Southern California Gas Company v. AgReserves, Inc. ( 2023 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAS Case No. 1:23-cv-01322-JLT-CDB COMPANY, 12 SCHEDULING ORDER (Fed. R. Civ. P. 16) Plaintiff, 13 Rule 26 Disclosures: January 4, 2024 v. Pleading Amendment: February 5, 2024 14 Discovery Deadlines: AGRESERVES, INC. Non-Expert: August 5, 2024 15 Expert: October 18, 2024 16 Defendant. Mid-Discovery Status Conf.: June 12, 2024 17 Non-Dispositive Motion Deadlines: Filing: September 5, 2024 18 Hearing: October 10, 2024, 10:30 a.m. 19 Dispositive Motion Deadlines: Filing: October 18, 2024 20 Hearing: December 2, 2024, 8:30 a.m. 21 Pre-Trial Conference: March 24, 2025, 1:30 p.m. 2500 Tulare Street, Fresno, CA 22 Trial: May 6, 2025, 8:30 a.m. 23 2500 Tulare Street, Fresno, CA 5-7 days 24 25 26 This case was removed from state court on September 6, 2023. (Doc. 1). Plaintiff Southern 27 California Gas Company (“Plaintiff”) asserts claims against Defendant AgReserves, Inc. 28 (“Defendant”) for negligence, negligence per se, treble damages, and premises liability. Id. The 1 parties convened via Zoom videoconference for a scheduling conference before Magistrate Judge 2 Christopher D. Baker on December 4, 2023. Melissa Ann Sandoval appeared on behalf of Plaintiff; 3 Richard D. Marca appeared on behalf of Defendant. 4 I. Discovery Plan and Cut-Off Date 5 The parties shall exchange their Rule 26 disclosures by no later than January 4, 2024. Any 6 motions to amend the pleadings must be filed by February 5, 2024. Filing a motion and/or stipulation 7 requesting leave to amend the pleadings does not reflect on the propriety of the amendment or imply 8 good cause to modify the existing schedule, if necessary. All proposed amendments must (A) be 9 supported by good cause pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b) if the amendment requires any modification 10 to the existing schedule, see Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604, 609 (9th Cir. 11 1992), and (B) establish, under Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a), that such an amendment is not (1) prejudicial to 12 the opposing party, (2) the product of undue delay, (3) proposed in bad faith, or (4) futile, see Foman 13 v. Davis, 371 U.S. 178, 182 (1962). 14 II. Discovery Plan and Cut-Off Date 15 The parties are ordered to complete all discovery pertaining to non-experts on or before 16 August 5, 2024, and all discovery pertaining to experts on or before October 18, 2024. 17 The parties are directed to disclose all expert witnesses, in writing, on or before September 5, 18 2024, and to disclose all rebuttal experts on or before September 26, 2024. The written designation of 19 retained and non-retained experts shall be made pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. Rule 26(a)(2), (A), (B), 20 and (C) and shall include all information required thereunder. Failure to designate experts in 21 compliance with this order may result in the Court excluding the testimony or other evidence offered 22 through such experts that are not disclosed pursuant to this order. 23 The provisions of Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(4) and (5) shall apply to all discovery relating to 24 experts and their opinions. Experts must be fully prepared to be examined on all subjects and opinions 25 included in the designation. Failure to comply may result in the imposition of sanctions, which may 26 include striking the expert designation and preclusion of expert testimony. 27 The provisions of Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(e) regarding a party’s duty to timely supplement 28 disclosures and responses to discovery requests will be strictly enforced. 1 A mid-discovery status conference is scheduled for June 12, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. before 2 Magistrate Judge Christopher D. Baker. Counsel SHALL file a joint mid-discovery status conference 3 report no later than one week before the conference. Counsel also SHALL lodge the status report via 4 e-mail to CDBorders@caed.uscourts.gov. The joint report SHALL outline the discovery counsel have 5 completed and that which needs to be completed as well as any impediments to completing the 6 discovery within the deadlines set forth in this order. Counsel SHALL discuss settlement and certify 7 in the joint status report (1) that they have met/conferred regarding settlement, and (2) proposed dates 8 for convening a settlement conference with Judge Baker (or an unassigned magistrate in the event the 9 parties later consent to magistrate judge jurisdiction). 10 III. Pre-Trial Motion Schedule / Informal Discovery Dispute Conferences 11 All non-dispositive pre-trial motions, including any discovery motions, shall be filed no later 12 than September 5, 2024,1 and heard on or before October 10, 2024. The Court hears non-dispositive 13 motions at 10:30 a.m. at the United States District Courthouse in Bakersfield, California before Judge 14 Baker. 15 No motion to amend or stipulation to amend the case schedule will be entertained unless it is 16 filed at least one week before the first deadline the parties wish to extend. Likewise, no written 17 discovery motions shall be filed without the prior approval of the Court. A party with a discovery 18 dispute must first confer with the opposing party in a good faith effort to resolve by agreement the 19 issues in dispute. If that good faith effort is unsuccessful, the moving party promptly shall seek a 20 hearing with all involved parties and Judge Baker. For these hearings and at the direction of the 21 Courtroom Deputy Clerk, the Court may direct counsel to appear remotely (via Zoom). For hearings 22 noticed to occur in-person, the Court may permit counsel to appear remotely (via Zoom) provided the 23 Courtroom Deputy Clerk receives a written notice of the request to appear remotely no later than five 24 court days before the noticed hearing date. 25 26 27 1 Non-dispositive motions related to non-expert discovery SHALL be filed within a 28 reasonable time of discovery of the dispute, but in no event later than 10 days after the expiration of the non-expert discovery deadline. 1 At least three days before the conference, counsel SHALL file informal letter briefs detailing 2 their positions. The briefs may not exceed 5 pages, excluding exhibits. Counsel must comply with 3 Local Rule 251 with respect to discovery disputes. 4 All dispositive pre-trial motions shall be filed no later than October 18, 2024, and heard on or 5 before December 2, 2024, at 8:30 a.m. In scheduling such motions, absent consent to Magistrate 6 Judge jurisdiction, counsel SHALL consult the assigned District Judge’s general information and 7 calendar accordingly and SHALL comply with Fed. R. Civ. P. 56 and Local Rules 230 and 260. 8 IV. Motions for Summary Judgment or Summary Adjudication 9 At least 21 days before filing a motion for summary judgment or motion for summary 10 adjudication, the parties SHALL meet, in person or by telephone, to confer about the issues to be 11 raised in the motion. 12 The purpose of the meeting shall be to: 1) avoid filing motions for summary judgment where a 13 question of fact exists; 2) determine whether the respondent agrees that the motion has merit in whole 14 or in part; 3) discuss whether issues can be resolved without the necessity of briefing; 4) narrow the 15 issues for review by the court; 5) explore the possibility of settlement before the parties incur the 16 expense of briefing a motion; and 6) to develop a joint statement of undisputed facts. 17 The moving party SHALL initiate the meeting and SHALL provide a complete, proposed 18 statement of undisputed facts at least five days before the conference. The finalized joint statement 19 of undisputed facts SHALL include all facts that the parties agree, for purposes of the motion, may be 20 deemed true. In addition to the requirements of Local Rule 260, the moving party shall file the joint 21 statement of undisputed facts. 22 In the notice of motion, the moving party SHALL certify that the parties have met and 23 conferred as ordered above, or set forth a statement of good cause for the failure to meet and confer. 24 Failure to comply may result in the motion being stricken. 25 V. Pre-Trial Conference 26 March 24, 2025, at 1:30 p.m., located at the United States District Courthouse, 2500 Tulare 27 Street, in Fresno, California, before District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston. 28 1 The parties are ordered to file a Joint Pretrial Statement pursuant to Local Rule 281(a)(2). The 2 parties are further directed to submit a digital copy of their pretrial statement in Word format, directly 3 to District Judge Thurston’s chambers, by email at JLTorders@caed.uscourts.gov. 4 Counsels’ attention is directed to Rules 281 and 282 of the Local Rules for the Eastern District 5 of California, as to the obligations of counsel in preparing for the pre-trial conference. The Court will 6 insist upon strict compliance with those rules. In addition to the matters set forth in the Local Rules, 7 the Joint Pretrial Statement shall include a Joint Statement of the case to be used by the Court to 8 explain the nature of the case to the jury during voir dire. 9 VI. Trial Date 10 May 6, 2025, at 8:30 a.m., located at the United States District Courthouse, 2500 Tulare Street, 11 in Fresno, California, before District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston. 12 A. This is a jury trial. 13 B. Counsels’ Estimate of Trial Time: 3-5 days. 14 C. Counsels’ attention is directed to Local Rules of Practice for the Eastern District of 15 California, Rule 285. 16 VII. Settlement Conference 17 The parties SHALL meet and confer and notify the Court prior to the Pre-Trial Conference 18 whether they wish to convene a Settlement Conference. In the event the parties request a Settlement 19 Conference, unless otherwise permitted in advance by the Court, the attorneys who will try the case 20 shall appear at the settlement conference with the parties and the person or persons having full 21 authority to negotiate and settle the case on any terms2 at the conference. 22 23 24 25 2 Insurance carriers, business organizations, and governmental bodies or agencies whose 26 settlement 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 27 the party organization and 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 28 it appropriate, to settle the action on terms consistent with the opposing party's most recent demand. 1 Consideration of settlement is a serious matter that requires preparation prior to the settlement 2 conference. Set forth below are the procedures the Court will employ, absent good cause, in 3 conducting the conference. 4 At least twenty-one days before the settlement conference, Plaintiff SHALL submit to 5 Defendant via fax or e-mail, a written itemization of damages and a meaningful3 settlement demand 6 which includes a brief explanation of why such a settlement is appropriate. Thereafter, no later than 7 fourteen days before the settlement conference, Defendant SHALL respond, via fax or e-mail, with an 8 acceptance of the offer or with a meaningful counteroffer which includes a brief explanation of why 9 such a settlement is appropriate. 10 If settlement is not achieved, each party SHALL attach copies of their settlement offers to their 11 Confidential Settlement Conference Statement, as described below. Copies of these documents shall 12 not be filed on the court docket. 13 CONFIDENTIAL SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE STATEMENT 14 At least five court days prior to the settlement conference, the parties shall submit, directly to 15 Judge Baker’s chambers by e-mail to CDBOrders@caed.uscourts.gov, a Confidential Settlement 16 Conference Statement. The statement should not be filed with the Clerk of the Court nor served on 17 any other party, although the parties may file a Notice of Lodging of Settlement Conference 18 Statement. Each statement shall be clearly marked "confidential" with the date and time of the 19 settlement conference indicated prominently thereon. 20 The Confidential Settlement Conference Statement shall include the following: 21 A. A brief statement of the facts of the case. 22 B. A brief statement of the claims and defenses, i.e., statutory or other grounds upon 23 which the claims are founded; a forthright evaluation of the parties' likelihood of prevailing on the 24 claims and defenses; and a description of the major issues in dispute. 25 26 3 “Meaningful” means the offer is reasonably calculated to settle the case on terms acceptable to the offering party. “Meaningful” does not include an offer which the offering party knows will not be 27 acceptable to the other party. If, however, the offering party is only willing to offer a settlement which it knows the other party will not accept, this should trigger a recognition the case is not in a settlement 28 posture and the parties should confer about continuing or vacating the settlement conference via stipulation. 1 C. A summary of the proceedings to date. 2 D. An estimate of the cost and time to be expended for further discovery, pretrial and trial. 3 E. The relief sought. 4 F. The party’s position on settlement, including present demands and offers and a history 5 of past settlement discussions, offers and demands. 6 VIII. Request for Bifurcation, Appointment of Special Master, or other Techniques to Shorten 7 Trial 8 None at this time. 9 IX. Related Matters Pending 10 There are no pending related matters. 11 X. Compliance with Federal Procedure 12 All counsel are expected to familiarize themselves with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 13 and the Local Rules of the Eastern District of California, and to keep abreast of any amendments 14 thereto. The Court requires compliance with these Rules to efficiently handle its increasing case load. 15 XI. Effect of this Order 16 The foregoing order represents the best estimate of the court and counsel as to the agenda most 17 suitable to dispose of this case. The trial date reserved is specifically reserved for this case. If the 18 parties determine at any time that the schedule outlined in this order cannot be met, counsel are 19 ordered to notify the court immediately of that fact so that adjustments may be made, either by 20 stipulation or by subsequent status conference. 21 22 Remainder of This Page Intentionally Left Blank 23 24 25 26 27 28 1 The dates set in this Order are considered to be firm and will not be modified absent a 2 showing of good cause even if the request to modify is made by stipulation. Stipulations 3 || extending the deadlines contained herein will not be considered unless they are accompanied by 4 || affidavits or declarations, and where appropriate attached exhibits, which establish good cause 5 || for granting the relief requested. 6 Failure to comply with this order may result in the imposition of sanctions. 7 TT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: _ December 4, 2023 | Ww VV KD Kr 9 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28