ESI review and production, which, due to the nature of the case, is voluminous. The case seeks information and documents from 1982 to the present. Symetra also encountered unexpected technical difficulties with the ESI that has prolonged its processing. Symetra has kept the Plaintiff informed about its ESI progress, and the Parties have been working cooperatively to push through this phase of this discovery. Symetra is working to complete production of the ESI by July 28, 2023 or as soon as practicable thereafter. Due to the unexpected delay and volume of the ESI, and in anticipation of Symetra's forthcoming ESI productions, the parties have conferred and agreed that an extension of the current case schedule is necessary so that the parties can get through review and production of ESI and further corporate representative depositions.
To accommodate the additional fact and expert discovery, the Parties met and conferred and jointly propose modifying the current case schedule by approximately 90 days as follows:
Event
Current Deadline (ECF 49)
Proposed Deadline
All motions related to class discovery must be filed by the date
4/17/2023
7/28/2023
All motions related to class discovery must be noted on the motion calendar no later than the Friday before discovery closes pursuant to LCR 7(d) or LCR 37(a)(2)
5/12/2023
8/25/2023
Class Discovery completed by this date
5/14/2023
8/31/2023
Deadline to file Plaintiff's motion for class certifications and class expert disclosure
6/15/2023
10/10/2023
Deadline for amended pleadings
6/15/2023
10/10/2023
Reports from Plaintiff's expert witnesses under FCP 26(a)(2) for use in support of class certification
6/15/2023
10/10/2023
Deadline to file Defendant's opposition to Plaintiff's motion for class certification and any objections to Plaintiff's experts
8/14/2023
12/13/2023
Reports from Defendant's expert witnesses under FRCP 26(a)(2)
8/14/2023
12/13/2023
Deadline to file Plaintiff's Reply brief in support of class certification motion and any objection to Defendant's experts
9/29/2023
1/26/2024
Rebuttal reports from Plaintiff's expert witnesses under FRCP 26(a)(2) for use in support of class certification
9/29/2023
1/26/2024
Settlement Conference, if mediation has been requested by the parties per LCR 39.1, held no later than
10/31/2023
3/15/2024
Mediation per LCR 39.1, if requested by the parties, held no later than
11/30/2023
4/19/2024
The Parties also agree with this Court's order vacating all other deadlines, including expert discovery cutoff, last day for dispositive motion, and trial date, until after Court's issuance of its decision on plaintiff's motion for class certification. The Parties continue to believe that phasing the litigation as addressed above will allow the Parties to most efficiently present the case to the Court. It is the expectation of the Parties that the proposed schedule will narrow the issues remaining, if any, for trial. Accordingly, the Parties respectfully ask that the Court enter the above stipulated schedule.
[PROPOSED] ORDER
Pursuant to the parties' joint motion to modify scheduling order, the parties' joint proposed schedule is adopted, as set forth below.
Event
Deadline
All motions related to class discovery must be filed by the date
7/28/2023
All motions related to class discovery must be noted on the motion calendar no later than the Friday before discovery closes pursuant to LCR 7(d) or LCR 37(a)(2)
8/25/2023
Class Discovery completed by this date
8/31/2023
Deadline to file Plaintiff's motion for class certification and class expert disclosure
10/10/2023
Deadline for amended pleadings
10/10/2023
Reports from Plaintiff's expert witnesses under FRCP 26(a)(2) for use in support of class certification
10/10/2023
Deadline to file Defendant's opposition to Plaintiff's motion for class certification and any objection to Plaintiff's experts
12/13/2023
Reports from Defendant's expert witnesses under FRCP 26(a)(2)
12/13/2023
Deadline to file Plaintiff's reply brief in support of class certification motion and any objection to Defendant's experts
1/26/2024
Rebuttal reports from Plaintiff's expert witnesses under FRCP 26(a)(2) for use in support of class certification
1/26/2024
Settlement Conference, if mediation has been requested by the parties per LCR 39.1, held no later than
3/15/2024
Mediation per LCR 39.1, if requested by the parties, held no later than
4/19/2024
All other case deadlines, including expert discovery cutoff, last day to file dispositive motion, and trial date are hereby vacated and will be determined after the Court's issuance of its decision on plaintiff's motion for class certification. Notwithstanding the foregoing, parties may file any dispositive motion early. The Parties are ordered to meet and confer within 21 days of the Court's class certification ruling and submit a joint proposed schedule for the Court's consideration.
IT IS SO ORDERED.