Treehouse Avatar LLC v. Valve Corporation

Opinion

HONORABLE RICHARD A. JONES UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT AT SEATTLE CASE NO. C17-1860-RAJ Plaintiff, ORDER STRIKING TRIAL v. DATE VALVE CORPORATION, Defendant. This matter is before the Court on Defendant Valve Corporation’s motion to vacate and reset the order setting trial date and related dates. Dkt. # 164. Plaintiff opposes the motion. Dkt. # 166. Having reviewed the motion and the remainder of the record, the Court GRANTS the motion in part. Once a district court files a pretrial scheduling order pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16, “that rule’s standards control[ ].” Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604, 607-608 (9th Cir. 1992). As Rule 16(b)(4) explains: “A schedule may be modified only for good cause and with the judge’s consent.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(4). To show “good cause” a party must show that they could not meet the deadline imposed by the scheduling order despite its diligence. Johnson, at 609. While a court may consider the “existence or degree of prejudice” to the opposing party, the focus of the court’s inquiry is upon the moving party’s explanation for failure to timely move for leave to amend. Id. On March 17, 2020, the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington issued General Order No. 02-20 to address identified and anticipated impacts arising from a community outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Citing guidance issued by public health officials, and documented risks to public gatherings and travel, the Order continued all in-person hearings and trials scheduled prior to June 1, 2020, pending further order of the Court. On April 9, 2020, Defendant filed a motion to vacate the current trial date and all remaining case schedule deadlines. Defendant proposes resetting the case schedule once the Western District of Washington courthouse reopens. Dkt. # 164 at 6. On May 13, 2020, the Court issued General Order No. 08-20, which extended the aforementioned closures and trial continuances through July 31, 2020. The Court anticipates a significant backlog of both criminal and civil cases when the courthouse reopens, and criminal matters will take precedence. Accordingly, the Court finds good cause to STRIKE the current trial date. However, the Court will not vacate the case schedule as proposed by Defendant. Instead, the parties are ordered to meet and confer and propose a revised case schedule, within ten days of the date of this Order, extending the remaining pretrial deadlines. Dated this 29th day of May, 2020. A The Honorable Richard A. Jones United States District Judge