Opinion
2:22-cv-01344-RSM
06-09-2023
HOTEL ROSLYN, LLC f/k/a ELLEN & NILS, LLC and SKOBO, LLC, Plaintiffs, v. AMGUARD INSURANCE COMPANY, a Pennsylvania corporation, Defendant.
COZEN O'CONNOR Kevin A. Michael, WSBA No. 36976 John B. McDonald, WSBA No. 57511 Attorney for Defendant AmGuard Insurance Company MILLER NASH, LLP James T. Yand, WSBA No. 18730 Seth H. Row, WSBA No.32905 Attorney for Plaintiffs
COZEN O'CONNOR Kevin A. Michael, WSBA No. 36976 John B. McDonald, WSBA No. 57511 Attorney for Defendant AmGuard Insurance Company
MILLER NASH, LLP James T. Yand, WSBA No. 18730 Seth H. Row, WSBA No.32905 Attorney for Plaintiffs
JOINT STIPULATED MOTION AND ORDER TO EXTEND TRIAL DATE AND RELATED
RICARDO S. MARTINEZ UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
STIPULATED MOTION
The Parties hereby stipulate and request by motion pursuant to LCR 10(g) that the Trial Date, as set forth in this Court's Order Setting Trial Date and Related Dates (Dkt. 11), be extended by approximately 90 days for the stated reasons and good cause shown:
Current Trial Date New Trial Date
November 6, 2023 February 5, 2024
The Parties also stipulate and request that the following dates be adjusted accordingly:
Description
Current Date
New Date
Deadline for filing motions related to discovery
June 9, 2023
August 25, 2023
Discovery completed by
July 10, 2023
September 25, 2023
All dispositive motions must be filed by and noted on the motion calendar no later than the fourth Friday thereafter pursuant to LCR7(d)(3)
August 8, 2023
October 16, 2023
Mediation Deadline
September 22, 2023
December 1, 2023
All motions in limine must be filed by and noted on the motion calendar three Fridays thereafter pursuant to LCR7(d)(4)
October 10, 2013
December 19, 2023
Agreed Pretrial Order due
October 25, 2023
January 16, 2024
Pretrial Conference
To be set by the Court
Trial briefs, proposed jury instructions, proposed voir dire, agreed neutral statement of the case, deposition designations, and trial exhibits due
November 1, 2023
January 24, 2024
DISCUSSION
The November 10, 2022 Order Setting Trial Date and Related Dates (Dkt. 11) stated that “only upon good cause shown,” and not based on agreement of counsel or the parties, would the Court issue any order to change the trial date or any related dates. The Order further contains a section entitled “COOPERATION,” stating that as required by LCR 37(a), all discovery matters are to be resolved by agreement, if possible.
There is good cause for this Court to grant the Parties' stipulated motion for an approximately 90-day continuance of the trial date and all remaining related dates. The Parties noted in their Joint Status Report and Discovery Plan (Dkt. 10), which was filed before the Court's Order Setting Trial Dates, that they intended to pursue resolution of their claim before engaging in litigation. The Parties indeed pursued those efforts, though securing a suitable date with a mediator proved more challenging than expected, which resulted in a mediation occurring later than expected. That mediation effort ultimately proved unsuccessful. However, those early resolution efforts delayed the commencement of discovery and other litigation tasks, which would not have been cost-justified if a resolution had been reached at mediation.
After those efforts broke off, AmGuard filed an Answer and Affirmative Defenses on March 1, 2023 (Dkt. 16). Since the time of the Answer, the Parties have engaged in document discovery, which has included working cooperatively, per the Court's Order, to resolve various disputes that have arisen. The Parties have also worked with and disclosed various experts, per the Court's original Scheduling Order.
The Parties are now working to schedule various depositions in advance of the current July 10, 2023 deadline. On June 2, 2023, counsel for the Parties conferred regarding deposition scheduling and it became apparent to the undersigned counsel that there was good cause for an extension of both the Deadline to Complete Discovery and the Trial Date. Although approximately five weeks remain in the discovery period, there are both known and anticipated issues with unavailability of counsel and witnesses during June and July. The Parties anticipate needing approximately seven depositions each (i.e., fourteen total, give or take). Counsel for Defendant has conflicts the week of June 19-23. Plaintiffs' counsel has conflicts during the period of June 23-July 7. Several of these depositions have been requested in-person and may require travel out of state. The Parties are actively working to secure dates in July and August for these depositions.
Other discovery-related issues also provide good cause for a brief extension of the deadlines. For example, the Parties are currently working through various discovery disputes surrounding privilege logs and production of documents subject to a protective order. The Parties have been working in good faith to resolve these issues.
These and other related factors provided good cause for the Parties to jointly request an extension of time to complete their fact/expert witness depositions and remaining discovery. This Motion is not brought for the purpose of delay. This is the first extension request the Parties have made.
Accordingly, the Parties are jointly presenting this Stipulated Motion for the Court's consideration based upon good cause shown.
ORDER
IT IS SO ORDERED.
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that on June 7, 2023, I electronically filed the foregoing document with the Clerk of the Court using the CM/ECF system which will send notification of such filing to all counsel of record.