Vigil v. DAK Resources, Inc. ( 2023 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 JOSEPH VIGIL, on behalf of No. 2:23-cv-00163-TLN-AC himself and all others 12 similarly situated, 13 Plaintiff, AMENDED PRETRIAL SCHEDULING ORDER 14 v. 15 DAK RESOURCES, INC., a Florida corporation; and MICHAELS 16 STORES, INC., a Delaware corporation, 17 Defendants. 18 19 After reviewing the parties’ Joint Status Report, the Court 20 hereby amends the 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(d), 1441, 3 1446 and 1453. Jurisdiction and venue are not contested. 4 5 PHASE I - CLASS CERTIFICATION 6 7 IV. DISCOVERY 8 The Court finds that bifurcation is necessary in order to 9 best determine if the elements of class certification are met. 10 Accordingly, the Court hereby bifurcates the discovery process. 11 All discovery in Phase I shall be limited to facts that are 12 relevant to whether this action should be certified as a class 13 action and shall be completed within two hundred forty (240) 14 days. In this context, “completed” means that all discovery 15 shall have been conducted so that all depositions have been taken 16 and any disputes relative to discovery shall have been resolved 17 by appropriate order if necessary and, where discovery has been 18 ordered, the order has been obeyed. All motions to compel 19 discovery must be noticed on the magistrate judge’s calendar in 20 accordance with the local rules of this Court. 21 V. DISCLOSURE OF EXPERT WITNESSES 22 All counsel are to designate in writing, file with the 23 Court, and serve upon all other parties the name, address, and 24 area of expertise of each expert that they propose to tender for 25 class certification purposes not later than sixty (60) days after 26 the close of discovery.1 The designation shall be accompanied by 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 a written report prepared and signed by the witness. The report 2 shall comply with Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2)(B). 3 Within thirty (30) days after the designation of expert 4 witnesses, any party may designate a supplemental list of expert 5 witnesses who will express an opinion on a subject covered by an 6 expert designated by an adverse party. The right to designate a 7 supplemental expert for rebuttal purposes only shall apply to a 8 party who has not previously disclosed an expert witness on the 9 date set for expert witness disclosure by this Pretrial 10 Scheduling Order. 11 For purposes of this Pretrial Scheduling Order, an “expert” 12 is any person who may be used for purposes of class certification 13 or opposing class certification to present evidence under Rules 14 702, 703, and 705 of the Federal Rules of Evidence, which include 15 both “percipient experts” (persons who, because of their 16 expertise, have rendered expert opinions in the normal course of 17 their work duties or observations pertinent to the issues in the 18 case) and “retained experts” (persons specifically designated by 19 a party to be a testifying expert for the purposes of 20 litigation). 21 Each party shall identify whether a disclosed expert is 22 percipient, retained, or both. It will be assumed that a party 23 designating a retained expert has acquired the express permission 24 of the witness to be so listed. Parties designating percipient 25 experts must state in the designation who is responsible for 26 arranging the deposition of such persons. 27 All experts designated are to be fully prepared at the time 28 of designation to render an informed opinion, and give their 1 bases for their opinion, so that they will be able to give full 2 and complete testimony at any deposition taken by the opposing 3 party. 4 VI. CLASS CERTIFICATION 5 The Motion for Class Certification shall be filed no later 6 than one hundred eighty (180) days after the close of 7 certification discovery. The parties are responsible for 8 ensuring that all motions are filed to allow for proper notice of 9 the hearing under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and/or 10 Local Rules. Local Rule 230 governs the calendaring and 11 procedures of civil motions. 12 Failure to comply with Local Rule 230(c), may be deemed 13 consent to the motion and the Court may dispose of the motion 14 summarily. 15 If the parties wish to modify the motion briefing schedule, 16 they may file a proposed stipulation and order for the Court’s 17 consideration. 18 VII. POST-CERTIFICATION CASE ACTIVITY 19 All other necessary dates and deadlines, including dates for 20 the Final Pretrial Conference and Trial, along with all deadlines 21 associated therewith, will be set by a Supplemental Pretrial 22 Scheduling Order to be issued following the Court’s ruling on 23 Plaintiff’s Class Certification Motion. 24 VIII. OBJECTIONS TO PRETRIAL SCHEDULING ORDER 25 This Pretrial Scheduling Order will become final without 26 further order of the Court unless objections are filed within 27 fourteen (14) days of service of this Order. 28 IT IS SO ORDERED. nnn een en I OI EE IEE IED EE 1 DATED: September 12, 2023 /) □□ / □□□ : a | Yak Unived States District Judge 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28