James Snell v. G4S Secure Solutions (USA) Inc.

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 8 9 JAMES SNELL, Case No. 1: 19-cv-00802-NONE-SAB

10 Plaintiff, SCHEDULING ORDER (Fed. R. Civ. P 16)

11 Discovery Deadlines: Initial Disclosures: March 31, 2020 12 v. Pre-Certification Discovery: March 31, 2021

13 Class Certification Deadlines: G4S SECURE SOLUTIONS (USA), Motion Filing: May 28, 2021 14 INC.,

15 Defendant.

17 I. Date of Scheduling Conference 18 The Scheduling Conference was held on March 3, 2020. 19 II. Appearances of Counsel 20 Kelsey Szamet appeared telephonically on behalf of Plaintiff. 21 Michael Wright telephonically appeared on behalf of Defendant. 22 III. Consent to Magistrate Judge 23 The parties have not consented to magistrate jurisdiction. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c), 24 to the parties who have not consented to conduct all further proceedings in this case, including 25 trial, before United States Magistrate Judge Stanley A. Boone, you should be informed that 26 because of the pressing workload of United States district judges and the priority of criminal 27 cases under the United States Constitution, you are encouraged to consent to magistrate judge 28 1 jurisdiction in an effort to have your case adjudicated in a timely and cost effective manner. Any 2 criminal trial set which conflicts with the civil trial will take priority, even if the civil trial was set 3 first. Continuances of civil trials under these circumstances may no longer be entertained, absent 4 a specific and stated finding of good cause, but the civil trial may instead trail from day to day or 5 week to week until the completion of either the criminal case or the older civil case. The parties 6 are advised that they are free to withhold consent or decline magistrate jurisdiction without 7 adverse substantive consequences. 8 IV. Initial Disclosure under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1) 9 The parties shall exchange the initial disclosures required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1) on or 10 before March 31, 2020. 11 V. Amendments to Pleading 12 The parties do not anticipate any amendments to the pleadings at this time. The parties 13 are advised that filing motions and/or stipulations requesting leave to amend the pleadings does 14 not reflect on the propriety of the amendment or imply good cause to modify the existing 15 schedule, if necessary. All proposed amendments must (A) be supported by good cause pursuant 16 to Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b) if the amendment requires any modification to the existing schedule, see 17 Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604, 609 (9th Cir. 1992), and (B) establish, 18 under Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a), that such an amendment is not (1) prejudicial to the opposing party, 19 (2) the product of undue delay, (3) proposed in bad faith, or (4) futile, see Foman v. Davis, 371 20 U.S. 178, 182 (1962). 21 VI. Class Certification 22 The parties have agreed to a phased approach to this action. This first phase shall relate to 23 class certification. Motions for class certification shall be filed on or before May 28, 2021. 24 VII. Discovery Plan and Cut-Off Dates 25 The parties are ordered to complete all pre-certification discovery on or before March 31, 26 2021. 27 The provisions of Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(e) regarding a party’s duty to timely supplement 28 disclosures and responses to discovery requests will be strictly enforced. 1 The parties are cautioned that the discovery/expert cut-off deadlines are the dates by 2 which all discovery must be completed. Absent good cause, discovery motions will not be heard 3 after the discovery deadlines. Moreover, absent good cause, the Court will only grant relief on a 4 discovery motion if the relief requested requires the parties to act before the expiration of the 5 relevant discovery deadline. In other words, discovery requests and deposition notices must be 6 served sufficiently in advance of the discovery deadlines to permit time for a response, time to 7 meet and confer, time to prepare, file and hear a motion to compel and time to obtain relief on a 8 motion to compel. Counsel are expected to take these contingencies into account when proposing 9 discovery deadlines. Compliance with these discovery cutoffs requires motions to compel be 10 filed and heard sufficiently in advance of the discovery cutoff so that the Court may grant 11 effective relief within the allotted discovery time. A party’s failure to have a discovery dispute 12 heard sufficiently in advance of the discovery cutoff may result in denial of the motion as 13 untimely. 14 VIII. Pre-Trial Motion Schedule 15 Unless prior leave of Court is obtained at least seven (7) days before the filing date, all 16 moving and opposition briefs or legal memorandum in civil cases shall not exceed twenty-five 17 (25) pages. Reply briefs filed by moving parties shall not exceed ten (10) pages. Before 18 scheduling any motion, the parties must comply with all requirements set forth in Local Rule 230 19 and 251. 20 A. Non-Dispositive Pre-Trial Motions 21 As noted, all pre-certification discovery, including motions to compel, shall be completed 22 no later than March 31, 2021. Compliance with these discovery cutoffs requires motions to 23 compel be filed and heard sufficiently in advance of the discovery cutoff so that the Court may 24 grant effective relief within the allotted discovery time. A party’s failure to have a discovery 25 dispute heard sufficiently in advance of the discovery cutoff may result in denial of the motion as 26 untimely. Non-dispositive motions are heard on Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m., before United States 27 Magistrate Judge Stanley A. Boone in Courtroom 9. 28 In scheduling any non-dispositive motion, the Magistrate Judge may grant Applications 1 for an Order Shortening Time pursuant to Local Rule 144(e). However, if counsel does not 2 obtain an Order Shortening Time, the Notice of Motion must comply with Local Rule 251. 3 Counsel may appear and argue non-dispositive motions by telephone, providing a written 4 request to so appear is made to the Magistrate Judge’s Courtroom Clerk no later than three (3) 5 court days before the noticed hearing date. In the event that more than one attorney requests to 6 appear by telephone, then it shall be the obligation of the moving party(ies) to arrange and 7 originate a conference call to the court. 8 Discovery Disputes: If a motion is brought under Fed. R. Civ. P. 37, the parties must 9 prepare and file a Joint Statement re Discovery Disagreement (“Joint Statement”) as required by 10 Local Rule 251. The Joint Statement must be filed seven (7) calendar days before the scheduled 11 hearing date. Courtesy copies of all motion-related documents, declarations, and exhibits must be 12 delivered to the Clerk’s Office by 10:00 a.m. on the fourth court day prior to the scheduled 13 hearing date. Motions will be removed from the court’s hearing calendar if the Joint Statement is 14 not timely filed or if courtesy copies are not timely delivered. In order to satisfy the meet and 15 confer requirement set forth in Local Rule 251(b), the parties must confer and talk to each other 16 in person, over the telephone or via video conferencing before the hearing about the discovery 17 dispute. The Court may issue sanctions against the moving party or the opposing party if either 18 party fails to meet and confer in good faith. 19 B. Dispositive Pre-Trial Motions 20 Motions for Summary Judgment or Summary Adjudication: Prior to filing a motion for 21 summary judgment or motion for summary adjudication, the parties are ORDERED to meet, in 22 person or by telephone, and confer to discuss the issues to be raised in the motion. 23 The purpose of the meeting shall be to: 1) avoid filing motions for summary judgment 24 where a question of fact exists; 2) determine whether the respondent agrees that the motion has 25 merit in whole or in part; 3) discuss whether issues can be resolved without the necessity of 26 briefing; 4) narrow the issues for review by the court; 5) explore the possibility of settlement 27 before the parties incur the expense of briefing a summary judgment motion; and 6) to arrive at a 28 Joint Statement of Undisputed Facts. 1 The moving party shall initiate the meeting and provide a draft of the Joint Statement of 2 Undisputed Facts. In addition to the requirements of Local Rule 260, the moving party shall 3 file a Joint Statement of Undisputed Facts. 4 In the Notice of Motion, the moving party shall certify that the parties have met and 5 conferred as ordered above or set forth a statement of good cause for the failure to meet and 6 confer. 7 IX. Pre-Trial Conference and Trial Date 8 The pre-trial conference and trial date shall be addressed following completion of the pre- 9 certification phase. 10 X. Settlement Conference 11 The parties indicate they have generally discussed settlement but need additional time to 12 gather information. Should the parties desire a settlement conference, they will jointly request 13 one of the Court, and one will be arranged. In making such request, the parties are directed to 14 notify the Court as to whether or not they desire the undersigned to conduct the settlement 15 conference or to arrange for one before another judicial officer. 16 XI. Related Matters Pending 17 The parties are not aware of any related matters. 18 XII. Compliance with Federal Procedure 19 All counsel are expected to familiarize themselves with the Federal Rules of Civil 20 Procedure and the Local Rules of the Eastern District of California, and to keep abreast of any 21 amendments thereto. The Court must insist upon compliance with these Rules if it is to 22 efficiently handle its increasing case load and sanctions will be imposed for failure to follow the 23 Rules as provided in both the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Local Rules for the 24 Eastern District of California. 25 Additional requirements and more detailed procedures for courtroom practice before 26 United States Magistrate Judge Stanley A. Boone can be found at the United States District Court 27 for the Eastern District of California’s website (www.caed.uscourts.gov) under Judges; United 28 States Magistrate Judge Stanley A. Boone (SAB). In the area entitled “Case Management 1 | Procedures,” there is a link to “Standard Information.” All parties and counsel shall comply with 2 | the guidelines set forth therein. 3 XII. Effect of this Order 4 The foregoing order represents the best estimate of the court and counsel as to the agenda 5 || most suitable to dispose of this case. The trial date reserved is specifically reserved for this case. 6 | Ifthe parties determine at any time that the schedule outlined in this order cannot be met, counsel 7 | are ordered to notify the court immediately of that fact so that adjustments may be made, either 8 | by stipulation or by subsequent status conference. 9 Stipulations extending the deadlines contained herein will not be considered unless 10 | they are accompanied by affidavits or declarations, and where appropriate attached 11 | exhibits, which establish good cause for granting the relief requested. The parties are 12 | advised that due to the impacted nature of civil cases on the district judges in the Eastern 13 | District of California, Fresno Division, that stipulations to continue set dates are disfavored 14 | and will not be granted absent good cause. 15 Lastly, should counsel or a party appearing pro se fail to comply with the directions 16 | as set forth above, an ex parte hearing may be held and contempt sanctions, including 17 | monetary sanctions, dismissal, default, or other appropriate judgment, may be imposed 18 | and/or ordered. 19 IT IS SO ORDERED. OF. ee 21 | Dated: _March 3, 2020_ ee UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 22 23 24 25 26 27 28