Montoya v. Dudek

Opinion

JOSE EDUARDO M., Case No.: 3:25-cv-01039-AHG Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING JOINT MOTION FOR EXTENSION OF v. TIME TO FILE ADMINISTRATIVE FRANK BISIGNANO, Commissioner of RECORD Social Security,1 [ECF No. 6] Defendant. Before the Court is the parties’ Joint Motion for Extension of Time to File the Administrative Record (“AR”). ECF No. 6. Parties seeking to continue a deadline must demonstrate good cause. Chmb.R. at 2 (stating that any request for continuance requires “[a] showing of good cause for the request”); see FED. R. CIV. P. 6(b) (“When an act may or must be done within a specified time, the court may, for good cause, extend the time”). “Good cause” is a non-rigorous 1 Frank Bisignano became the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration on May 7, 2025. Although Plaintiff originally brought this action against Former Acting Commissioner Lee Dudek, this case may properly proceed against Frank Bisignano /standard that has been construed broadly across procedural and statutory contexts. Ahanchian v. Xenon Pictures, Inc., 624 F.3d 1253, 1259 (9th Cir. 2010). The good cause standard focuses on the diligence of the party seeking to amend the scheduling order and the reasons for seeking modification. Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 609 (9th Cir. 1992) (“[T]he focus of the inquiry is upon the moving party’s reasons for seeking modification. . . . If that party was not diligent, the inquiry should end.”) Gnternal citation omitted). Here, the deadline for Defendant to file the AR in this case is June 23, 2025. See CivLR 7.1(e)(6)(d) (“The certified administrative record filed by the Social Security Administration will suffice as the agency’s answer to the complaint, and will be due sixty after transmission of the Notice of Electronic Filing of the complaint”); see also ECF No. 2 (the Notice of Electronic Filing, filed on April 24, 2025). Defendant’s counsel represents to the Court that the Office of Appellate Operations “is currently preparing” the AR and that work on the AR “has progressed.” ECF No. 6-1 at 2. However, the agency needs additional time to prepare the AR and, after it is prepared, counsel then needs to review it for accuracy and completion. /d. As such, the parties request a 30-day extension. ECF No. 6 at 2. Upon due consideration, the Court finds good cause to GRANT the parties’ joint motion. ECF No. 6. The deadline for Defendant to serve the Certified Administrative Record is continued to July 23, 2025. Dated: June 17, 2025 _Abiomt. Xl Honorable Allison H. Goddard United States Magistrate Judge