1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 12 13 THOMAS J. SCHOENBECK, Case No.: 23-cv-01635-RSH-JLB
14 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING IN PART EX 15 v. PARTE MOTION TO AMEND SCHEDULING ORDER
17 Defendant. [ECF No. 50] 18 19 Before the Court is an Ex Parte Motion to Amend Scheduling Order filed by Plaintiff 20 Thomas J. Schoenbeck (“Plaintiff”). (ECF No. 50.) Plaintiff requests that the Court vacate 21 the deadlines contained in the Court’s May 28, 2025, Scheduling Order and extend the 22 discovery deadlines pending a new Case Management Conference with the participation 23 of Plaintiff, Plaintiff’s counsel, and Defendant United States of America (“Defendant”). 24 (Id. at 1.) Defendant filed a response. (ECF No. 55.) On July 9, 2025, the Court held a 25 hearing on the motion. (ECF No. 59.) As discussed during the hearing, the Court 26 GRANTS IN PART the Ex Parte Motion, and amends the Scheduling Order (ECF No. 27 48) as follows: 28 /// 1 1. Counsel shall refer to the Civil Pretrial and Trial Procedures for the 2 Honorable Robert S. Huie and the Civil Chambers Rules of the Honorable Jill L. Burkhardt, 3 which are accessible via the Court’s website at www.casd.uscourts.gov. 4 2. All fact discovery shall be completed by all parties by September 5, 2025. 5 “Completed” means that all discovery under Rules 30–36 of the Federal Rules of Civil 6 Procedure, and discovery subpoenas under Rule 45, must be initiated a sufficient period of 7 time in advance of the cut-off date, so that it may be completed by the cut-off date, taking 8 into account the times for service, notice and response as set forth in the Federal Rules of 9 Civil Procedure. 10 The parties shall promptly and in good faith meet and confer with regard to all 11 discovery disputes in compliance with Local Rule 26.1(a). The Court expects the parties 12 to make every effort to resolve all disputes without court intervention through the meet and 13 confer process. If the parties reach an impasse on any discovery issue, the parties shall 14 file an appropriate motion within the time limit and procedures outlined in the undersigned 15 magistrate judge’s chambers rules. A failure to comply in this regard will result in a waiver 16 of a party’s discovery issue. Absent an order of the court, no stipulation continuing or 17 altering this requirement will be recognized by the court. 18 Discovery disputes must be brought to the Court’s attention in the time and manner 19 required by § V of Judge Burkhardt’s Civil Chambers Rules. All discovery disputes must 20 be raised within 30 calendar days of the service of an objection, answer, or response 21 that becomes the subject of dispute, or the passage of a discovery due date without response 22 or production, and only after counsel (and any unrepresented parties) have met and 23 conferred to resolve the dispute. See J. Burkhardt Civ. Chambers R. § V. 24 /// 25 /// 26
27 1 “Counsel” shall be defined herein to include any party representing himself or 28 1 3. The parties shall designate their respective experts in writing by 2 October 3, 2025. The parties must identify any person who may be used at trial to present 3 evidence pursuant to Federal Rules of Evidence 702, 703 or 705. This requirement is not 4 limited to retained experts. The date for designation of rebuttal experts shall be 5 October 17, 2025. The written designations shall include the name, address and telephone 6 number of the expert and a reasonable summary of the testimony the expert is expected to 7 provide. The list shall also include the normal rates the expert charges for deposition and 8 trial testimony. 9 4. All expert disclosures required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2) shall be served on 10 all parties on or before November 14, 2025. Any contradictory or rebuttal information 11 shall be disclosed on or before November 28, 2025. In addition, Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(e)(1) 12 imposes a duty on the parties to supplement the expert disclosures made pursuant to Fed. 13 R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2)(B) by the time that pretrial disclosures are due under Fed. R. Civ. P. 14 26(a)(3) (discussed below). This disclosure requirement applies to all persons retained or 15 specially employed to provide expert testimony, or whose duties as an employee of the 16 party regularly involve the giving of expert testimony. 17 5. All expert discovery shall be completed by January 9, 2026. The parties shall 18 comply with the same procedures set forth in Paragraph 2 concerning fact discovery. 19 6. A Mandatory Settlement Conference (“MSC”) will be held by video 20 conference2 on August 21, 2025, at 1:45 PM before Magistrate Judge Jill L. Burkhardt. 21 Mandatory directions for participating in the MSC by video conference are attached. 22 The purpose of the MSC is to permit an informal, candid discussion between the attorneys, 23
24 2 If any party believes the MSC is more likely to be successful if conducted in-person, 25 that party shall meet and confer on the issue with the other parties. After meeting and conferring, and no later than 60 days before the MSC, the parties shall leave a joint 26 voicemail with chambers at (619) 557-6624 indicating which of the parties requests an in- 27 person MSC. In the voicemail, the parties shall leave three mutually available dates for a telephonic status conference to discuss whether the MSC should be held in-person. The 28 1 parties, and the settlement judge of every aspect of the lawsuit in an effort to achieve a 2 mediated resolution of the case. All MSC discussions will be off the record, privileged, 3 and confidential. See CivLR 16.3(h). 4 Pursuant to Civil Local Rule 16.3, all party representatives and claims adjusters for 5 insured defendants with full and unlimited authority3 to negotiate and enter into a binding 6 settlement, as well as the principal attorney(s) responsible for the litigation, must be present 7 and legally and factually prepared to discuss and resolve the case at the MSC. In the case 8 of an entity, an authorized representative of the entity who is not retained outside counsel 9 must be present and must have discretionary authority to commit the entity to pay an 10 amount up to the amount of the Plaintiff’s prayer (excluding punitive damages prayers). 11 The purpose of this requirement is to have representatives present who can settle the case 12 during the course of the conference without consulting a superior. 13 Counsel for a United States government entity may be excused from this 14 requirement so long as the government attorney who attends the MSC conference (1) has 15 primary responsibility for handling the case, and (2) may negotiate settlement offers which 16 the attorney is willing to recommend to the government official having ultimate settlement 17 authority. 18 Failure to attend the MSC or obtain proper excuse will be considered grounds 19 for sanctions. 20 /// 21 22 23 3 “Full authority to settle” means that the individuals at the settlement conference must be authorized to fully explore settlement options and to agree at that time to any settlement 24 terms acceptable to the parties. Heileman Brewing Co., Inc. v. Joseph Oat Corp., 871 F.2d 25 648 (7th Cir. 1989). The person needs to have “unfettered discretion and authority” to change the settlement position of a party. Pitman v. Brinker Int’l., Inc., 216 F.R.D. 481, 26 485–86 (D. Ariz. 2003). The purpose of requiring a person with unlimited settlement 27 authority to attend the conference includes that the person’s view of the case may be altered during the face to face conference. Id. at 486.
Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 12 13 THOMAS J. SCHOENBECK, Case No.: 23-cv-01635-RSH-JLB
14 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING IN PART EX 15 v. PARTE MOTION TO AMEND SCHEDULING ORDER
17 Defendant. [ECF No. 50] 18 19 Before the Court is an Ex Parte Motion to Amend Scheduling Order filed by Plaintiff 20 Thomas J. Schoenbeck (“Plaintiff”). (ECF No. 50.) Plaintiff requests that the Court vacate 21 the deadlines contained in the Court’s May 28, 2025, Scheduling Order and extend the 22 discovery deadlines pending a new Case Management Conference with the participation 23 of Plaintiff, Plaintiff’s counsel, and Defendant United States of America (“Defendant”). 24 (Id. at 1.) Defendant filed a response. (ECF No. 55.) On July 9, 2025, the Court held a 25 hearing on the motion. (ECF No. 59.) As discussed during the hearing, the Court 26 GRANTS IN PART the Ex Parte Motion, and amends the Scheduling Order (ECF No. 27 48) as follows: 28 /// 1 1. Counsel shall refer to the Civil Pretrial and Trial Procedures for the 2 Honorable Robert S. Huie and the Civil Chambers Rules of the Honorable Jill L. Burkhardt, 3 which are accessible via the Court’s website at www.casd.uscourts.gov. 4 2. All fact discovery shall be completed by all parties by September 5, 2025. 5 “Completed” means that all discovery under Rules 30–36 of the Federal Rules of Civil 6 Procedure, and discovery subpoenas under Rule 45, must be initiated a sufficient period of 7 time in advance of the cut-off date, so that it may be completed by the cut-off date, taking 8 into account the times for service, notice and response as set forth in the Federal Rules of 9 Civil Procedure. 10 The parties shall promptly and in good faith meet and confer with regard to all 11 discovery disputes in compliance with Local Rule 26.1(a). The Court expects the parties 12 to make every effort to resolve all disputes without court intervention through the meet and 13 confer process. If the parties reach an impasse on any discovery issue, the parties shall 14 file an appropriate motion within the time limit and procedures outlined in the undersigned 15 magistrate judge’s chambers rules. A failure to comply in this regard will result in a waiver 16 of a party’s discovery issue. Absent an order of the court, no stipulation continuing or 17 altering this requirement will be recognized by the court. 18 Discovery disputes must be brought to the Court’s attention in the time and manner 19 required by § V of Judge Burkhardt’s Civil Chambers Rules. All discovery disputes must 20 be raised within 30 calendar days of the service of an objection, answer, or response 21 that becomes the subject of dispute, or the passage of a discovery due date without response 22 or production, and only after counsel (and any unrepresented parties) have met and 23 conferred to resolve the dispute. See J. Burkhardt Civ. Chambers R. § V. 24 /// 25 /// 26
27 1 “Counsel” shall be defined herein to include any party representing himself or 28 1 3. The parties shall designate their respective experts in writing by 2 October 3, 2025. The parties must identify any person who may be used at trial to present 3 evidence pursuant to Federal Rules of Evidence 702, 703 or 705. This requirement is not 4 limited to retained experts. The date for designation of rebuttal experts shall be 5 October 17, 2025. The written designations shall include the name, address and telephone 6 number of the expert and a reasonable summary of the testimony the expert is expected to 7 provide. The list shall also include the normal rates the expert charges for deposition and 8 trial testimony. 9 4. All expert disclosures required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2) shall be served on 10 all parties on or before November 14, 2025. Any contradictory or rebuttal information 11 shall be disclosed on or before November 28, 2025. In addition, Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(e)(1) 12 imposes a duty on the parties to supplement the expert disclosures made pursuant to Fed. 13 R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2)(B) by the time that pretrial disclosures are due under Fed. R. Civ. P. 14 26(a)(3) (discussed below). This disclosure requirement applies to all persons retained or 15 specially employed to provide expert testimony, or whose duties as an employee of the 16 party regularly involve the giving of expert testimony. 17 5. All expert discovery shall be completed by January 9, 2026. The parties shall 18 comply with the same procedures set forth in Paragraph 2 concerning fact discovery. 19 6. A Mandatory Settlement Conference (“MSC”) will be held by video 20 conference2 on August 21, 2025, at 1:45 PM before Magistrate Judge Jill L. Burkhardt. 21 Mandatory directions for participating in the MSC by video conference are attached. 22 The purpose of the MSC is to permit an informal, candid discussion between the attorneys, 23
24 2 If any party believes the MSC is more likely to be successful if conducted in-person, 25 that party shall meet and confer on the issue with the other parties. After meeting and conferring, and no later than 60 days before the MSC, the parties shall leave a joint 26 voicemail with chambers at (619) 557-6624 indicating which of the parties requests an in- 27 person MSC. In the voicemail, the parties shall leave three mutually available dates for a telephonic status conference to discuss whether the MSC should be held in-person. The 28 1 parties, and the settlement judge of every aspect of the lawsuit in an effort to achieve a 2 mediated resolution of the case. All MSC discussions will be off the record, privileged, 3 and confidential. See CivLR 16.3(h). 4 Pursuant to Civil Local Rule 16.3, all party representatives and claims adjusters for 5 insured defendants with full and unlimited authority3 to negotiate and enter into a binding 6 settlement, as well as the principal attorney(s) responsible for the litigation, must be present 7 and legally and factually prepared to discuss and resolve the case at the MSC. In the case 8 of an entity, an authorized representative of the entity who is not retained outside counsel 9 must be present and must have discretionary authority to commit the entity to pay an 10 amount up to the amount of the Plaintiff’s prayer (excluding punitive damages prayers). 11 The purpose of this requirement is to have representatives present who can settle the case 12 during the course of the conference without consulting a superior. 13 Counsel for a United States government entity may be excused from this 14 requirement so long as the government attorney who attends the MSC conference (1) has 15 primary responsibility for handling the case, and (2) may negotiate settlement offers which 16 the attorney is willing to recommend to the government official having ultimate settlement 17 authority. 18 Failure to attend the MSC or obtain proper excuse will be considered grounds 19 for sanctions. 20 /// 21 22 23 3 “Full authority to settle” means that the individuals at the settlement conference must be authorized to fully explore settlement options and to agree at that time to any settlement 24 terms acceptable to the parties. Heileman Brewing Co., Inc. v. Joseph Oat Corp., 871 F.2d 25 648 (7th Cir. 1989). The person needs to have “unfettered discretion and authority” to change the settlement position of a party. Pitman v. Brinker Int’l., Inc., 216 F.R.D. 481, 26 485–86 (D. Ariz. 2003). The purpose of requiring a person with unlimited settlement 27 authority to attend the conference includes that the person’s view of the case may be altered during the face to face conference. Id. at 486. A limited or a sum certain of authority is 28 1 7. No later than 21 days before the MSC, the parties shall commence their 2 exchange of formal settlement proposals, as required by § III.A. of Judge Burkhardt’s Civil 3 Chambers Rules. No later than 14 days before the MSC, the parties shall meet and confer 4 in person or telephonically, as required by § III.B. of Judge Burkhardt’s Civil Chambers 5 Rules. 6 8. No later than August 11, 2025, counsel (and any unrepresented parties) shall 7 lodge confidential MSC statements with Judge Burkhardt’s chambers via e-mail at 8 efile_Burkhardt@casd.uscourts.gov. The parties’ MSC statements shall comply with § 9 III.C. of Judge Burkhardt’s Civil Chambers Rules. 10 9. All motions, other than motions in limine and Daubert motions shall be filed 11 on or before February 6, 2026. The moving party shall set the motion date 35 days from 12 the date the motion is filed. Parties intending to file a motion shall not contact Judge Huie’s 13 chambers for a hearing date. The parties shall review Judge Huie’s chambers rules for civil 14 cases for the additional requirements for noticed motions before Judge Huie. 15 Any Daubert motions shall be filed along with motions for summary judgment 16 unless no motions for summary judgment will be filed, in which case the parties may file 17 Daubert motions along with motions in limine. 18 10. The parties shall file their Memoranda of Contentions of Fact and Law and 19 take any other action required by Civil Local Rule 16.1f(2) by May 7, 2026. 20 11. The parties must comply with the pretrial disclosure requirements of Fed. R. 21 Civ. P. 26(a)(3) no later than May 7, 2026. Failure to comply with this section or any other 22 discovery order of the Court may result in the sanctions provided for in Fed. R. Civ. P. 37, 23 including a prohibition on the introduction of experts or other designated matters in 24 evidence. 25 12. The parties shall confer and take the action required by Local Rule 16.1.f.4.a 26 on or before May 14, 2026. 27 13. Counsel for the Defendant must provide Plaintiff with the proposed pretrial 28 order for review and approval and take any other action required by Local Rule 16.1.f.6.a 1 or before May 21, 2026. 2 14. The proposed pretrial order shall be lodged with the district judge’s chambers 3 or before May 28, 2026, and shall be in the form prescribed in Local Rule 16.1.f.6. 4 15. The final Pretrial Conference is scheduled on the calendar of the Honorable 5 Robert S. Huie for Thursday, June 4, 2026 at 1:30 PM. The Court will set a date for trial 6 || at the Pretrial Conference. 7 16. Failure to comply with these sections or any other discovery order of the Court 8 result in sanctions pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37, including but not 9 limited to a prohibition on the introduction of experts or other designated matters in 10 || evidence. 11 17. Plaintiff shall serve a copy of this order on all parties that enter this case 12 || hereafter. 14 || Dated: July 11, 2025 -
n. Jill L. Burkhardt 16 ited States Magistrate Judge 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
1 Mandatory Directions for Zoom Video Conference Participation 2 1. The Court will use its official ZoomGov video conferencing account to hold 3 the MSC. IF YOU ARE UNFAMILIAR WITH ZOOM: Zoom is available on 4 computers through a download on the Zoom website (https://zoom.us/meetings) or on 5 mobile devices through the installation of a free app.4 Joining a Zoom conference does not 6 require creating a Zoom account, but it does require downloading the .exe file (if using a 7 computer) or the app (if using a mobile device). Participants are encouraged to create an 8 account, install Zoom and familiarize themselves with Zoom in advance of the MSC.5 9 There is a cost-free option for creating a Zoom account. 10 2. Prior to the start of the MSC, the Court will e-mail each MSC participant an 11 invitation to join a Zoom video conference. Again, if possible, participants are encouraged 12 to use laptops or desktop computers for the video conference, as mobile devices often offer 13 inferior performance. Because Zoom may quickly deplete the battery of a participant’s 14 device, each participant should ensure that her or his device is plugged in or that a charging 15 cable is readily available during the video conference. Participants shall join the video 16 conference by following the ZoomGov Meeting hyperlink in the invitation. Participants 17 who do not have Zoom already installed on their device when they click on the 18 ZoomGov Meeting hyperlink will be prompted to download and install Zoom before 19 proceeding. Zoom may then prompt participants to enter the password included in the 20 invitation. All participants will be placed in a waiting room until the MSC begins. 21 3. Each participant should plan to join the Zoom video conference at least 22 5 minutes before the start of the MSC to ensure that the MSC begins on time. 23 4. Zoom’s functionalities will allow the Court to conduct the MSC as it 24 ordinarily would conduct an in-person MSC. That is, the Court will begin the MSC with 25
26 4 If possible, participants are encouraged to use laptops or desktop computers for the 27 video conference, as mobile devices often offer inferior performance. 5 For help getting started with Zoom, visit: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en- 28 1 all participants joined together in a main session. After an initial discussion in the main 2 session, the Court will divide participants into separate, confidential sessions, which Zoom 3 calls Breakout Rooms.6 In a Breakout Room, the Court will be able to communicate with 4 participants from a single party in confidence. Breakout Rooms will also allow parties and 5 counsel to communicate confidentially without the Court. 6 5. As previously stated, MSCs are confidential court proceedings. All attendees 7 must participate from a private and stable location where no individual who is not a party, 8 a party representative, or an attorney for a party can overhear the proceedings. All 9 attendees must be prepared to devote their full attention to the MSC as if they were 10 attending in person. This means that attendees must clear their schedules of all conflicts 11 for the entire period of the MSC.7 Attendees may not participate from a moving car or a 12 public space. 13 6. All participants are expected to display the same level of professionalism and 14 civility as they would at an in-person court proceeding. See CivLR 2.1; J. Burkhardt’s Civ. 15 Chambers R. § I. 16 /// 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 6 For more information on what to expect when participating in a Zoom Breakout Room, visit: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115005769646 28 l Self-Represented Parties 2 In recognition of the difficulty that people can face when representing themselves in 3 || civil cases before a federal court—called proceeding pro se—the District Court for the 4 || Southern District of California has created a resource to assist pro se parties. These include 5 ||a pro se handbook, an explanation of filing fees and other costs, a list of legal organizations 6 || that might possibly provide help, answers to frequently asked questions, copies of rules of 7 procedures, and some model forms. These resources may provide a useful starting point 8 || understanding your case and navigating the court system. 9 You can access these materials through the Court’s website by visiting 10 || https://www.casd.uscourts.gov/ and clicking on the banner titled “Representing Yourself.” : [ee UNE □□□ da 88) aoe B □□ Sg Seer ee ae el)
14 15 Pro se litigants who are in custody can look for an additional link on the page 16 || directing them to a specific information packet regarding prisoner civil rights litigation. 17 All individuals using these resources should note that they are NOT a substitute 18 || for legal advice from an experienced lawyer. The materials contained on this page 19 || are informational only, are not legal advice, and should not be considered as legal 20 |jadvice. Using information on this website does not create an attorney-client 21 ||relationship. This information is simply meant as a guide for pro se litigants in civil 22 ||matters. Likewise, this material is intended only for individuals with cases in the U.S. 23 || District Court for the Southern District of California. The material may not reflect practices 24 || of other federal courts or state courts. 25 26 27 28