Serna v. Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC

• Court: District Court, E.D. California
• Decided: November 28, 2023
• Docket: 1:23-cv-01291
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 NATALIE SERNA. Case No. 1:23-cv-01291-CDB 12 Plaintiff, SCHEDULING ORDER (Fed. R. Civ. P. 16)

13 v. Discovery Deadlines: - Amend Pleadings: February 28, 2024 14 MERCEDES-BENZ USA, LLC, - Rule 26 Disclosures: December 19, 2023 - Expert Disclosures: June 14, 2024 15 Defendant. - Rebuttal Expert Disclosures: July 12, 2024 - Fact Discovery: May 31, 2024 16 - Expert Discovery: August 9, 2024 - Mid-Discovery Status Conference: April 19, 17 2024, at 10:00 a.m., in Bakersfield Federal Courthouse 510 19th Street, Bakersfield, CA 93301 18 Non-Dispositive Motion Deadlines: 19 - Filing: August 2, 2024 - Hearing: On or before September 6, 2024, at 20 10:30 a.m., in Bakersfield Federal Courthouse

21 Dispositive Motion Deadlines: - Filing: September 20, 2024 22 - Hearing: On or before October 25, 2024, at 1:30 p.m., in Bakersfield Federal Courthouse 23 Pre-Trial Conference: December 5, 2024, at 24 1:30 p.m., in Bakersfield Federal Courthouse

25 Trial: February 5, 2025, at 8:30 a.m., in Bakersfield Federal Courthouse 26 27

28 1 This action was commenced on July 21, 2023, in the Superior Court of the State of California 2 for the County of Kern and was removed to this Court on August 28, 2023. Plaintiff Natalie Serna 3 raises claims against Defendant Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC, for violations of California’s Song- 4 Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1790 et seq., and for breaches of implied and 5 express warranty. 6 The Court convened with the parties via Zoom videoconference for a scheduling conference on 7 November 28, 2023. Luis Serrano appeared on behalf of Plaintiff; Mehgan Gallagher appeared on 8 behalf of Defendant. 9 I. Fictitiously-Named Defendants 10 All claims as to “Doe” Defendants, including any counterclaims and cross-claims, are hereby 11 Dismissed. 12 II. Pleading Amendment 13 Any motions to amend the pleadings must be filed by February 28, 2024. The parties should 14 not construe a timely filing of a motion or stipulation requesting leave to amend the pleadings to 15 necessarily constitute good cause to modify the existing schedule, if necessary. All proposed 16 amendments must (A) be supported by good cause pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b) if the amendment 17 requires any modification to the existing schedule, see Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, Inc., 975 18 F.2d 604, 609 (9th Cir. 1992), and (B) establish, under Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a), that such an amendment 19 is not (1) prejudicial to the opposing party, (2) the product of undue delay, (3) proposed in bad faith, or 20 (4) futile. See Foman v. Davis, 371 U.S. 178, 182 (1962). 21 III. Discovery Plan and Cut-Off Date 22 The parties are ordered to exchange their initial disclosures required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1) 23 by December 19, 2023. 24 The parties are ordered to complete all discovery pertaining to non-experts on or before May 25 31, 2024, and all discovery pertaining to experts on or before August 9, 2024. 26 The parties are directed to disclose all expert witnesses, in writing, on or before June 14, 2024, 27 and to disclose all rebuttal experts on or before July 12, 2024. The written designation of retained and 28 non-retained experts shall be made pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. Rule 26(a)(2), (A), (B), and (C) and 1 shall include all information required thereunder. Failure to designate experts in compliance with this 2 order may result in the Court excluding the testimony or other evidence offered through such experts 3 that are not disclosed pursuant to this order. 4 The provisions of Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(4) and (5) shall apply to all discovery relating to 5 experts and their opinions. Experts must be fully prepared to be examined on all subjects and opinions 6 included in the designation. Failure to comply may result in the imposition of sanctions, which may 7 include striking the expert designation and preclusion of expert testimony. 8 The provisions of Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(e) regarding a party’s duty to timely supplement 9 disclosures and responses to discovery requests will be strictly enforced. 10 A mid-discovery status conference is scheduled for April 19, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. before 11 Magistrate Judge Christopher D. Baker. Counsel SHALL file a joint mid-discovery status conference 12 report no later than one week before the conference. Counsel also SHALL lodge the status report via 13 e-mail to CDBorders@caed.uscourts.gov. The joint status report SHALL outline the discovery 14 counsel have completed and that which needs to be completed as well as any impediments to 15 completing the discovery within the deadlines set forth in this order. Counsel SHALL discuss 16 settlement and certify in the joint status report (1) that they have met/conferred regarding settlement, 17 and (2) proposed dates for convening a settlement conference with an unassigned magistrate judge. 18 IV. Pre-Trial Motion Schedule / Informal Discovery Dispute Conferences 19 All non-dispositive pre-trial motions, including any discovery motions, shall be filed by 20 August 2, 20241 and heard on or before September 6, 2024. For these hearings and at the direction of 21 the Courtroom Deputy Clerk, the Court may direct counsel to appear remotely (via Zoom). For 22 hearings noticed to occur in-person, the Court may permit counsel to appear remotely (via Zoom) 23 provided the Courtroom Deputy Clerk receives a written notice of the request to appear remotely no 24 later than five court days before the noticed hearing date. 25 No motion to amend or stipulation to amend the case schedule will be entertained unless it is 26 27 1 Non-dispositive motions related to non-expert discovery SHALL be filed within a reasonable 28 time of discovery of the dispute, but in no event later than 30 days after the expiration of the non-expert discovery deadline. 1 filed at least three days before the first deadline the parties wish to extend. 2 No written discovery motions shall be filed without the prior approval of Magistrate Judge 3 Baker. A party with a discovery dispute must first confer with the opposing party in a good faith 4 effort to resolve by agreement the issues in dispute. If that good faith effort is unsuccessful, the 5 requesting party promptly shall seek a conference with all involved parties and Magistrate Judge 6 Baker. To schedule this conference, the parties should contact the Courtroom Deputy Clerk, Susan 7 Hall, at (661) 326-6620 or via email at SHall@caed.uscourts.gov. At least two days before the 8 conference, counsel SHALL file a joint, informal letter brief detailing each party’s position. Each 9 party’s narrative shall not exceed three pages, excluding exhibits. At the commencement of the 10 conference, if the parties jointly agree to Magistrate Judge Baker’s consideration and resolution of the 11 discovery disputes outside the formal Local Rule 251 procedures, the Court will entertain arguments 12 by the parties and issue a ruling. If the parties do not jointly agree to the informal discovery dispute 13 resolution procedures set forth herein, the requesting party may then seek relief through motion to 14 compel. Counsel must comply with Local Rule 251 with respect to discovery disputes or the motion 15 will be denied without prejudice and dropped from the Court’s calendar. 16 All dispositive pre-trial motions shall be filed no later than September 20, 2024, and heard on 17 or before October 25, 2024. Motions are heard before Magistrate Judge Baker at 10:30 a.m., at the 18 United States District Courthouse, 510 19th Street, Bakersfield, CA. 19 V. Motions for Summary Judgment or Summary Adjudication 20 At least 21 days before filing a motion for summary judgment or motion for summary 21 adjudication, the parties SHALL meet, in person or by telephone, to confer about the issues to be 22 raised in the motion. 23 The purpose of the meeting shall be to: 1) avoid filing motions for summary judgment where a 24 question of fact exists; 2) determine whether the respondent agrees that the motion has merit in whole 25 or in part; 3) discuss whether issues can be resolved without the necessity of briefing; 4) narrow the 26 issues for review by the court; 5) explore the possibility of settlement before the parties incur the 27 expense of briefing a motion; and 6) to develop a joint statement of undisputed facts. 28 1 The moving party SHALL initiate the meeting and SHALL provide a complete, proposed 2 statement of undisputed facts at least five days before the conference. The finalized joint statement 3 of undisputed facts SHALL include all facts that the parties agree, for purposes of the motion, may be 4 deemed true. In addition to the requirements of Local Rule 260, the moving party shall file the joint 5 statement of undisputed facts. 6 In the notice of motion, the moving party SHALL certify that the parties have met and 7 conferred as ordered above, or set forth a statement of good cause for the failure to meet and confer. 8 Failure to comply may result in the motion being stricken. 9 VI. Pre-Trial Conference 10 December 5, 2024, at 10:30 a.m., located at the United States District Courthouse, 510 19th 11 Street, Bakersfield, CA, before Magistrate Judge Baker. 12 The parties are ordered to file a Joint Pretrial Statement pursuant to Local Rule 281(a)(2). The 13 parties are further directed to submit a digital copy of their pretrial statement in Word format, directly 14 to Magistrate Judge Baker’s chambers, by email at CDBorders@caed.uscourts.gov. 15 Counsels’ attention is directed to Rules 281 and 282 of the Local Rules for the Eastern District 16 of California, as to the obligations of counsel in preparing for the pre-trial conference. The Court will 17 insist upon strict compliance with those rules. In addition to the matters set forth in the Local Rules, 18 the Joint Pretrial Statement shall include a Joint Statement of the case to be used by the Court to 19 explain the nature of the case to the jury during voir dire. 20 VII. Trial Date 21 February 5, 2025, at 8:30 a.m., located at the United States District Courthouse, 510 19th 22 Street, Bakersfield, CA, before Magistrate Judge Baker. 23 A. This is a jury trial 24 B. Counsels' attention is directed to Local Rules of Practice for the Eastern District of 25 California, Rule 285. 26 VIII. Settlement Conference 27 The parties SHALL meet and confer and notify the Court prior to the Pre-Trial Conference 28 whether they wish to convene a Settlement Conference. In the event the parties request a Settlement 1 Conference, unless otherwise permitted in advance by the Court, the attorneys who will try the case 2 shall appear at the settlement conference with the parties and the person or persons having full 3 authority to negotiate and settle the case on any terms2 at the conference. Consideration of settlement 4 is a serious matter that requires preparation prior to the settlement conference. Set forth below are the 5 procedures the Court will employ, absent good cause, in conducting the conference. 6 At least twenty-one days before the settlement conference, Plaintiff SHALL submit to 7 Defendant via fax or e-mail, a written itemization of damages and a meaningful3 settlement demand 8 which includes a brief explanation of why such a settlement is appropriate. Thereafter, no later than 9 fourteen days before the settlement conference, Defendant SHALL respond, via fax or e-mail, with an 10 acceptance of the offer or with a meaningful counteroffer which includes a brief explanation of why 11 such a settlement is appropriate. 12 If settlement is not achieved, each party SHALL attach copies of their settlement offers to their 13 Confidential Settlement Conference Statement, as described below. Copies of these documents shall 14 not be filed on the court docket. 15 CONFIDENTIAL SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE STATEMENT 16 At least five court days prior to the settlement conference, the parties shall submit a 17 Confidential Settlement Conference Statement via email directly to the chambers of the unassigned 18 magistrate judge referred to the settlement conference. The statement should not be filed with the 19 Clerk of the Court nor served on any other party, although the parties may file a Notice of Lodging of 20 Settlement Conference Statement. Each statement shall be clearly marked "confidential" with the date 21 and time of the settlement conference indicated prominently thereon. 22 23 2 Insurance carriers, business organizations, and governmental bodies or agencies whose settlement 24 agreements are subject to approval by legislative bodies, executive committees, boards of directors or the like shall be represented by a person or persons who occupy high executive positions in the party organization and 25 who will be directly involved in the process of approval of any settlement offers or agreements. To the extent possible, the representative shall have authority, if he or she deems it appropriate, to settle the action on terms consistent with the opposing party's most recent demand. 26

3 “Meaningful” means the offer is reasonably calculated to settle the case on terms acceptable to the 27 offering party. “Meaningful” does not include an offer which the offering party knows will not be acceptable to the other party. If, however, the offering party is only willing to offer a settlement which it knows the other party 28 will not accept, this should trigger a recognition the case is not in a settlement posture and the parties should confer about continuing or vacating the settlement conference via stipulation. 1 The Confidential Settlement Conference Statement shall include the following: 2 A. A brief statement of the facts of the case. 3 B. A brief statement of the claims and defenses, i.e., statutory or other grounds upon 4 which the claims are founded; a forthright evaluation of the parties' likelihood of prevailing on the 5 claims and defenses; and a description of the major issues in dispute. 6 C. A summary of the proceedings to date. 7 D. An estimate of the cost and time to be expended for further discovery, pretrial and trial. 8 E. The relief sought. 9 F. The party’s position on settlement, including present demands and offers and a history 10 of past settlement discussions, offers and demands. 11 IX. Request for Bifurcation, Appointment of Special Master, or other Techniques to Shorten 12 Trial 13 None. 14 X. Related Matters Pending 15 There are no pending related matters. 16 XI. Compliance with Federal Procedure 17 All counsel are expected to familiarize themselves with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 18 and the Local Rules of the Eastern District of California, and to keep abreast of any amendments 19 thereto. The Court requires compliance with these Rules to efficiently handle its increasing case load. 20 XII. Effect of this Order 21 The foregoing order represents the best estimate of the court and counsel as to the agenda most 22 suitable to dispose of this case. The trial date reserved is specifically reserved for this case. If the 23 parties determine at any time that the schedule outlined in this order cannot be met, counsel are 24 ordered to notify the court immediately of that fact so that adjustments may be made, either by 25 stipulation or by subsequent status conference. 26 The dates set in this Order are considered to be firm and will not be modified absent a 27 showing of good cause even if the request to modify is made by stipulation. Stipulations 28 extending the deadlines contained herein will not be considered unless they are accompanied by 1 || affidavits or declarations, and where appropriate attached exhibits, which establish good cause 2 || for granting the relief requested. 5 IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: _ November 28, 2023 | nnd Rr 5 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28