Hill v. Alpine Sherriff Department ( 2020 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 12 PERCY HILL also known as Case No.: 18-cv-2470-CAB-MDD 13 PERCY EDWIN STOCKTON, 14 AMENDED SCHEDULING Plaintiff, ORDER REGULATING 15 v. DISCOVERY 16 AND OTHER PRE-TRIAL PROCEEDINGS 17 ALPINE SHERIFF DEPARTMENT, 18 et al., 19 Defendants. 20 21 A Status Conference was held on August 12, 2020. After consulting 22 with Plaintiff and the attorneys of record and being advised of the status of 23 the case, and good cause appearing, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED: 24 1. Discovery is open until October 11, 2020 for the sole purpose of 25 Defendants obtaining Plaintiff’s deposition. Plaintiff is required to sit for 26 deposition in San Diego, California. The parties are required to meet and 27 1 confer to determine an appropriate date. Regarding disputes during 2 depositions, the parties are advised to see Magistrate Judge Dembin’s Civil 3 Chambers Rule V(B). 4 2. The Court hereby extends the payment of Court Ordered sanctions 5 on Plaintiff, in the sum of $1,518.00, filed on October 22, 2019 (ECF No. 32), to 6 be paid no later than the Pre-Trial Conference. Plaintiff is ordered to pay 7 Defendants no later than March 19, 2021. 8 3. All pre-trial motions, other than Daubert motions, motions to 9 amend or join parties, or motions in limine, shall be filed on or before 10 November 11, 2020. All Daubert motions shall be filed on or before 11 November 11, 2020. Counsel for the moving party shall set the motion date 12 on the date that is 35 days from the date the motion is filed. Parties intending 13 to file a motion shall not contact Judge Bencivengo’s chambers for a hearing 14 date. The parties should review Judge Bencivengo’s chambers rules for civil 15 cases for the additional requirements for noticed motions before Judge 16 Bencivengo. 17 Pursuant to Local Rule 7.1.f.3.c, if an opposing party fails to file 18 opposition papers in the time and manner required by Local Rule 7.1.e.2, that 19 failure may constitute a consent to the granting of a motion or other request 20 for ruling by the Court. Accordingly, all parties are ordered to abide by the 21 terms of Local Rule 7.1.e.2 or otherwise face the prospect of any pretrial motion 22 being granted as an unopposed motion pursuant to Local Rule 7.1.f.3.c. 23 4. A Mandatory Settlement Conference shall be conducted on October 24 20, 2020 at 9:30 AM in the chambers of Magistrate Judge Mitchell D. 25 Dembin. Counsel shall lodge confidential settlement briefs directly to 26 chambers by October 13, 2020. All parties are ordered to read and to fully 27 1 comply with the Chamber Rules of the assigned magistrate judge. 2 5. The parties must comply with the pretrial disclosure requirements 3 of Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(3) no later than March 19, 2021. Please be advised 4 that failure to comply with this section or any other discovery order of the 5 Court may result in the sanctions provided for in Fed. R. Civ. P. 37, including 6 a prohibition on the introduction of experts or other designated matters in 7 evidence. 8 6. In jury trial cases before the Honorable Cathy Ann Bencivengo, 9 neither party is required to file Memoranda of Contentions of Fact and Law 10 pursuant to Civil Local Rule 16.1.f.2. 11 7. Counsel shall confer and take the action required by Local Rule 12 16.1.f.4.a on or before February 26, 2021. The parties shall meet and 13 confer and prepare a proposed pretrial order containing the following: 14 1. A joint neutral statement to be read to the jury, not in excess of one page, of the nature of the case and the claims and defenses. 15 2. A list of the causes of action to be tried, referenced to the 16 Complaint [and Counterclaim if applicable]. For each cause of action, the order shall succinctly list the elements of the claim, 17 damages and any defenses. A cause of action in the Complaint 18 [and/or Counterclaim] which is not listed shall be dismissed with prejudice. 19 3(a). A list of each witness counsel actually expect to call at trial 20 with a brief statement, not exceeding four sentences, of the substance of the witnesses’ testimony. 21 3(b). A list of each expert witness counsel actually expect to call at 22 trial with a brief statement, not exceeding four sentences, of the substance of the witnesses’ testimony. 23 3(c). A list of additional witnesses, including experts, counsel do 24 not expect to call at this time but reserve the right to call at trial along with a brief statement, not exceeding four sentences, of the 25 substance of the witnesses’ testimony. 26 4(a). A list of all exhibits that counsel actually expect to offer at trial with a one-sentence description of the exhibit. All exhibits are 27 1 to be identified numerically, plaintiff starting with “1” and defendant beginning with an agreed upon numerical designation. 2 4(b). A list of all other exhibits that counsel do not expect to offer 3 at this time but reserve the right to offer if necessary at trial with a one-sentence description of the exhibit. 4 5. A statement of all facts to which the parties stipulate. This 5 statement shall be on a separate page and will be read to and provided to the jury. 6 6. A list of all deposition transcripts by page and line, or 7 videotape depositions by section, that will be offered at trial. 7. Counsel will note any objections they have to any other 8 parties’ Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(3) Pretrial Disclosures. 9 The Court encourages the parties to consult with the assigned magistrate 10 judge to work out any problems in preparation of the proposed pretrial order. 11 The court will entertain any questions concerning the conduct of the trial at 12 the pretrial conference. 13 8. Counsel for the Plaintiff(s) must provide opposing counsel with the 14 proposed pretrial order for review and approval and take any other action 15 required by Local Rule 16.1.f.6.a on or before March 5, 2021. Opposing 16 counsel must communicate promptly with plaintiff’s attorney concerning any 17 objections to form or content of the pretrial order, and both parties shall 18 attempt promptly to resolve their differences, if any, concerning the order. 19 9. The proposed pretrial order shall be lodged with the district judge’s 20 chambers on or before March 12, 2021, and shall be in the form prescribed in 21 Local Rule 16.1.f.6. 22 10. The final Pretrial Conference is scheduled on the calendar of the 23 Honorable Cathy Ann Bencivengo for March 19, 2021 at 2:30 PM. 24 11. The trial in this matter shall commence on Monday, April 12, 2021 25 at 8:45 a.m. 26 12. Plaintiff’s counsel shall serve a copy of this order on all parties that 27 1 enter this case hereafter. 2 The CLERK OF COURT is instructed to update Plaintiffs contact 3 ||information on the docket, as follows: 4 1) Address: 5212 W. Destiny Way, Golden Valley, AZ 86413 5 2) Phone: (928) 727-6686 6 3) Email: Percystockton1963@gmail.com 7 The CLERK OF COURT is further instructed to mail plaintiff a copy of 8 || this order. 9 IT IS SO ORDERED. 10 Dated: August 12, 2020 Mitel by. [= Hon. Mitchell D. Dembin 13 United States Magistrate Judge 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Protective Orders and Requests to File under Seal in Civil Cases Although the Court acknowledges the parties’ desire to maintain the confidentiality of documents produced in discovery, “[w]hen discovery material is filed with the court [] its status changes.” Foltz v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 331 F.3d 1122, 1134 (9th Cir. 2003). The public policy reasons behind a presumption of access to judicial documents apply. Id. The common law and the Constitution afford the public a qualified right of access to judicial records and proceedings. Times Mirror Co. v. U.S., 873. F.2d 1210, 1211 n.1 (9th Cir. 1989); Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 678 (9th Cir. 2010). In the Ninth Circuit there is a strong presumption in favor of access to court records and a party must show compelling reasons to file materials under seal as part of a non-discovery motion, even if they were produced subject to a discovery protective order. See Foltz, 331 F.3d at 1135-36. Once the protected discovery documents are made part of a dispositive [or non-discovery] motion, “they lose their status of being raw fruits of discovery” and no longer enjoy protected status without some overriding interests in favor of keeping the material confidential. See id., at 1136. Court records should be sealed to keep confidential only what must be kept secret, temporarily or permanently, as the situation requires. The party seeking to file under seal must provide articulable facts showing a compelling reason to limit public access to court filings. That a litigant might be embarrassed or exposed to additional liability or litigation, without more, is not sufficient. Foltz, 331 F.3d at 1136. A court’s decision to seal material must be based on a compelling reason and the order allowing a filing under seal must articulate the factual basis for its ruling without relying on hypothesis or conjecture. Pintos, 605 F.3d at 679. “A ‘good cause’ showing will not suffice to fulfill the ‘compelling reasons’ standard that a party must meet to rebut the presumption of access to dispositive pleadings and attachments.” Id. (citing Kamakana v. City & Cty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180 (9th Cir. 2006)). Because the party that designated material as confidential should have the burden (and expense) of moving to file such documents under seal, the following procedures shall apply when a party intends to file a non- discovery motion before Judge Bencivengo that cites to or attaches documents designated confidential. 1. If the party filing the motion (or opposition thereto) intends to cite or attach documents or information that it believes should be filed under seal, the moving party must file a motion for permission to file under seal at least seven calendar days prior to the date on which it intends to file the motion. A courtesy copy of the motion for permission to file under seal, along with a courtesy copy of the unredacted materials that the party wants to file under seal, shall be delivered to Judge Bencivengo’s Chambers within 24 hours of filing. After receiving a ruling from the Court on the motion for permission to file under seal, the party may file its substantive motion (or opposition) consistent with the Court’s order. 2. If the party filing the motion (or opposition thereto) intends to cite or attach documents or information that another party has designated as confidential pursuant to a protective order entered in the case, it shall serve notice to the designating party by email, no later than eight business days prior to the date it intends to file the motion, specifically identifying the documents and information it is contemplating using in connection with the motion. The designating party shall then have four business days from the date of the notice to file a motion seeking permission for the documents and information to be filed under seal. A courtesy copy of the motion for permission to file under seal, along with a courtesy copy of the unredacted materials that the party wants to file under seal, shall be delivered to Judge Bencivengo’s Chambers within 24 hours of filing. After receiving a ruling from the Court on the motion for permission to file under seal, the party may file its substantive motion (or opposition) consistent with the Court’s order. If the designating party does not timely file a motion for permission to file under seal, the confidential designation will be deemed waived, and the party seeking to use the documents or information shall file it publicly in connection with its motion or opposition.