Opinion
2:20-cv-00791 MCE AC
04-20-2022
VIBRANTCARE REHABILITATION, INC., Plaintiff, v. KIRAN DEOL, Defendant.
ORDER
ALLISON CLAIRE UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
Pending before the court is defendant's motion to compel. ECF No. 36. The motion is currently set for hearing on the papers on April 27, 2022 before the undersigned. This discovery matter was referred to the undersigned pursuant to E.D. Cal. R. (“Local Rule”) 302(c)(1).
Local Rule 251(b) establishes requirements for any party bringing a motion pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 26 through 37, including the requirement that the parties meet and confer and file a joint discovery statement. Here, no joint discovery statement has been filed. Instead, the parties filed separate documents. ECF Nos. 41 and 42. Plaintiff filed a declaration stating that defendant, the moving party, gave inadequate time for a joint statement to be prepared, failed to adequately meet and confer, and filed an independent statement with the court on the due date of the joint statement without prior notice to plaintiff. ECF No. 42-1 at 3.
The discovery deadline in this case is October 12, 2022, or 365 days from the answer filing deadline. See ECF No. 3 (Civil Case Documents). Because defendant, the moving party, did not satisfy Local Rule 251(b)'s meet and confer requirement and the joint discovery statement requirement, the motion to compel discovery will be denied without prejudice. See e.g., U.S. v. Molen, 2012 WL 5940383, at *1 (E.D.Cal. Nov. 27, 2012) (where a party fails to comply with Local Rule 251, discovery motions are denied without prejudice to re-filing).
Fed. R Civ. P. 12(4)(A) sets the deadline to file an answer for 14 days after a ruling on a motion to dismiss. The court denied defendant's motion to dismiss on September 28, 2021, making defendant's answer due October 12, 2021. Defendant did not actually answer until April 11, 2022. ECF No. 39.
For the reasons state above, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that defendant's motion to compel, ECF No. 36, is DENIED without prejudice.
IT IS SO ORDERED.