Botts v. Sheppard

Opinion

DDPRON BOTTS, Case No.: 3:19-cv-01387-DMS-RBM Plaintift,) ORDER GRANTING JOINT MOTION ] v. TO CONTINUE DISCOVERY CUT-OFF } CORRECTIONAL OFFICER SHEPPARD, et al., Defendants. Docs. 36, 37] Before the Court is Plaintiff D’Ron Botts (“Plaintiff”) and Defendants J. Newman, C. Legge, R. Rodriguez, F. Camacho, A. Shepherd, and D. Paramo’s (collectively “Defendants”) Joint Motion to Extend the Discovery Cut-Off (“Joint Motion”). (Doc. 37.) The parties seek a thirty-day continuance of the fact discovery cutoff due to difficulties rescheduling the deposition of inmate witness, Gary Grubbs (“Mr. Grubbs”), and finding mutually-agreeable dates to depose two of the Defendants. (/d. at 1-2.) The parties originally scheduled Mr. Grubbs’s deposition in advance of the original discovery cutoff date, but the night before Mr. Grubbs’s deposition, Mr. Grubbs was taken to the hospital subsequently quarantined for fourteen days. (/d. at 2.) This is the parties’ fourth request to continue dates. (Docs. 28, 31, 35, 37.) The August 25, 2020 Order Granting Joint Motion to Continue Trial-Related Dates required ]

fact discovery be completed by November 2020. (Doc. 36 at 2.) The instant continuance is only needed to conduct three depositions. (Doc. 37 at 2.) The parties do seek to continue any other dates. (/d. at 1.) . A scheduling order may be modified only upon a showing of good cause and with the judge’s consent. FED. R. CIV. P. 16(b)(4); see, e.g., Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604, 609 (9th Cir. 1992) (stating, “the focus of [the good cause] inquiry is upon the moving party’s reasons for seeking modification.”). Here, Mr. Grubbs’s sudden illness and fourteen-day quarantine were unforeseeable and have impeded the parties’ ability to complete discovery. (Doc. 37 at 2.) Thus, the Court finds good cause to grant a continuance of the discovery cut-off date. Accordingly, the Joint Motion is GRANTED. The Court’s August 25, 2020 Order Granting Joint Motion to Continue Trial-Related Dates (Doc. 36) is hereby AMENDED follows: 1. All fact discovery shall be completed by all parties by December 9, 2020. “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 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. 2. The dates and times set forth herein will not be modified except for good cause shown.

1 3. All other dates in the Court’s August 25, 2020 Order Granting Joint Motion to Continue Trial-Related Dates (Doc. 35) remain unchanged. 4. Plaintiff's counsel shall serve a copy of this order on all parties that enter this case hereafter. DATE: November 10, 2020

4ON. RUTH BERMUDEZ MONTENEGRO UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE