J.M. v. Tulare City School District ( 2023 )

1 Daniel R. Shaw, Esq. (SBN 281387) daniel@snydershaw.com 2 Collen Snyder, Esq. (SBN 274064) colleen@snydershaw.om 3 Snyder & Shaw LLP 3196 S. Higuera St. Suite E 4 San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 Phone: (805) 439-4646 5 Facsimile: (805) 301-8030 6 Attorneys for Plaintiff J.M. 7 James D. Weakley, Esq. (SBN 082853) jim@walaw-fresno.com 8 Matthew P. Bunting. Esq. (SBN 306034) matthew@walaw-fresno.com 9 Weakley & Arendt PC 5200 N. Palm Avenue, Suite 211 10 Fresno, CA 93704 Phone: (559) 221-5262 11 Facsimile: (559) 221-5262 12 Attorneys for Defendant, Tulare City School District 13 14 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 15 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 16 17 J.M., a minor, by and through his guardian Case No. 1:21-cv-01766-AWI-EPG 18 ad litem Farrah McWilliams, ORDER RE: STIPULATION TO MODIFY 19 Plaintiffs, SCHEDULING ORDER 20 v. (ECF No. 40). 21 TULARE CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT. 22 Defendants. 23 Pursuant to Local Rule 143 the parties stipulate and ask the Court to Order that the 24 scheduling order entered on December 1, 2022 (ECF No. 29) be modified regarding the briefing 25 schedule with respect to the IDEA appeal. 26 Rule 16(b) provides that “[a] schedule may be modified only for good cause and with the 27 judge’s consent.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(4). “The schedule may be modified ‘if it cannot reasonably 28 be met despite the diligence of the party seeking the extension.’” Zivkovic v. Southern California 1 Edison Co., 302 F.3d 1080, 1087 (9th Cir. 2002) (quoting Johnson, 975 F.2d at 607). 2 Good cause exists for this extension. Plaintiff’s counsel made diligent efforts to secure a 3 copy of the administrative record from the Office of Administrative Hearings (“OAH”). See 4 Declaration of Daniel R. Shaw. On January 27, 2023, Parties filed a joint request to seal the administrative record in J.M. v. Tulare City School District, OAH Case No, 2021030770. (ECF No. 5 30). The administrative records, which contained almost four thousand pages, was believed to be 6 complete. Id. Upon preparing Plaintiff’s opening brief, it was discovered that two important witness 7 transcripts were either incomplete or missing altogether. Id. A complete copy of the underlying 8 administrative record is required for Parties and this Court to conduct a thorough review of the 9 records as it pertains to the issued being appealed. 10 For these reasons, the Parties respectfully ask the Court to vacate the current deadlines to 11 file the opening briefs of March 30, 2023, and reply briefs on May 2, 2023. The Parties also 12 respectfully request that the Court set a status conference approximately two months out to give 13 the Parties time to contact the OAH regarding the missing portions of the administrative record. 14 At the status conference, the Parties will update the Court regarding whether the OAH can 15 produce the missing portions of the administrative record. If the OAH is not able to produce the 16 missing portions, then Parties will discuss how to proceed forward at the status conference with 17 the help of the Court. This Status Conference would also be used to set a new a briefing 18 schedule for the parties. 19 Respectfully submitted: 20 DATED: March 20, 2023 WEAKLEY & ARENDT A Professional Corporation 21 By: _/s/ Matthew P. Bunting 22 James D. Weakley, Esq. Matthew P. Bunting, Esq. 23 Attorneys for Defendant Tulare City School District 24 DATED: March 20, 2023 SHAW FIRM 25 By: _/s/ Daniel R. Shaw Daniel R. Shaw, Esq. 26 Attorneys for Plaintiff, J.M. 27 28 1 ORDER 2 Based on the parties’ stipulation (ECF No. 40), the Court VACATES the briefing 3 || deadlines regarding the IDEA appeal. Further, the Court SETS a status conference for May 31, 4 || 2023, at 11:00 AM. To participate telephonically, each party is directed to use the following dial- 5 in number and passcode: 1-888-251-2909; passcode 1024453. The parties shall file a joint report 6 || one full week prior to the conference regarding the status of the missing OAH transcripts, and 7 any proposed next steps. 8 9 IT IS SO ORDERED. 10 || Dated: _ March 20, 2023 [Jee hey UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28