Bartel v. Starbucks Corporation ( 2022 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 8 9 Case No. 1:22-cv-00134-DAD-BAK (SAB) 10 SCHEDULING ORDER (Fed. R. Civ. P. 16) AMANDA BARTEL, et al., 11 Discovery Deadlines: Plaintiffs, Initial Disclosures: May 25, 2022 12 Non-Expert Discovery: May 30, 2023 Expert Disclosure: July 14, 2023 13 Supplemental Expert Disclosure: August 18, 2023 14 Expert Discovery: September 29, 2023 v. 15 Dispositive Motion Deadlines: Filing: January 31, 2024 16 Hearing: Pursuant to Local Rules 17 Pre-Trial Conference: STARBUCKS CORPORATION, et September 9, 2024 at 1:30 p.m. 18 al., Courtroom 5 19 Defendants. Trial: January 28, 2025 at 8:30 a.m. Courtroom 5 20 Jury Trial – 7 Days 21 22 23 I. Date of Scheduling Conference 24 The Scheduling Conference was held on May 2, 2022. 25 II. Appearances of Counsel 26 Whitney Davis and Cory Culver appeared on behalf of Plaintiffs via videoconference. 27 Robert Miller appeared on behalf of Defendants via videoconference. 28 / / / 1 III. Consent to Magistrate Judge 2 Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c), to the parties who have not consented to conduct all 3 further proceedings in this case, including trial, before United States Magistrate Judge Stanley A. 4 Boone, you should be informed that because of the pressing workload of United States district 5 judges and the priority of criminal cases under the United States Constitution, you are encouraged 6 to consent to magistrate judge jurisdiction in an effort to have your case adjudicated in a timely 7 and cost effective manner. Presently, when a civil trial is set before Judge Ishii, any criminal trial 8 set which conflicts with the civil trial will take priority, even if the civil trial was set first. 9 Continuances of civil trials under these circumstances may no longer be entertained, absent a 10 specific and stated finding of good cause, but the civil trial may instead trail from day to day or 11 week to week until the completion of either the criminal case or the older civil case. The parties 12 are advised that they are free to withhold consent or decline magistrate jurisdiction without 13 adverse substantive consequences. 14 IV. Initial Disclosure under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1) 15 The Parties are ordered to exchange the initial disclosures required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 16 26(a)(1) on or before May 25, 2022. 17 V. Amendments to Pleading 18 The parties do not anticipate any amendments at this time. The parties are advised that 19 filing motions and/or stipulations requesting leave to amend the pleadings does not reflect on the 20 propriety of the amendment or imply good cause to modify the existing schedule, if necessary. 21 All proposed amendments must (A) be supported by good cause pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b) 22 if the amendment requires any modification to the existing schedule, see Johnson v. Mammoth 23 Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604, 609 (9th Cir. 1992), and (B) establish, under Fed. R. Civ. P. 24 15(a), that such an amendment is not (1) prejudicial to the opposing party, (2) the product of 25 undue delay, (3) proposed in bad faith, or (4) futile, see Foman v. Davis, 371 U.S. 178, 182 26 (1962). 27 VI. Discovery Plan and Cut-Off Dates 28 The parties are ordered to complete all non-expert discovery on or before May 30, 2023 1 and all expert discovery on or before September 29, 2023. 2 The parties are directed to disclose all expert witnesses, in writing, on or before July 14, 3 2023 and to disclose all supplemental experts on or before August 18, 2023. The 4 written designation of retained and non-retained experts shall be made pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. 5 P. 26(a)(2), (A), (B) and (C) and shall include all information required thereunder. Failure 6 to designate experts in compliance with this order may result in the Court excluding the testimony 7 or other evidence offered through the experts that are not properly disclosed in compliance with 8 this order. 9 The provisions of Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(4) and (5) shall apply to all discovery relating to 10 experts and their opinions. Experts must be fully prepared to be examined on all subjects and 11 opinions included in the designation. Failure to comply will result in the imposition of sanctions, 12 which may include striking the expert designation and the exclusion of their testimony. 13 The provisions of Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(e) regarding a party's duty to timely supplement 14 disclosures and responses to discovery requests will be strictly enforced. 15 The parties are cautioned that the discovery/expert cut-off deadlines are the dates by 16 which all discovery must be completed. Absent good cause, discovery motions will not be heard 17 after the discovery deadlines. Moreover, absent good cause, the Court will only grant relief on a 18 discovery motion if the relief requested requires the parties to act before the expiration of the 19 relevant discovery deadline. In other words, discovery requests and deposition notices must be 20 served sufficiently in advance of the discovery deadlines to permit time for a response, time to 21 meet and confer, time to prepare, file and hear a motion to compel and time to obtain relief on a 22 motion to compel. Counsel are expected to take these contingencies into account when proposing 23 discovery deadlines. Compliance with these discovery cutoffs requires motions to compel be 24 filed and heard sufficiently in advance of the discovery cutoff so that the Court may grant 25 effective relief within the allotted discovery time. A party's failure to have a discovery dispute 26 heard sufficiently in advance of the discovery cutoff may result in denial of the motion as 27 untimely. 28 / / / 1 VII. Pre-Trial Motion Schedule 2 Unless prior leave of Court is obtained at least seven (7) days before the filing date, all 3 moving and opposition briefs or legal memorandum in civil cases shall not exceed twenty-five 4 (25) pages. Reply briefs filed by moving parties shall not exceed ten (10) pages. Before 5 scheduling any motion, the parties must comply with all requirements set forth in Local Rule 230 6 and 251. 7 A. Non-Dispositive Pre-Trial Motions 8 As noted, all non-expert discovery, including motions to compel, shall be completed no 9 later than May 30, 2023. All expert discovery, including motions to compel, shall be completed 10 no later than September 29, 2023. Compliance with these discovery cutoffs requires motions to 11 compel be filed and heard sufficiently in advance of the discovery cutoff so that the Court may 12 grant effective relief within the allotted discovery time. A party’s failure to have a discovery 13 dispute heard sufficiently in advance of the discovery cutoff may result in denial of the motion as 14 untimely. Non-dispositive motions are heard on Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m., before United States 15 Magistrate Judge Stanley A. Boone in Courtroom 9. 16 In scheduling any non-dispositive motion, the Magistrate Judge may grant Applications 17 for an Order Shortening Time pursuant to Local Rule 144(e). However, if counsel does not 18 obtain an Order Shortening Time, the Notice of Motion must comply with Local Rule 251. 19 Counsel may appear and argue non-dispositive motions by telephone, providing a written 20 request to so appear is made to the Magistrate Judge's Courtroom Clerk no later than three (3) 21 court days before the noticed hearing date. In the event that more than one attorney requests to 22 appear by telephone, then it shall be the obligation of the moving party(ies) to arrange and 23 originate a conference call to the court. 24 Discovery Disputes: If a motion is brought under Fed. R. Civ. P. 37, the parties must 25 prepare and file a Joint Statement re Discovery Disagreement (“Joint Statement”) as required by 26 Local Rule 251. The Joint Statement must be filed seven (7) calendar days before the scheduled 27 hearing date. Courtesy copies of all motion-related documents, declarations, and exhibits must be 28 delivered to the Clerk’s Office by 10:00 a.m. on the fourth court day prior to the scheduled 1 hearing date. Motions will be removed from the court’s hearing calendar if the Joint Statement is 2 not timely filed or if courtesy copies are not timely delivered. In order to satisfy the meet and 3 confer requirement set forth in Local Rule 251(b), the parties must confer and talk to each other 4 in person, over the telephone or via video conferencing before the hearing about the discovery 5 dispute. The Court may issue sanctions against the moving party or the opposing party if either 6 party fails to meet and confer in good faith. 7 B. Dispositive Pre-Trial Motions 8 All dispositive pre-trial motions shall be filed no later than January 31, 2024 and heard 9 pursuant to the Local Rules. In scheduling such motions, counsel shall comply with Fed. R. Civ. 10 P 56 and Local Rules 230 and 260. 11 Motions for Summary Judgment or Summary Adjudication: Prior to filing a motion for 12 summary judgment or motion for summary adjudication, the parties are ORDERED to meet, in 13 person or by telephone, and confer to discuss the issues to be raised in the motion. 14 The purpose of the meeting shall be to: 1) avoid filing motions for summary judgment 15 where a question of fact exists; 2) determine whether the respondent agrees that the motion has 16 merit in whole or in part; 3) discuss whether issues can be resolved without the necessity of 17 briefing; 4) narrow the issues for review by the court; 5) explore the possibility of settlement 18 before the parties incur the expense of briefing a summary judgment motion; and 6) to arrive at a 19 Joint Statement of Undisputed Facts. 20 The moving party shall initiate the meeting and provide a draft of the Joint Statement of 21 Undisputed Facts. In addition to the requirements of Local Rule 260, the moving party shall 22 file a Joint Statement of Undisputed Facts. 23 In the Notice of Motion, the moving party shall certify that the parties have met and 24 conferred as ordered above or set forth a statement of good cause for the failure to meet and 25 confer. 26 VIII. Pre-Trial Conference Date 27 The Pre-Trial conference is set for September 9, 2024 at 1:30 p.m. in Courtroom 5 28 before United States District Judge Dale A. Drozd. 1 The parties are ordered to file a Joint Pretrial Statement pursuant to Local Rule 2 281(a)(2). The parties are further directed to submit a digital copy of their Pretrial Statement in 3 Word format, directly to District Judge Dale A. Drozd’s chambers by email at 4 DADorders@caed.uscourts.gov. 5 Counsels’ attention is directed to Rules 281 and 282 of the Local Rules for the Eastern 6 District of California, as to the obligations of counsel in preparing for the pre-trial conference. 7 The Court will insist upon strict compliance with those rules. In addition to the matters set forth 8 in the Local Rules, the Joint Pretrial Statement shall include a Joint Statement of the Case to be 9 used by the Court to explain the nature of the case to the jury during voir dire. 10 IX. Trial Date 11 Trial is set for January 28, 2025 at 8:30 a.m. in Courtroom 5 before United States 12 District Judge Dale A. Drozd. 13 A. This is a jury trial. 14 B. Counsels’ Estimate of Trial Time: 7 Days. 15 C. Counsels’ attention is directed to Local Rule 285 for the Eastern District of 16 California. 17 X. Settlement Conference 18 Should the parties desire a settlement conference, they will jointly request one of the 19 court, and one will be arranged. In making such request, the parties are directed to notify the 20 court as to whether or not they desire the undersigned to conduct the settlement conference or to 21 arrange for one before another judicial officer. 22 XI. Request for Bifurcation, Appointment of Special Master, or other Techniques to Shorten Trial 23 24 Not applicable at this time. 25 XII. Related Matters Pending 26 The parties have notified the Court there are potential other related matters. 27 XIII. Compliance with Federal Procedure 28 All counsel are expected to familiarize themselves with the Federal Rules of Civil 1 Procedure and the Local Rules of the Eastern District of California, and to keep abreast of any 2 amendments thereto. The Court must insist upon compliance with these Rules if it is to 3 efficiently handle its increasing case load and sanctions will be imposed for failure to follow the 4 Rules as provided in both the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Local Rules for the 5 Eastern District of California. 6 Additional requirements and more detailed procedures for courtroom practice before 7 United States Magistrate Judge Stanley A. Boone can be found at the United States District Court 8 for the Eastern District of California’s website (www.caed.uscourts.gov) under Judges; United 9 States Magistrate Judge Stanley A. Boone (SAB). In the area entitled “Case Management 10 Procedures,” there is a link to “Standard Information.” All parties and counsel shall comply with 11 the guidelines set forth therein. 12 XIV. Effect of this Order 13 The foregoing order represents the best estimate of the court and counsel as to the agenda 14 most suitable to dispose of this case. The trial date reserved is specifically reserved for this case. 15 If the parties determine at any time that the schedule outlined in this order cannot be met, counsel 16 are ordered to notify the court immediately of that fact so that adjustments may be made, either 17 by stipulation or by subsequent status conference. 18 Stipulations extending the deadlines contained herein will not be considered unless 19 they are accompanied by affidavits or declarations, and where appropriate attached 20 exhibits, which establish good cause for granting the relief requested. The parties are 21 advised that due to the impacted nature of civil cases on the district judges in the Eastern 22 District of California, Fresno Division, that stipulations to continue set dates are disfavored 23 and will not be granted absent good cause. 24 /// 25 /// 26 /// 27 /// 28 /// 1 Lastly, should counsel or a party appearing pro se fail to comply with the directions 2 | as set forth above, an ex parte hearing may be held and contempt sanctions, including 3 | monetary sanctions, dismissal, default, or other appropriate judgment, may be imposed 4 | and/or ordered. 5 6 IT IS SO ORDERED. DAM Le 7 | Dated: _May 2, 2022 __ Of 3 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28