Botts v. Sheppard

Opinion

. . □ . - UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT . D?RON BOTTS, Case No.: 3:19-cv-01387-DMS-RBM Plaintitt, ORDER GRANTING JOINT v. MOTION TO EXTEND EXPERT CORRECTIONAL OFFICER MOTION DEADLINES SHEPPARD, et al., . Defendants. .

[Doc. 41] . _ 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 Expert Discovery and Pretrial Motion Deadlines (“Joint Motion”). (Doc. 41.) The parties seek a three-week continuance of the expert discovery deadlines and the pretrial motions cutoff. (Ud. at 2.) The parties allege an lextension is necessary as COVID-19 and hospitalizations have delayed the original discovery deadlines. (/d.) Moreover, Plaintiff ‘needs more time to complete expert discovery and alleges an extension will cause no prejudice. (/d. at 2-3.) . 1

This is the parties’ sixth request to continue scheduling order dates. (Docs. 28, 31, 35, 37, 39, 41.) However, the undersigned notes that the primary. reasons for the multiple continuances resulted from COVID-19 and Plaintiff's hospitalization. (Doc. 41 at 2.) The Court’s August 25, 2020 order granting a continuance of time set a pretrial conference on August 20, 2021, with trial to begin on September 20, 2021. (Doc. 36 at 5.) The Court’s December 28, 2020 order granting a continuance of time set the expert discovery cutoff on April 23, 2021, and the pretrial motions deadline on May 21, 2021. (Doc. 40 at 3.) A scheduling order may be modified only upon a showing of good cause and with

_ 9 || the judge’s consent. FED. R. CIV. P. 16(b)(4); see, e.g., Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, 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, the Court finds good cause to grant a continuance of the expert discovery and pretrial motion deadlines. Additionally, the Court sua sponte continues the pretrial conference and trial dates. Accordingly, the Joint Motion is GRANTED: l. All expert-discovery shall be completed by all parties by May 14, 2021. The parties shall comply with the same procedures set forth in the paragraph governing fact discovery. 2. Failure to comply with this section or any other discovery order of the court result in the sanctions provided for in Fed. R. Civ. P. 37, including a prohibition on introduction of experts or other designated matters in evidence. 3. All other pretrial motions must be filed by June 11, 2021. Counsel for the moving party must obtain a motion hearing date from the law clerk of the judge who will hear the motion. The period of time between the date you request a motion date and the hearing date may vary from one district judge to another. Please plan accordingly. Failure to make a timely request for a motion date may result in the motion not being heard. Motions in Limine are to be filed as directed in the Local Rules or as otherwise set by the district judge. ,

1 4. The final Pretrial Conference is scheduled on the calendar of the Honorable Dana M. Sabraw on October 15, 2021, at 10:30 a.m. The trial is scheduled to start on November 15, 2021, at 9:00 a.m. 5. The dates and times set forth herein will not be modified except for good cause shown. . 6. All other dates in the Court’s August 25,2020, and December 28, 2020 orders (Docs. 36 and 40) remain unchanged. 7. Plaintiffs counsel shall serve a copy of this order on all parties that enter this case hereafter. . DATE: April 15, 2021 . Bf Bermuda Hyilags D_ ON. RUTH BE EZ MONTENEGRO oe . 18. . 2)