Rivera v. O'Reilly Auto Enterprises LLC ( 2024 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 8 9 Case No. 1: 24-CV-00333-JLT-SAB 10 ALEXIS RIVERA, SCHEDULING ORDER (Fed. R. Civ. P. 16) 11 Plaintiff, Discovery Deadlines: Initial Disclosures: August 9, 2024 12 Non-Expert Discovery: April 25, 2025 Expert Disclosure: May 30, 2025 13 Rebuttal Expert Disclosure: June 13, 2025 Expert Discovery: July 11, 2025 14 v. Dispositive Motion Deadlines: 15 Filing: July 25, 2025 Hearing: Pursuant to Local Rules 16 Pre-Trial Conference: 17 O'REILLY AUTO ENTERPRISES November 17, 2025 at 1:30 PM LLC, Courtroom 4 18 Defendant. Trial: January 13, 2026 at 8:30 AM 19 Courtroom 4 Jury Trial - 5-7 Days 20 21 22 23 I. Date of Scheduling Conference 24 The Scheduling Conference was held on October 1, 2024. 25 II. Appearances of Counsel 26 Jeffrey Ranen appeared by video on behalf of Plaintiff. 27 Geoffrey Thorne appeared by video on behalf of Defendant. 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 may consent to 6 magistrate judge jurisdiction in an effort to have your case adjudicated in a timely and cost 7 effective manner. The parties are advised that they are free to withhold consent or decline 8 magistrate jurisdiction without adverse substantive consequences. 9 IV. Initial Disclosure under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1) 10 Initial disclosures required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1) have been completed. 11 V. Amendments to Pleading 12 The parties do not anticipate any amendments to the pleadings at this time. The parties 13 are advised that filing motions and/or stipulations requesting leave to amend the pleadings does 14 not reflect on the propriety of the amendment or imply good cause to modify the existing 15 schedule, if necessary. All proposed amendments must (A) be supported by good cause pursuant 16 to Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b) if the amendment requires any modification to the existing schedule, see 17 Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604, 609 (9th Cir. 1992), and (B) establish, 18 under Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a), that such an amendment is not (1) prejudicial to the opposing party, 19 (2) the product of undue delay, (3) proposed in bad faith, or (4) futile, see Foman v. Davis, 371 20 U.S. 178, 182 (1962). 21 VI. Discovery Plan and Cut-Off Dates 22 The parties are ordered to complete all non-expert discovery on or before April 25, 2025 23 and all expert discovery on or before July 11, 2025. 24 The parties are directed to disclose all expert witnesses, in writing, on or before May 30, 25 2025 and to disclose all rebuttal experts on or before June 13, 2025. The written designation of 26 retained and non-retained experts shall be made pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2), (A), (B) 27 and (C) and shall include all information required thereunder. Failure to designate experts in 28 compliance with this order may result in the Court excluding the testimony or other evidence 1 offered through the experts that are not properly disclosed in compliance with this order. 2 The provisions of Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(4) and (5) shall apply to all discovery relating to 3 experts and their opinions. Experts must be fully prepared to be examined on all subjects and 4 opinions included in the designation. Failure to comply will result in the imposition of sanctions, 5 which may include striking the expert designation and the exclusion of their testimony. 6 The provisions of Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(e) regarding a party's duty to timely supplement 7 disclosures and responses to discovery requests will be strictly enforced. 8 The parties are cautioned that the discovery/expert cut-off deadlines are the dates by 9 which all discovery must be completed. Absent good cause, discovery motions will not be heard 10 after the discovery deadlines. Moreover, absent good cause, the Court will only grant relief on a 11 discovery motion if the relief requested requires the parties to act before the expiration of the 12 relevant discovery deadline. In other words, discovery requests and deposition notices must be 13 served sufficiently in advance of the discovery deadlines to permit time for a response, time to 14 meet and confer, time to prepare, file and hear a motion to compel and time to obtain relief on a 15 motion to compel. Counsel are expected to take these contingencies into account when proposing 16 discovery deadlines. Compliance with these discovery cutoffs requires motions to compel be 17 filed and heard sufficiently in advance of the discovery cutoff so that the Court may grant 18 effective relief within the allotted discovery time. A party's failure to have a discovery dispute 19 heard sufficiently in advance of the discovery cutoff may result in denial of the motion as 20 untimely. 21 VII. Pre-Trial Motion Schedule 22 Unless prior leave of Court is obtained at least seven (7) days before the filing date, all 23 moving and opposition briefs or legal memorandum in civil cases shall not exceed twenty-five 24 (25) pages. Reply briefs filed by moving parties shall not exceed ten (10) pages. Before 25 scheduling any motion, the parties must comply with all requirements set forth in Local Rule 230 26 and 251. 27 A. Non-Dispositive Pre-Trial Motions 28 As noted, all non-expert discovery, including motions to compel, shall be completed no 1 later than April 25, 2025. All expert discovery, including motions to compel, shall be completed 2 no later than July 11, 2025. Compliance with these discovery cutoffs requires motions to compel 3 be filed and heard sufficiently in advance of the discovery cutoff so that the Court may grant 4 effective relief within the allotted discovery time. A party’s failure to have a discovery dispute 5 heard sufficiently in advance of the discovery cutoff may result in denial of the motion as 6 untimely. Non-dispositive motions are heard on Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m., before Judge Stanley 7 A. Boone in Courtroom 9. 8 In scheduling any non-dispositive motion, the Magistrate Judge may grant Applications 9 for an Order Shortening Time pursuant to Local Rule 144(e). However, if counsel does not 10 obtain an Order Shortening Time, the Notice of Motion must comply with Local Rule 251. 11 Counsel may appear and argue non-dispositive motions by video, providing a written 12 request to so appear is made to the Magistrate Judge's Courtroom Clerk no later than three (3) 13 court days before the noticed hearing date. In the event that more than one attorney requests to 14 appear by telephone, then it shall be the obligation of the moving party(ies) to arrange and 15 originate a conference call to the court. 16 Discovery Disputes: If a motion is brought under Fed. R. Civ. P. 37, the parties must 17 prepare and file a Joint Statement re Discovery Disagreement (“Joint Statement”) as required by 18 Local Rule 251. The Joint Statement must be filed fourteen (14) calendar days before the 19 scheduled hearing date. Courtesy copies of all motion-related documents, declarations, and 20 exhibits must be delivered to the Clerk’s Office by 10:00 a.m. on the fourth court day prior to the 21 scheduled hearing date. Motions will be removed from the court’s hearing calendar if the Joint 22 Statement is not timely filed or if courtesy copies are not timely delivered. In order to satisfy the 23 meet and confer requirement set forth in Local Rule 251(b), the parties must confer and talk to 24 each other in person, over the telephone or via video conferencing before the hearing about the 25 discovery dispute. The Court may issue sanctions against the moving party or the opposing party 26 if either party fails to meet and confer in good faith. 27 B. Dispositive Pre-Trial Motions 28 All dispositive pre-trial motions shall be filed no later than July 25, 2025 and heard 1 pursuant to the Local Rules in Courtroom 4 before United States District Judge Jennifer L. 2 Thurston. In scheduling such motions, counsel shall comply with Fed. R. Civ. P 56 and Local 3 Rules 230 and 260. 4 Motions for Summary Judgment or Summary Adjudication: Prior to filing a motion for 5 summary judgment or motion for summary adjudication, the parties are ORDERED to meet, in 6 person or by telephone, and confer to discuss the issues to be raised in the motion. 7 The purpose of the meeting shall be to: 1) avoid filing motions for summary judgment 8 where a question of fact exists; 2) determine whether the respondent agrees that the motion has 9 merit in whole or in part; 3) discuss whether issues can be resolved without the necessity of 10 briefing; 4) narrow the issues for review by the court; 5) explore the possibility of settlement 11 before the parties incur the expense of briefing a summary judgment motion; and 6) to arrive at a 12 Joint Statement of Undisputed Facts. 13 The moving party shall initiate the meeting and provide a draft of the Joint Statement of 14 Undisputed Facts. In addition to the requirements of Local Rule 260, the moving party shall 15 file a Joint Statement of Undisputed Facts. 16 In the Notice of Motion, the moving party shall certify that the parties have met and 17 conferred as ordered above or set forth a statement of good cause for the failure to meet and 18 confer. 19 VIII. Pre-Trial Conference Date 20 The Pre-Trial conference is set for November 17, 2025 at 1:30 PM in Courtroom 4 21 before United States District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston. 22 The parties are ordered to file a Joint Pretrial Statement pursuant to Local Rule 23 281(a)(2). The parties are further directed to submit a digital copy of their Pretrial Statement in 24 Word format, directly to District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston’s chambers by email at 25 JLTorders@caed.uscourts.gov. 26 Counsels’ attention is directed to Rules 281 and 282 of the Local Rules for the Eastern 27 District of California, as to the obligations of counsel in preparing for the pre-trial conference. 28 The Court will insist upon strict compliance with those rules. In addition to the matters set forth 1 in the Local Rules, the Joint Pretrial Statement shall include a Joint Statement of the Case to be 2 used by the Court to explain the nature of the case to the jury during voir dire. 3 IX. Trial Date 4 Trial is set for January 13, 2026 at 8:30 AM in Courtroom 4 before United States 5 District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston. 6 A. This is a jury trial. 7 B. Counsels’ Estimate of Trial Time: 5-7 Days. 8 C. Counsels’ attention is directed to Local Rule 285 for the Eastern District of 9 California. 10 X. Settlement Conference 11 Should the parties desire a settlement conference, they will jointly request one of the 12 court, and one will be arranged. In making such request, the parties are directed to notify the 13 court as to whether or not they desire the undersigned to conduct the settlement conference or to 14 arrange for one before another judicial officer. 15 XI. Request for Bifurcation, Appointment of Special Master, or other Techniques to Shorten Trial 16 17 Not applicable at this time. 18 XII. Related Matters Pending 19 There are no pending related matters. 20 XIII. Compliance with Federal Procedure 21 All counsel are expected to familiarize themselves with the Federal Rules of Civil 22 Procedure and the Local Rules of the Eastern District of California, and to keep abreast of any 23 amendments thereto. The Court must insist upon compliance with these Rules if it is to 24 efficiently handle its increasing case load and sanctions will be imposed for failure to follow the 25 Rules as provided in both the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Local Rules for the 26 Eastern District of California. 27 Additional requirements and more detailed procedures for courtroom practice before 28 Judge Stanley A. Boone can be found at the United States District Court for the Eastern District 1 of California’s website (www.caed.uscourts.gov) under Judges; United States Magistrate Judge 2 Stanley A. Boone (SAB). In the area entitled “Case Management Procedures,” there is a link to 3 “Standard Information.” All parties and counsel shall comply with the guidelines set forth 4 therein. 5 XIV. Newer Admitted Attorneys and Motions before Judge Boone 6 The Court reviews motions set for hearing and makes a determination whether to vacate 7 the hearing if the Court deems oral argument is unnecessary. See L.R. 230(g). Recognizing the 8 value and importance of training attorneys, for a motion set or to be set for hearing, the Court 9 encourages the parties to consider assigning the oral argument to an attorney with seven (7) years 10 or less experience out of law school. If any party provides notification that such an attorney from 11 at least one side will argue the motion, the Court will go forward with the hearing as 12 scheduled. The parties shall place such notification within a separately entitled section after the 13 conclusion of the motion, opposition, or reply briefing. If no party provides such notice, the 14 hearing may be vacated without further notice. 15 XV. Effect of this Order 16 The foregoing order represents the best estimate of the court and counsel as to the agenda 17 most suitable to dispose of this case. The trial date reserved is specifically reserved for this case. 18 If the parties determine at any time that the schedule outlined in this order cannot be met, counsel 19 are ordered to notify the court immediately of that fact so that adjustments may be made, either 20 by stipulation or by subsequent status conference. 21 Stipulations extending the deadlines contained herein will not be considered unless 22 they are accompanied by affidavits or declarations, and where appropriate attached 23 exhibits, which establish good cause for granting the relief requested. The parties are 24 advised that due to the impacted nature of civil cases on the district judges in the Eastern 25 District of California, Fresno Division, that stipulations to continue set dates are disfavored 26 and will not be granted absent good cause. 27 Lastly, should counsel or a party appearing pro se fail to comply with the directions 28 as set forth above, an ex parte hearing may be held and contempt sanctions, including 1 | monetary sanctions, dismissal, default, or other appropriate judgment, may be imposed 2 | and/or ordered. 3 4 IT IS SO ORDERED. DAA Le 5 | Dated: _October 2, 2024 _ OM ‘ UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28