C. v. Merced City School District

Opinion

James D. Weakley, Esq. Bar No. 082853 Ashley N. Reyes, Esq. Bar No. 312120 WEAKLEY & ARENDT A Professional Corporation 5200 N. Palm Avenue, Suite 211 Fresno, California 93704 Telephone: (559) 221-5256 Facsimile: (559) 221-5262 Jim@walaw-fresno.com Ashley@walaw-fresno.com

Attorneys for Defendants, MERCED CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT operating as CHARLES WRIGHT ELEMENTARY, KEN COOPER, VERONICA VILLA, DOUG COLLINS; and

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

DUWAYNE C., a minor, by and through ) CASE NO. 1:19-CV-01188-DAD-BAM his guardian ad litem REGINA SCHINDLER ) ) STIPULATION AND ORDER Plaintiffs, FOR JOINT REQUEST TO MODIFIY ) vs. ) ) MERCED CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT, ) operating as CHARLES WRIGHT ) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL; OLIVIA ) ZARATE, an individual employee; KEN ) Complaint Filed: June 27, 2018 C VO ERO OPE NR IC, A an V i In Ld Liv Aid , u aa nl ie nm dip vl io dy ue ae l; employee; ) T

rial Date: TBA BRIAN MEISENHEIMER, an individual ) employee; DOUG COLLINS, and DOES 1 ) through 50, inclusive, ) ) Defendants. ) )

Plaintiff, Duwayne C., a minor, by and through his guardian ad litem Regina Schindler (Plaintiff); Defendants Merced City School District, operating as Charles Wright Elementary School; Ken Cooper, Veronica Villa, Brian Meisenheimer, Doug Collins, and Olivia Zarate (Defendants), by and through their attorneys of record, stipulate as follows: GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT RE MODIFICATION OF SCHEDULING ORDER 1. On January 9, 2020, the Court entered its Scheduling Conference Order in this matter, which contained the relevant case management deadlines including the deadlines for completion of non-expert discovery, expert disclosures, expert discovery, and the filing of dispositive motions. [Doc. 16]. 2. At this stage of the litigation the parties have propounded written discovery and have participated in mediation. Due to circumstances outside of the parties’ control, including the COVID-19 pandemic and sheltering in place orders the parties have been unable to take depositions. Although the case did not settle at mediation the parties now desire to continue settlement negotiations before incurring the costs of taking depositions. 3. As such, the parties stipulate and agree that Good Cause exists for (1) a brief extension of the non-expert and expert discovery deadlines; (2) an extension of the dispositive motion filing and hearing deadlines. This is the first such request for a continuance of discovery deadlines in this matter. 1. Accordingly, in light of the foregoing Good Cause, the parties hereby stipulate to and jointly request that the Court issue an Order modifying the operative scheduling order in this case along the following lines and/or in a manner comparable to the following proposed amended schedule: Event Deadline Amended Deadline Non-Expert Discovery November 20, 2020 February 26, 2021 Designation of Expert January 22, 2021 April 23, 2021 Witnesses Rebuttal Designation of February 12, 2021 May 14, 2021 Expert Witnesses Expert Discovery March 19, 2021 June 18, 2021 Deadline to File Dispositive April 30, 2021 July 30, 2021 Motions Pre-Trial Conference TBD

IT IS SO STIPULATED DATED: October 2,2020 WEAKLEY & ARENDT A Professional Corporation

By: /s/ James D. Weakley James D. Weakley Ashley N. Reyes Attorneys for Defendants Merced City School District, Ken Cooper, Veronica Villa, Brian Meisenheimer, and Doug Collins PORTER SCOTT A Professional Corporation DATED: October 2, 2020 By: /s/Derek J. Haynes1 Derek J. Haynes Barakah Amaral Attorneys for Defendant Olivia Zarate

DATED: October 2, 2020 LIBERTY LAW

By: /s/ Micha Star Liberty2 Micha Star Liberty Attorney for Plaintiff

1 Electronic signature authorized October 1, 2020. 2 Electronic signature authorized September 30, 2020.

According to the stipulation, the parties seek to modify the Scheduling Order in order to engage in further settlement discussions. Generally, settlement discussions, in and of themselves, are not good cause to modify a scheduling order. See Gerawan Farming, Inc. v. Rehrig Pacific Co., 2013 WL 645741, at *5 (E.D. Cal. Feb. 21, 2013). However, the parties also report that due to circumstances outside of their control, including the COVID-19 pandemic and sheltering in place orders, the parties have been unable to take depositions. In light of these circumstances, the Court finds good cause supporting modification of the Scheduling Order. Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that, the Court’s Scheduling Order [Doc. 16] is hereby modified and reset to the following:

Event Deadline Amended Deadline Non-Expert Discovery November 20, 2020 February 26, 2021 Designation of Expert January 22, 2021 April 23, 2021 Witnesses Rebuttal Designation of February 12, 2021 May 14, 2021 Expert Witnesses Expert Discovery March 19, 2021 June 18, 2021 Deadline to File Dispositive April 30, 2021 July 30, 2021 Motions

The Pretrial Conference remains as scheduled for November 1, 2021. (Doc. No. 25.) The parties are cautioned that further modifications of the Scheduling Order will not be granted absent a demonstrated showing of good cause. Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b). Good cause may consist of the inability to comply with court orders in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Any such further difficulties should be explained.

Dated: October 5, 2020 /s/ Barbara A. McAuliffe _ UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE