Bowen v. JEA Senior Living Health and Welfare Benefit Plan, LLC ( 2020 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 ANNICA B. BOWEN, individually No. 2:20-cv-02318-TLN-KJN and on behalf of similarly 12 situated employees, 13 Plaintiff, AMENDED PRETRIAL SCHEDULING ORDER 14 v. 15 JEA SENIOR LIVING HEALTH & WELFARE BENEFIT PLAN LLC, a 16 Washington Limited Liability Company, et al., 17 Defendants. 18 19 After reviewing the parties’ Joint Statement, the Court 20 makes the following Pretrial Scheduling Order. 21 I. SERVICE OF PROCESS 22 All named Defendants have been served and no further service 23 is permitted without leave of court, good cause having been 24 shown. 25 II. ADDITIONAL PARTIES/AMENDMENTS/PLEADINGS 26 No joinder of parties or amendments to pleadings is 27 permitted without leave of court, good cause having been shown. 28 /// 1 III. JURISDICTION/VENUE 2 Jurisdiction is predicated upon 28 U.S.C. § 1332. 3 Jurisdiction and venue are not contested. 4 5 PHASE I - CLASS CERTIFICATION 6 7 IV. DISCOVERY 8 The Court hereby bifurcates the discovery process. All 9 discovery in Phase I shall be limited to facts that are relevant 10 to whether this action should be certified as a class action and 11 shall be completed by August 2, 2021. In this context, 12 “completed” means that all discovery shall have been conducted so 13 that all depositions have been taken and any disputes relative to 14 discovery shall have been resolved by appropriate order if 15 necessary and, where discovery has been ordered, the order has 16 been obeyed. All motions to compel discovery must be noticed on 17 the magistrate judge’s calendar in accordance with the local 18 rules of this Court. 19 V. DISCLOSURE OF EXPERT WITNESSES 20 All counsel are to designate in writing, file with the 21 Court, and serve upon all other parties the name, address, and 22 area of expertise of each expert that they propose to tender at 23 class certification not later than October 1, 2021.1 The 24 designation shall be accompanied by a written report prepared and 25 signed by the witness. The report shall comply with Fed. R. Civ. 26 P. 26(a)(2)(B). 27 1 The discovery of experts will include whether any motions based on Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993) and/or 28 Kumho Tire Co. v. Carmichael, 119 S. Ct. 1167 (1999) are anticipated. 1 Within twenty (20) days after the designation of expert 2 witnesses, any party may designate a supplemental list of expert 3 witnesses who will express an opinion on a subject covered by an 4 expert designated by an adverse party. The right to designate a 5 supplemental expert for rebuttal purposes only shall apply to a 6 party who has not previously disclosed an expert witness on the 7 date set for expert witness disclosure by this Pretrial 8 Scheduling Order. 9 For purposes of this Pretrial Scheduling Order, an “expert” 10 is any person who may be used at trial to present evidence under 11 Rules 702, 703, and 705 of the Federal Rules of Evidence, which 12 include both “percipient experts” (persons who, because of their 13 expertise, have rendered expert opinions in the normal course of 14 their work duties or observations pertinent to the issues in the 15 case) and “retained experts” (persons specifically designated by 16 a party to be a testifying expert for the purposes of 17 litigation). 18 Each party shall identify whether a disclosed expert is 19 percipient, retained, or both. It will be assumed that a party 20 designating a retained expert has acquired the express permission 21 of the witness to be so listed. Parties designating percipient 22 experts must state in the designation who is responsible for 23 arranging the deposition of such persons. 24 All experts designated are to be fully prepared at the time 25 of designation to render an informed opinion, and give their 26 bases for their opinion, so that they will be able to give full 27 and complete testimony at any deposition taken by the opposing 28 party. 1 VI. CLASS CERTIFICATION 2 The Motion for Class Certification shall be filed by 3 December 1, 2021. The parties are responsible for ensuring that 4 all motions are filed to allow for proper notice of the hearing 5 under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and/or Local Rules. 6 Local Rule 230 governs the calendaring and procedures of civil 7 motions with the addition that when the last day for filing an 8 opposition brief falls on a legal holiday, the opposition brief 9 shall be filed on the last court day immediately preceding the 10 legal holiday. 11 Failure to comply with Local Rule 230(c), may be deemed 12 consent to the motion and the Court may dispose of the motion 13 summarily. 14 VII. POST-CERTIFICATION CASE ACTIVITY 15 All other necessary dates and deadlines, including dates for 16 the Final Pretrial Conference and Trial, along with all deadlines 17 associated therewith, will be set by a Supplemental Pretrial 18 Scheduling Order to be issued following the Class Certification 19 hearing. 20 VIII. OBJECTIONS TO PRETRIAL SCHEDULING ORDER 21 This Pretrial Scheduling Order will become final without 22 further order of the Court unless objections are filed within 23 fourteen (14) days of service of this Order. 24 IT IS SO ORDERED. 25 DATED: December 21, 2020 26 27 28