Marz v. Freedom Mortgage Corp. ( 2023 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 Joshua Marz, No. 2:22-cv-02279-KJM-KJN 12 Plaintiff, ORDER 13 v. Freedom Mortgage Corporation, 1S Defendant. 16 17 Plaintiff Joshua Marz brings this action against Freedom Mortgage Corporation. Ex. 1, 18 | Notice of Removal, ECF No. 1. A week after removing the case to this court, see Notice of 19 | Removal, Freedom Mortgage moved to dismiss the complaint in its entirety, Mot., ECF No. 3. It 20 | apparently did not seek to meet and confer prior to or during the briefing period. See Mot., 21 | Opp’n, ECF No. 9; Reply, ECF No. 11. 22 This court’s standing order requires attorneys to meet and confer with one another before 23 | they file motions. See Standing Order at 3, ECF No. 3-1; Mollica v. County of Sacramento, 24 | No. 19-2017, 2022 WL 15053335, at *1 (E.D. Cal. Oct. 26, 2022). Attorneys who intend to file 25 | motions must “discuss thoroughly the substance of the contemplated motion and any potential 26 | resolution.” /d. “Counsel should discuss the issues sufficiently so that if a motion of any kind is 27 | filed... the briefing is directed only to those substantive issues requiring resolution by the court.” 28 | Jd. Ifa motion is necessary after meeting and conferring, the moving party must include a 1 | certification by an attorney “that meet and confer efforts have been exhausted, with a brief 2 | summary of meet and confer efforts.” /d. (emphasis omitted). 3 With respect to the motion pending in this case, the court is not willing to excuse non- 4 | compliance with its standing order. “Meeting and conferring saves time and money for all 5 | involved—if done correctly. Productive discussions spare both the moving and opposing party 6 | the time they would otherwise have devoted to writing unnecessary or ineffective arguments.” 7 | Mollica, 2022 WL 15053335, at *1. The court’s requirement to meet and confer facilitates 8 | informal dispute resolution and thereby promotes judicial economy. Here, there is no indication 9 | Freedom Mortgage even attempted to meet and confer. Because defendant’s motion is not in 10 | compliance with the standing order, the court denies without prejudice defendant’s motion to 11 | dismiss. If Freedom Mortgage wishes to renew its motion, it must first initiate and exhaust 12 | meeting and conferring regarding potential narrowing the disputes outlined in the briefs at ECF 13 | Nos. 3, 6, and 7. 14 This order resolves ECF No. 3. 15 IT IS SO ORDERED. 16 DATED: January 26, 2023. 17 ee CHIEF ED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE