Botts v. Sheppard ( 2020 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 |} DDRON BOTTS, Case No.: 3:19-cv-01387-DMS-RBM Plaintitt, ORDER GRANTING JOINT MOTION 13 || v. TO CONTINUE TRIAL-RELATED 14 || CORRECTIONAL OFFICER DATES 15 SHEPPARD, et al., 6 Defendants. Doc. 35} 17 . 18 Before the Court is Plaintiff D’Ron Botts (“Plaintiff”) and Defendants J. Newman, 19 ||C. Legge, R. Rodriguez, F. Camacho, A. Shepherd, and D. Paramo’s (collectively 20 ||“Defendants”) Joint Motion to Continue Trial-Related Dates (“Joint Motion”). (Doc. 35.) 21 ||Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the parties’ attorneys are having difficulty 22 ||complying with the June 19, 2020 Amended Scheduling Order. (Docs. 32, 35.) The 23 Scheduling Order required all fact discovery be completed by September 11, 2020. (Doc. 24 at 2.) The parties allege they are currently unable to depose Plaintiff or three of 25 ||PlaintifPs witnesses because of the California Department of Corrections and 26 || Rehabilitation’s (“CDCR”) COVID-19 movement and visitation restrictions. (Doc. 35 at 27 ||2-3.) Plaintiff's counsel also alleges he is unable to meet with his client. (Ud. at 3.) 28 1 || Therefore, the parties seek a sixty-day continuance of all dates in the June 19, 2020 2 || Amended Scheduling Order. (Doc. 35 at 4.) 3 A scheduling order may be modified only upon a showing of good cause and with 4 || the judge’s consent. FED. R. CIV. P. 16(b)(4); see, e.g., Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, 5 ||Inc., 975 F.2d 604, 609 (9th Cir. 1992) (stating, “the focus of [the good cause] inquiry is 6 ||upon the moving party’s reasons for seeking modification.”). Here, CDCR’s movement 7 restriction guidelines are impeding the parties’ ability to conduct video depositions of fact 8 || witnesses. High Desert State Prison, Mule Creek State Prison, and California Health Care 9 || Facility-Stockton have all halted inmate movement due to COVID-19 Outbreaks. (Doc. 10 ||35 at 2.) Mule Creek State Prison, where two witnesses are housed, has thirty-two active 11 |}COVID-19 cases and twenty-seven in the last two weeks. (Docs. 34 at 2; Doc. 35 at 2.) 12 || This is the parties’ third request to amend the Scheduling Order. (Docs. 28, 31, 35.) As 13 ||such, the Court finds good cause to amend the June 19, 2020 Scheduling Order. 14 || Accordingly, the Joint Motion is GRANTED. Al! dates set in the June 19, 2020 Amended 15 || Scheduling Order (Doc. 32) are hereby AMENDED AS FOLLOWS: 16 l. All fact discovery shall be completed by all parties by November 6, 2020. 17 |\“Completed” means that all discovery under Rules 30-36 of the Federal Rules of Civil 18 || Procedure, and discovery subpoenas under Rule 45, must be initiated a sufficient period of 19 || time in advance of the cut-off date, so it may be completed by the cut-off date, taking into 20 || account the times for service, notice and response as set forth in the Federal Rules of Civil 21 Procedure. Counsel shall promptly and in good faith meet and confer with regard to 22 |\all discovery disputes in compliance with Local Rule 26.1(a). The Court expects 23 counsel to make every effort to resolve all disputes without court intervention through the 24 ||meet and confer process. If the parties reach an impasse on any discovery issue, counsel 25 ||shall file an appropriate motion within the time limit and procedures outlined in the 26 undersigned magistrate judge’s chambers rules. A failure to comply in this regard will 27 ||result in a waiver of a party’s discovery issue. Absent an order of the Court, no 28 || stipulation continuing or altering this requirement will be recognized by the Court. I 2. The parties shall designate their respective experts in writing by December 2 || 16,2020. The parties must identify any person who may be used at trial to present evidence 3 || pursuant to Rules 702, 703, or 705 of the Federal Rules of Evidence. This requirement is 4 limited to retained experts. The date for exchange of rebuttal experts shall be by 5 || January 6, 2021. The written designations shall include the name, address and telephone 6 ||number of the expert and a reasonable summary of the testimony the expert is expected to 7 \|provide. The list shall also include the normal rates the expert charges for deposition and 8 || trial testimony. 9 3. By February 3, 2021, each party shall comply with the disclosure provisions 10 Rule 26(a)(2)(A) and (B) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. This disclosure 11 ||requirement applies to all persons retained or specially employed to provide expert 12 ||testimony, or whose duties as an employee of the party regularly involve the giving of 13 ||expert testimony. Except as provided in the paragraph below, any party that fails to 14 make these disclosures shall not, absent substantial justification, be permitted to use 15 || evidence or testimony not disclosed at any hearing or at the time of trial. In addition, 16 ||the Court may impose sanctions as permitted by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 17 ||37(c). 18 4. Any party shall supplement its disclosure regarding contradictory or rebuttal 19 || evidence under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(2)(D) by February 19, 2021. 20 5. All expert discovery shall be completed by all parties by March 12, 2021. 21 ||The parties shall comply with the same procedures set forth in the paragraph governing 22 || fact discovery. 23 6. Failure to comply with this section or any other discovery order of the Court 24 ||/may result in the sanctions provided for in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37, including a 25 || prohibition on the introduction of experts or other designated matters in evidence. 26 7. All other pretrial motions must be filed by April 12, 2021. Counsel for the 27 ||moving party must obtain a motion hearing date from the law clerk of the judge who will 28 |/hear the motion. The period between the date you request a motion date and the hearing 1 || date may vary from one district judge to another. Please plan accordingly. Failure to make 2 ||a timely request for a motion date may result in the motion not being heard. Motions in 3 || limine are to be filed as directed in the Local Rules, or as otherwise set by the district judge. 4 8. A Mandatory Settlement Conference shall be conducted on July 14, 2021 at 5 ||9:30 a.m. in the chambers of Magistrate Judge Ruth Bermudez Montenegro, United 6 ||States Courthouse, 2003 W. Adams Ave., El Centro, CA 92243. Counsel or any party 7 |\|representing himself or herself shall submit confidential settlement briefs directly to 8 ||chambers by June 30, 2021. All parties are ordered to read and to fully comply with the 9 || chamber rules of the assigned magistrate judge. 10 9. Counsel shall file their Memoranda of Contentions of Fact and Law and take 11 other action required by Local Rule 16.1(f)(2) by July 23, 2021. 12 10. Counsel shall comply with the pre-trial disclosure requirements of Federal 13 || Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(3) by July 23, 2021. Failure to comply with these disclosure 14 ||requirements could result in evidence preclusion or other sanctions under Federal Rule of 15 || Civil Procedure 37. 16 11. Counsel shall meet and take the action required by Local Rule 16.1(f)(4) by 17 || July 30, 2021. At this meeting, counsel shall discuss and attempt to enter into stipulations 18 ||and agreements resulting in simplification of the triable issues. Counsel shall exchange 19 || copies and/or display all exhibits other than those to be used for impeachment. The exhibits 20 ||shall be prepared in accordance with Local Rule 16.1(f)(4)(c). Counsel shall note any 21 || objections they have to any other parties’ Pretrial Disclosures under Federal Rule of Civil 22 Procedure 26(a)(3). Counsel shall cooperate in the preparation of the proposed pretrial 23 || conference order. 24 12. Counsel for Plaintiff will be responsible for preparing the pretrial order and 25 ||arranging the meetings of counsel pursuant to Civil Local Rule 16.1(f). By August 6, 26 2021, Plaintiff's counsel must provide opposing counsel with the proposed pretrial order 27 review and approval. Opposing counsel must communicate promptly with Plaintiff s 28 attorney concerning any objections to form or content of the pretrial order, and both parties 1 shall attempt promptly to resolve their differences, if any, concerning the order. 2 13. The Proposed Final Pretrial Conference Order, including objections to any 3 ||other parties’ Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(3) Pretrial Disclosures shall be 4 || prepared, served and lodged with the assigned district judge by August 13, 2021, and shall 5 ||be in the form prescribed in and comply with Local Rule 16.1(f)(6). 6 14. The final Pretrial Conference is scheduled on the calendar of the Honorable 7 ||Dana M. Sabraw on August 20, 2021 at 10:30 a.m. The trial is scheduled to start on 8 || September 20, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. 9 15. The parties must review the chambers’ rules for the assigned district judge 10 magistrate judge. 11 16. A post-trial settkement conference before a magistrate judge may be held 12 || within thirty (30) days of verdict in the case. 13 17. The dates and times set forth herein will not be modified except for good cause 14 shown. 15 18. Briefs or memoranda in support of or in opposition to any pending motion 16 shall not exceed twenty-five (25) pages in length without leave of a district court judge. 17 ||No reply memorandum shall exceed ten (10) pages without leave of a district court judge. 18 || Briefs and memoranda exceeding ten (10) pages in length shall have a table of contents 19 || and a table of authorities cited. 20 19. Plaintiff's counsel shall serve a copy of this order on all parties that enter this 21 case hereafter. 22 IT IS SO ORDERED. □ 23 || DATE: August 24, 2020 24 gpinsdailiiag ) 6 IN. RUTH BERMUDEZ MONTENEGRO UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 27 28