Antonio Poipao and Linda Poipao v. County of El Dorado

District Court, E.D. California·Decided December 15, 2025·No. 2:23-cv-01265·Unknown

Opinion

JOEL P. GUMBINER (111586) BARTLETT H. WILLIAMS (333908) 1010 B Street, Suite 200 San Rafael, CA 94901 Phone: (415) 755-1880 Joel@insuredlaw.com bart@insuredlaw.com

Attorneys for Plaintiffs ANTONIO POIPAO and LINDA POIPAO

Andrew T. Caulfield (SBN 238300) Joe Little (SBN 322179) 1101 Investment Blvd., Suite120 El Dorado Hills, CA 95762 Tel: (916) 933-3200 Fax: (916) 605-4075 Andrew@caulfieldlawfirm.com Joe@caulfieldlawfirm.com Attorneys for Defendant COUNTY OF EL DORADO

ANTONIO POIPAO and LINDA POIPAO, CASE NO. 2:23-cv-01265-CKD

Plaintiffs,

STIPULATED REQUEST TO FILE SECOND vs. AMENDED COMPLAINT; BIFURCATE AND MODIFY PRETRIAL SCHEDULING COUNTY OF EL DORADO, ORDER Defendant. [PROPOSED ORDER] Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (FRCP) 15(a)(2), Plaintiffs, ANTONIO POIPAO and LINDA POIPAO (hereinafter Plaintiffs), and Defendant, COUNTY OF EL DORADO (hereinafter Defendant) (collectively “Parties”) by and through the undersigned counsel, hereby stipulate to allow Plaintiffs to amend the Second Amended Complaint attached as Exhibit 1. By stipulating to leave for Plaintiffs’ to file the Second Amended Complaint, Defendant does not waive its right to move to dismiss all, or part of, the Second Amended Complaint under Rule 12. FRCP 16(b)(4) allows a “party may amend its pleading only with the opposing parties written consent. The court should freely give leave when justice so requires.” Here, Plaintiffs, in the investigation, discovery and expert work in this case have identified the causes of the mudslide at issue in this action, that were unknown to Plaintiffs at the time of filing the First Amended Complaint. Since this Stipulated Request to Amend the Complaint is supported by good cause, the Parties hereby respectfully request that this Court allow Plaintiffs to file the Second Amended Complaint attached to this Stipulation as Exhibit 1. The Parties further stipulate to bifurcate the trial so that the issue of liability on Plaintiff’s First Cause of Action for Fifth Amendment Taking and Second Cause of Action for California inverse condemnation be tried first. Liability for inverse condemnation is tried to the Court. Marshall v. Dep't of Water & Power (1990) 219 Cal.App.3d 1124, 1141. The Parties anticipate that the bench trial on liability will likely last three to four days. The remainder of the case, including liability on the tort causes and damages could be tried later to the jury. The Parties agree that this phasing of the trial promotes judicial economy and may provide the Parties time to settle the case and/or prepare for the more time-consuming jury trial in the second phase according to the schedule stipulated below in the Modified Scheduling Order. /// -2- Pursuant to Local Rule 143 and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (FRCP) 16(b)(4), Parties hereby stipulate and request this Court to issue an Order to modify the Court’s scheduling Order (ECF No. 35) (hereinafter “Order”) for case 2:23-cv-01265-CKD, by extending the dates for discovery and related deadlines from the dates given in the Parties’ Stipulated Request to Modify Pretrial Scheduling Order; [Order], dated May 1, 2025. FRCP 16(b)(4) allows a court to modify a scheduling order upon a showing of “good cause.” According to the Ninth Circuit Court, the “good cause” standard required is primarily concerned with the diligence taken by the party seeking the extension. Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604, 609 (9th Cir. 1992). A court may modify the scheduling order should the given deadlines not be reasonably able to be met, despite diligent efforts. Jackson v. Laureate, Inc., 186 F.R.D. 605, 608 (E.D. CA 1999). Since Plaintiffs retained new counsel, they have discovered that the project identified in the original Complaint and First Amended Complaint did not cause their damages. Plaintiffs now contend that a 2012-2013 fencing project at the Airport caused their damages as set forth in the Second Amended Complaint. Defendant will need to file its responsive pleading to the Second Amended Complaint and have the opportunity to conduct discovery relating to this new theory of liability. Additionally, the Parties participated in mediation on November 6, 2025, which was unsuccessful. The Parties may schedule a second mediation session after additional discovery. The remainder of time left open for discovery under the Order is not sufficient to allow the Parties to continue to conduct meaningful discovery in this case, possibly participate in a second mediation, and informally resolve their disagreements about the substance of discovery responses that are still at issue. Since this Stipulated Request to Modify the Pretrial Order is supported by good cause, the Parties hereby respectfully request that this Court modify the Pretrial Order by extending the fact and expert discovery deadlines in its May 1, 2025, Order. This would result in the following new deadlines: -3- • Non-expert discovery shall be completed by April 15, 2026; • Any expert witnesses shall be disclosed by April 1, 2026; • Any rebuttal expert disclosures shall be made by April 15, 2026; • All expert discovery shall be completed by May 15, 2026; • All law and motion, except as to discovery-related matters, shall be completed (i.e. heard) by July 1, 2026; • Bifurcated three to four day bench trial on liability portion of Plaintiffs’ First Cause of Action for Fifth Amendment Taking and Second Cause of Action for California inverse condemnation on July 13, 2026 and • Jury trial on remaining issues on October 1, 2026.

Dated: November 19, 2025 WILLIAMS & GUMBINER LLP

__________/s/___Bartlett H. Williams__ Bartlett H. Williams Attorneys for Plaintiffs Antonio Poipao and Linda Poipao

Dated: November 19, 2025 CAULFIELD LAW FIRM

___________/s/_Andrew T. Caulfield__ Andrew T. Caulfield Attorneys for Defendant County of El Dorado

G:\CLIENT DOCUMENTS\Poipao, Antonio and Linda\Pleadings\Stipulation\2025-11-18 Stipulated Request For Leave to Amend.doc

-4- 1 [PROPOSED] ORDER Pursuant to the Stipulation regarding the Parties’ request to allow Plaintiffs to Amend the First Amended Complaint, and good cause appearing, the Court approves the Stipulation and allows Plaintiffs to file the Second Amended Complaint attached as Exhibit 1.

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Related

Marshall v. Department of Water & Power
219 Cal. App. 3d 1124 (California Court of Appeal, 1990)
Belknap v. Wallace Addressing Mach. Co.
10 F.2d 602 (S.D. New York, 1925)
Jackson v. Laureate, Inc.
186 F.R.D. 605 (E.D. California, 1999)