Mejia v. Aragona

Opinion

JAIME MEJIA, Case No. 2:24-cv-01593-JAD-NJK Plaintiff, Order v. [Docket No. 9] RICHARD ARAGONA, et al., Defendants. Pending before the Court is the parties’ stipulation to extend discovery deadlines by 90 days. Docket No. 9. A request to extend unexpired deadlines in the scheduling order must be premised on a showing of good cause. Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(4); Local Rule 26-3. The good cause analysis turns on whether the subject deadlines cannot reasonably be met despite the exercise of diligence.1 Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604, 609 (9th Cir. 1992). Settlement discussions are a common aspect of federal litigation and it is well-settled that the existence of such discussions is not good cause to modify the scheduling order. Williams v. James River Grp. Inc., 627 F. Supp. 3d 1172, 1181 (D. Nev. 2022) (collecting cases). Nonetheless, relief may be afforded in appropriate cases when, inter alia, a firm mediation date is set in the near term, avoiding costs in the interim is likely to foster resolution at the mediation, and resolution at the mediation is likely. See id. at 1181 n.8 Here, the parties seek relief based on a mediation scheduled for February 19, 2025. Docket No. 9 at 1. However, the stipulation fails to explain why that circumstance justifies a three-month 1 The parties’ recitation of discovery completed does not include the dates on which they completed the specific discovery. As a result, the Court cannot make a finding as to whether the parties were diligent through the entire discovery period. Any future stipulation must include these dates. 1} extension of deadlines. Such an extension appears excessive on its face in relation to the circumstance identified. The Court finds that good cause has been established for a 30-day extension of the current 4! deadlines. Accordingly, the stipulation to extend is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. Docket No. 9. The Court ORDERS the parties to file, no later than February 21, 2025, a joint 6] status report regarding the results of the mediation. Deadlines are RESET as follows: e Discovery cutoff: March 26, 2025 e Dispositive motions: April 25, 2025 e Joint proposed pretrial order: May 26, 2025, or 30 days after resolution of dispositive motions Dated: January 10, 2025 ae. 7 xn. Nancy J. Kopps United States h agistrate Judge