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Dewidar v. Nat'l R.R. Passenger Corp.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
Sep 5, 2017
Case No.: 17cv62 CAB(RBB) (S.D. Cal. Sep. 5, 2017)

Opinion

Case No.: 17cv62 CAB(RBB)

09-05-2017

NAWAL DEWIDAR, Plaintiff, v. NATIONAL RAILROAD PASSENGER CORPORATION (AMTRAK), et al., Defendants.


ORDER GRANTING JOINT MOTION TO AMEND SCHEDULING ORDER

[ECF No. 22]

The Court has reviewed the parties' "Joint Motion to Amend Scheduling Order" [ECF No. 22]. Good cause shown, the Court GRANTS the joint motion and amends the Scheduling Order as follows:

1. Plaintiff(s) (or the party(ies) having the burden of proof on any claim) shall serve on all parties a list of experts whom that party expects to call at trial on or before February 12 , 2018 . Defendant(s) (or the party(ies) defending any claim, counterclaim, crossclaim, or third party claim) shall serve on all parties a list of experts whom that party expects to call at trial on or before February 12 , 2018 . On or before February 26 , 2018 , any party may supplement its designation in response to any other party's designation, so long as that party has not previously retained an expert to testify on that subject. Expert designations shall include the name, address, and telephone number of each expert, and a reasonable summary of the testimony the expert is expected to provide. The list shall also include the normal rates the expert charges for deposition and trial testimony.

The parties must identify any person who may be used at trial to present evidence pursuant to Rules 702, 703 or 705 of the Federal Rules of Evidence. This requirement is not limited to retained experts.

Please be advised that failure to comply with this section or any other discovery order of the Court may result in the sanctions provided for in Fed. R. Civ. P. 37 , including a prohibition on the introduction of experts or other designated matters in evidence.

2. All expert disclosures required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2) shall be served on all parties on or before March 26 , 2018 . Any contradictory or rebuttal information shall be disclosed on or before April 9 , 2018 . In addition, Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(e)(1) imposes a duty on the parties to supplement the expert disclosures made pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2)(B) by the time that pretrial disclosures are due under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(3) (discussed below). This disclosure requirement applies to all persons retained or specially employed to provide expert testimony, or whose duties as an employee of the party regularly involve the giving of expert testimony.

Please be advised that failure to comply with this section or any other discovery order of the Court may result in the sanctions provided for in Fed. R. Civ. P. 37 , including a prohibition on the introduction of experts or other designated matters in evidence.

3. All fact discovery shall be completed by all parties by January 15 , 2018 . "Completed" means that all discovery under Rules 30-36 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and discovery subpoenas under Rule 45, must be initiated a sufficient period of time in advance of the cut-off date, so that it may be completed by the cut-off date, taking into account the times for service, notice and response as set forth in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Counsel shall promptly and in good faith meet and confer with regard to all discovery disputes in compliance with Local Rule 26.1(a). The Court expects counsel to make every effort to resolve all disputes without court intervention through the meet and confer process. If the parties reach an impasse on any discovery issue, counsel shall file an appropriate motion within the time limit and procedures outlined in the undersigned magistrate judge's chambers rules. A failure to comply in this regard will result in a waiver of a party's discovery issue. Absent an order of the court, no stipulation continuing or altering this requirement will be recognized by the court.

4. All motions for discovery shall be filed no later than thirty (30) days following the date upon which the event giving rise to the discovery dispute occurred. The 30-day deadline will not be extended without a prior Court order; counsel cannot unilaterally extend the deadline. For example, ongoing meet-and-confer efforts, rolling document productions, or supplemental discovery responses do not extend the deadline. A failure to comply will bar the party from filing a corresponding discovery motion. For oral discovery, the event giving rise to the discovery dispute is the completion of the transcript of the affected portion of the deposition. For written discovery, the event giving rise to the discovery dispute is the service of the response. All interrogatories, requests for admission, and document production requests must be served by November 13 , 2017 .

5. All expert discovery shall be completed by all parties by May 7 , 2018 . The parties shall comply with the same procedures set forth in the paragraph governing fact discovery.

6. All pre-trial motions, other than Daubert motions, motions to amend or join parties, or motions in limine, shall be filed on or before June 4 , 2018 . All Daubert motions shall be filed on or before June 4 , 2018 . Counsel for the moving party shall set the motion date on the date that is 35 days from the date the motion is filed. Parties intending to file a motion shall not contact Judge Bencivengo's chambers for a hearing date. The parties should review Judge Bencivengo's chambers rules for civil cases for the additional requirements for noticed motions before Judge Bencivengo.

Pursuant to Local Rule 7.1.f.3.c, if an opposing party fails to file opposition papers in the time and manner required by Local Rule 7.1.e.2, that failure may constitute a consent to the granting of a motion or other request for ruling by the Court. Accordingly, all parties are ordered to abide by the terms of Local Rule 7.1.e.2 or otherwise face the prospect of any pretrial motion being granted as an unopposed motion pursuant to Local Rule 7.1.f.3.c.

7. An in-person settlement conference set for October 10, 2017, at 2:00 p.m. is vacated and reset for January 9 , 2018 , at 2:00 p.m. in the chambers of Magistrate Judge Ruben B. Brooks. Counsel shall lodge confidential settlement briefs directly to chambers by January 2 , 2018 . All parties are ordered to read and to fully comply with the Chamber Rules of the assigned magistrate judge.

All parties, claims adjusters for insured Defendants and non-lawyer representatives with complete authority to enter into a binding settlement, as well as the principal attorneys responsible for the litigation, must be present and legally and factually prepared to discuss and resolve the case at the mandatory settlement conference and at all in-person settlement conferences. Retained outside corporate counsel shall not appear on behalf of a corporation as the party representative who has the authority to negotiate and enter into a settlement. Failure to attend or obtain proper excuse will be considered grounds for sanctions.

If Plaintiff is incarcerated in a penal institution or other facility, the Plaintiff's presence is not required at conferences before Judge Brooks, and the Plaintiff may participate by telephone. In that case, defense counsel is to coordinate the Plaintiff's appearance by telephone.

Confidential written settlement statements for the mandatory settlement conference shall be lodged with Judge Brooks no later than five court days before the mandatory settlement conference. The statements need not be filed with the Clerk of the Court or served on opposing counsel. The statements will not become part of the court file and will be returned at the end of the conference upon request. Written statements may be lodged with Judge Brooks either by mail, by email, or by delivery to the Clerk's Office. //

Any statement submitted should avoid arguing the case. Instead, the statement should include a neutral factual statement of the case, identify controlling legal issues, and concisely set out issues of liability and damages, including any settlement demands and offers to date and address special and general damages where applicable.

If appropriate, the Court will consider the use of other alternative dispute resolution techniques.

8. The parties must comply with the pretrial disclosure requirements of Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(3) no later than July 9 , 2018 . Please be advised that failure to comply with this section or any other discovery order of the Court may result in the sanctions provided for in Fed. R. Civ. P. 37 , including a prohibition on the introduction of experts or other designated matters in evidence.

9. In jury trial cases before the Honorable Cathy Ann Bencivengo, neither party is required to file Memoranda of Contentions of Fact and Law pursuant to Civil Local Rule 16.1.f.2.

10. Counsel shall confer and take the action required by Local Rule 16.1.f.4.a on or before July 16 , 2018 . The parties shall meet and confer and prepare a proposed pretrial order containing the following:

1. A joint neutral statement to be read to the jury, not in excess of one page, of the nature of the case and the claims and defenses.
2. A list of the causes of action to be tried, referenced to the Complaint [and Counterclaim if applicable]. For each cause of action, the order shall succinctly list the elements of the claim, damages and any defenses. A cause of action in the Complaint [and/or Counterclaim] which is not listed shall be dismissed with prejudice.
3(a). A list of each witness counsel actually expect to call at trial with a brief statement, not exceeding four sentences, of the substance of the witnesses' testimony.
3(b). A list of each expert witness counsel actually expect to call at trial with a brief statement, not exceeding four sentences, of the substance of the witnesses' testimony.
3(c). A list of additional witnesses, including experts, counsel do not expect to call at this time but reserve the right to call at trial along with a brief statement, not exceeding four sentences, of the substance of the witnesses'
testimony.
4(a). A list of all exhibits that counsel actually expect to offer at trial with a one-sentence description of the exhibit. All exhibits are to be identified numerically, plaintiff starting with "1" and defendant beginning with an agreed upon numerical designation.
4(b). A list of all other exhibits that counsel do not expect to offer at this time but reserve the right to offer if necessary at trial with a one-sentence description of the exhibit.
5. A statement of all facts to which the parties stipulate. This statement shall be on a separate page and will be read to and provided to the jury.
6. A list of all deposition transcripts by page and line, or videotape depositions by section, that will be offered at trial.
7. Counsel will note any objections they have to any other parties' Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(3) Pretrial Disclosures.
The Court encourages the parties to consult with the assigned magistrate judge to work out any problems in preparation of the proposed pretrial order. The court will entertain any questions concerning the conduct of the trial at the pretrial conference.

11. Counsel for the Plaintiff(s) must provide opposing counsel with the proposed pretrial order for review and approval and take any other action required by Local Rule 16.1.f.6.a on or before July 23 , 2018 . Opposing counsel must communicate promptly with plaintiff's attorney concerning any objections to form or content of the pretrial order, and both parties shall attempt promptly to resolve their differences, if any, concerning the order.

12. The proposed pretrial order shall be lodged with the district judge's chambers on or before July 30 , 2018 , and shall be in the form prescribed in Local Rule 16.1.f.6.

13. The final Pretrial Conference is scheduled on the calendar of the Honorable Cathy Ann Bencivengo for August 6 , 2018 , at 2:00 p.m.

14. The trial in this matter shall commence on Monday, September 10 , 2018 , at 8:45 a.m. // // // //

15. Plaintiff's counsel shall serve a copy of this order on all parties that enter this case hereafter.

IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: September 5, 2017

/s/_________

Hon. Ruben B. Brooks

United States Magistrate Judge


Summaries of

Dewidar v. Nat'l R.R. Passenger Corp.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
Sep 5, 2017
Case No.: 17cv62 CAB(RBB) (S.D. Cal. Sep. 5, 2017)
Case details for

Dewidar v. Nat'l R.R. Passenger Corp.

Case Details

Full title:NAWAL DEWIDAR, Plaintiff, v. NATIONAL RAILROAD PASSENGER CORPORATION…

Court:UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

Date published: Sep 5, 2017

Citations

Case No.: 17cv62 CAB(RBB) (S.D. Cal. Sep. 5, 2017)