Leonard v. Experian Information Solutions, Inc. ( 2021 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 LISA LEONARD, Case No.: 3:20-cv-1746-BAS-AHG 12 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING JOINT 13 v. MOTION TO AMEND SCHEDULING ORDER TO EXTEND 14 EXPERIAN INFORMATION FACT DISCOVERY DEADLINE SOLUTIONS,INC., et al., 15 Defendants. [ECF No. 30] 16 17 18 This matter comes before the Court on the parties’ Joint Motion to Amend the 19 Scheduling Order re Fact Discovery Deadline Due to Unexpected Medical Leave. ECF No. 20 30. The parties request that the fact discovery deadline in this matter be extended from 21 May 28, 2021 to June 28, 2021. 22 Under Fed. R. Civ. P 16(b)(4), “[a] schedule may be modified only for good cause 23 and with the judge’s consent.” “Good cause” is a non-rigorous standard that has been 24 construed broadly across procedural and statutory contexts. Ahanchian v. Xenon Pictures, 25 Inc., 624 F.3d 1253, 1259 (9th Cir. 2010). The good cause standard focuses on the diligence 26 of the party seeking to amend the scheduling order and the reasons for seeking 27 modification. Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604, 609 (9th Cir. 1992). 28 “[T]he court may modify the schedule on a showing of good cause if it cannot reasonably 1 || be met despite the diligence of the party seeking the extension.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 16, advisory 2 ||committee’s notes to 1983 amendment. Therefore, “a party demonstrates good cause by 3 |lacting diligently to meet the original deadlines set forth by the court.” Merck v. Swift 4 || Transportation Co., No. CV-16-01103-PHX-ROS, 2018 WL 4492362, at *2 (D. Ariz. 5 || Sept. 19, 2018). 6 Here, the parties explain that counsel for Defendants was forced to take an 7 |}unexpected medical leave beginning April 27, 2021, and the earliest she is expected to 8 ||return from the leave is May 15, 2021. ECF No. 30 at 2. As a result, two depositions 9 ||currently scheduled for Defendants on May 13 and May 20, 2021 will have to be 10 rescheduled. /d. The parties are working together to reschedule the depositions for some 11 || time next month, necessitating a modest extension of the fact discovery deadline. 12 The Court finds the parties have shown good cause to GRANT the joint motion. 13 || Accordingly, all fact discovery shall be completed by all parties by June 28, 2021. 14 ||“‘Completed” means that all discovery under Rules 30-36 of the Federal Rules of Civil 15 || Procedure, and discovery subpoenas under Rule 45, must be initiated a sufficient period of 16 || time in advance of the cut-off date, so that it may be completed by the cut-off date, taking 17 ||into account the times for service, notice and response as set forth in the Federal Rules of 18 || Civil Procedure. 19 All other dates, deadlines, and requirements in the Scheduling Order (ECF No. 20) 20 remain in place. 21 IT IS SO ORDERED. 22 23 Dated: May 7, 2021 _ Siow. Xion Honorable Allison H. Goddard 25 United States Magistrate Judge 26 27 28