Bright People Foods v. Alliance Sales & Marketing MW, Inc. ( 2024 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 ----oo0oo---- 11 12 BRIGHT PEOPLE FOODS DBA DR. NO. 2:24-cv-00060 WBS AC MCDOUGALL’S RIGHT FOODS, 13 Plaintiff and 14 Counterclaim- 15 Defendant, 16 v. 17 ALLIANCE SALES & MARKETING MW, INC., and DOES 1 TO 20, 18 19 Defendant and Counterclaimant. 20 21 ----oo0oo---- 22 STATUS (PRETRIAL SCHEDULING) ORDER 23 After reviewing the parties’ Joint Status Report, the 24 court hereby vacates the Status (Pretrial Scheduling) Conference 25 scheduled for June , and makes the following findings and orders 26 without needing to consult with the parties any further. 27 I. SERVICE OF PROCESS 28 1 All defendants have been served, and no further service 2 is permitted without leave of court, good cause having been shown 3 under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b). 4 II. JOINDER OF PARTIES/AMENDMENTS 5 No further joinder of parties or amendments to 6 pleadings will be permitted except with leave of court, good 7 cause having been shown under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8 16(b). See Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604 9 (9th Cir. 1992). 10 III. JURISDICTION/VENUE 11 Jurisdiction in this contract dispute is predicated 12 upon 28 U.S.C. § 1332, because the parties are of diverse 13 citizenship and the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000. The 14 court also has subject matter jurisdiction over the declaratory 15 judgment claims pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2201(a). Venue is 16 undisputed and hereby found to be proper. 17 IV. DISCOVERY 18 The parties agree to serve the initial disclosures 19 required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(1) on or before 20 July 18, 2024. 21 The parties shall disclose experts and produce reports 22 in accordance with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(2) by no 23 later than October 10, 2025. With regard to expert testimony 24 intended solely for rebuttal, those experts shall be disclosed 25 and reports produced in accordance with Federal Rule of Civil 26 Procedure 26(a)(2) on or before November 7, 2025. 27 All discovery, including depositions for preservation 28 of testimony, is left open, save and except that it shall be so 1 conducted as to be completed by December 5, 2025. The word 2 “completed” means that all discovery shall have been conducted so 3 that all depositions have been taken and any disputes relevant to 4 discovery shall have been resolved by appropriate order if 5 necessary and, where discovery has been ordered, the order has 6 been obeyed. All motions to compel discovery must be noticed on 7 the magistrate judge’s calendar in accordance with the local 8 rules of this court and so that such motions may be heard (and 9 any resulting orders obeyed) not later than December 5, 2025. 10 V. MOTION HEARING SCHEDULE 11 All motions, except motions for continuances, temporary 12 restraining orders, or other emergency applications, shall be 13 filed on or before January 30, 2026. All motions shall be 14 noticed for the next available hearing date. Counsel are 15 cautioned to refer to the local rules regarding the requirements 16 for noticing and opposing such motions on the court’s regularly 17 scheduled law and motion calendar. 18 VI. FINAL PRETRIAL CONFERENCE 19 The Final Pretrial Conference is set for April 6, 2026, 20 at 1:30 p.m. in Courtroom No. 5. The conference shall be 21 attended by at least one of the attorneys who will conduct the 22 trial for each of the parties and by any unrepresented parties. 23 Counsel for all parties are to be fully prepared for 24 trial at the time of the Pretrial Conference, with no matters 25 remaining to be accomplished except production of witnesses for 26 oral testimony. Counsel shall file separate pretrial statements, 27 and are referred to Local Rules 281 and 282 relating to the 28 contents of and time for filing those statements. In addition to 1 those subjects listed in Local Rule 281(b), the parties are to 2 provide the court with: (1) a plain, concise statement which 3 identifies every non-discovery motion which has been made to the 4 court, and its resolution; (2) a list of the remaining claims as 5 against each defendant; and (3) the estimated number of trial 6 days. 7 In providing the plain, concise statements of 8 undisputed facts and disputed factual issues contemplated by 9 Local Rule 281(b)(3)-(4), the parties shall emphasize the claims 10 that remain at issue, and any remaining affirmatively pled 11 defenses thereto. If the case is to be tried to a jury, the 12 parties shall also prepare a succinct statement of the case, 13 which is appropriate for the court to read to the jury. 14 VII. TRIAL SETTING 15 The jury trial is set for June 2, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. The 16 parties estimate that the trial will last five to ten days. 17 VIII. SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE 18 A Settlement Conference with a magistrate judge will be 19 set at the time of the Pretrial Conference. Counsel are 20 instructed to have a principal with full settlement authority 21 present at the Settlement Conference or to be fully authorized to 22 settle the matter on any terms. At least seven calendar days 23 before the Settlement Conference counsel for each party shall 24 submit a confidential Settlement Conference Statement for review 25 by the settlement judge. The Settlement Conference Statements 26 shall not be filed and will not otherwise be disclosed to the 27 trial judge. 28 IX. MODIFICATIONS TO SCHEDULING ORDER eee mE IRE IERIE IRIE ORE ISI II OE OED EE 1 Any requests to modify the dates or terms of this 2 Scheduling Order, except requests to change the date of the 3 trial, may be heard and decided by the assigned Magistrate Judge. 4 All requests to change the trial date shall be heard and decided 5 only by the undersigned judge. 6 IT IS SO ORDERED. 7 | Dated: May 29, 2024 □□ tteom. Ad. bt—~ 93 WILLIAM B. SHUBB UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28