Opinion
CASE NO. 1:10-cv-00420-AWI-SKO.
November 30, 2010
ORDER GRANTING IN PART PARTIES' STIPULATED REQUEST TO MODIFY SCHEDULING ORDER (Docket No. 20)
On June 21, 2010, the Court issued a scheduling order setting the following deadlines:
1. Non-Expert Discovery December 17, 2010 2. Expert Discovery December 29, 2010 3. Pre-Trial Motion Filing January 13, 2011 4. Pre-Trial Conference March 9, 2011 5. Trial April 26, 2011 On November 19, 2010, the parties filed a stipulated request for a modification to their schedule indicating that they have had difficulty scheduling depositions and require an extension of time to complete this discovery. Further, the parties request additional time to negotiate a possible settlement. The parties request that all deadlines, with the exception of dates pertaining to the pretrial conference and the trial, be extended thirty (30) days. The parties assert that this schedule change will not interfere with the trial date of April 26, 2011.While the Court is willing to accommodate the parties' continued efforts to settle this matter and conclude any pending discovery, the Court can only grant the parties' request in part as their proposed modifications are not workable. The parties' request for a thirty (30) day extension of the deadlines does, in fact, impact the pre-trial conference date of March 9, 2011, and the trial date of April 26, 2011, despite the parties' representation to the contrary. For example, if the pre-trial motion filing deadline is extended 30 days, the new deadline will be February 14, 2011. If a motion is filed on this date, the hearing would necessarily take place at least 28 days later, which would effectively set the deadline for hearing pre-trial motions after the date for the pre-trial conference.
The only request that the Court can grant in part, given the existing pre-trial conference and trial dates, is to extend the deadline for non-expert discovery until January 7, 2011, and the deadline for expert discovery until January 10, 2011. The pre-trial motion filing deadline, the pre-trial conference date, and the trial date shall remain unchanged.
The Court also notes that a settlement conference has not been set in this matter. The parties shall inform the Court on or before December 13, 2010, whether they desire a settlement conference, and, if so, notify the Court of proposed dates for a settlement conference to take place in January.
Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT:
1. The parties' stipulated request for a modification to the scheduling order is GRANTED IN PART, and DENIED IN PART;
2. The deadline for non-expert discovery shall be extended to January 7, 2011;
3. The deadline for expert discovery shall be extended to January 10, 2011;
4. The deadline related to pre-trial motions, the pre-trial conference date, and the trial date shall remain unchanged; and
4. On or before December 13, 2010, the parties shall inform the Court whether they desire a settlement conference, and, if so, the parties shall notify the Court of proposed dates for a settlement conference to take place in January.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: November 29, 2010