Fernandez-Morales v. Gazzini ( 2024 )

1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 2 DISTRICT OF NEVADA 3 YOANDY FERNANDEZ-MORALES, Case No. 3:23-cv-00124-MMD-CLB 4 Plaintiff, ORDER SETTING MANDATORY CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE 5 v. AND EXCHANGE OF INITIAL DISCLOSURES 6 GAZZINI, et al., 7 Defendants. 8 9 The Court has now screened Plaintiff's complaint pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 10 1915A(a) and ordered the case to proceed. In order to ensure the just, speedy, and 11 cost-effective resolution of this action, the court orders: (1) the parties to exchange initial 12 disclosures, as described below; and (2) the parties attend a mandatory case 13 management conference to be held on Thursday, February 8, 2024, at 11:00 a.m., as 14 describe more fully below. 15 Following the mandatory conference, the court will issue a full scheduling order, 16 setting out additional dates related to discovery and the litigation. Aside from the initial 17 disclosures required by this order, no other discovery may proceed until the court enters 18 a full scheduling order following the mandatory scheduling conference. 19 I. INITIAL DISCLOSURES 20 Notwithstanding Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 26(a)(1)(B), the court finds that 21 initial disclosures would be helpful in managing this action under Federal Rule of Civil 22 Procedure 16, taking into account the extent of prisoner litigation in this district, the desire 23 1 to manage those cases efficiently, the desire to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive 2 determination of this case, the importance of the issues at stake, the parties' relative 3 access to relevant information, the parties' resources, the importance of discovery in 4 resolving issues, and the value of initial disclosure of information obtained through the 5 administrative grievance process.1 Accordingly, all parties are hereby ordered to provide 6 initial disclosures with the following information:2 7 A. The name and, if known, the address and telephone number of each 8 individual likely to have discoverable information—along with the subjects of that 9 information—that the disclosing party may use to support its claims or defenses, unless 10 the use would be solely for impeachment. 11 1. The Parties may withhold confidential sensitive information 12 regarding the identity or contact information of such individuals so long as they provide 13 a method of identifying and contacting such individuals, such as through counsel. 14 B. A copy—or a description by category and location—of all documents, 15 electronically stored information, and tangible things that the disclosing party has in its 16 17 18 1 Rule 26, Advisory Committee Note, 2000 Amendments ("[T]he court can 19 order exchange of similar information in managing the action under Rule 16."). Also note Rule 26, Advisory Committee Note, 1993 Amendment "The enumeration in Rule 20 26(a) of items to be disclosed does not prevent a court from requiring by order or local rule that the parties disclose additional information without a discovery request." 21 2 These disclosures must be mailed to the other parties in the case, or their 22 attorneys, if they are represented by counsel. These disclosures should not be filed with the court. 23 1 possession, custody, or control and may use to support its claims or defenses, unless 2 the use would be solely for impeachment. 3 1. In the context of Rule 26, "[c]ontrol is defined as the legal right to 4 obtain documents upon demand." United States v. Int'l Union of Petroleum & Indus. 5 Workers, AFL−CIO, 870 F.2d 1450, 1452 (9th Cir. 1989). 6 2. To the extent Defendant(s) intend to rely on an affirmative defense 7 based on a failure to exhaust administrative remedies, Defendant(s) shall provide to 8 Plaintiff all documents Defendants intend to use to support that defense. 9 II. MANDATORY CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE 10 A mandatory case management conference will be held on February 8, 2024, at 11 11:00 a.m. Lead Defense counsel shall dial 877-336-1829 to be properly connected 12 into the courtroom. The access code is 2809752 and the security code is 23124. The 13 Attorney General’s Office shall make the necessary arrangements for the Plaintiff’s 14 telephonic appearance at this conference and shall provide the Courtroom Deputy, Lisa 15 Mann at lisa_mann@nvd.uscourts.gov with the telephone number at which the Plaintiff 16 can be reached for this mandatory case management conference. The parties should 17 be available for one hour, although the case management conference will likely take 18 less time. The parties shall be prepared to informally discuss the following issues: 19 A. A brief statement of the parties' claims and/or defenses; 20 B. Confirmation that initial disclosures (described above) have been provided, 21 and any justification for withholding any portion of that information; 22 C. The location of potentially relevant documents; 23 1 D. Any deficiency or problems in the other party's initial disclosures; 2 E. Discovery each party intends to take, if any, in addition to the discovery 3 ordered above; 4 F. A timeline for the scheduling of discovery; 5 G. Any options or methods for the streamlining discovery; 6 H. Whether any party intends to challenge the issue of exhaustion; 7 I. Whether any party intends to use expert witnesses; 8 J. Whether each party would consent to magistrate judge jurisdiction; and, 9 K. Any immediate or ongoing issues or requests for injunctive relief regarding 10 current incarceration that could require the court's immediate attention. 11 III. CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE STATEMENTS 12 At least one-week in advance of the case management conference, each party 13 shall file a case management conference statement. The case management conference 14 statement must address the issues listed above, as well as any other issues that the 15 parties believe would assist in the scheduling of the case. The statement should include 16 the date that initial disclosures were served and any deficiencies in either party's 17 disclosures. The statement must not exceed five (5) pages in length and no exhibits or 18 attachments should be included. 19 IV. SCHEDULING ORDER 20 Following the case management conference, the court will issue a Scheduling 21 Order and Discovery Plan with the benefit of the input of the parties. Once issued, the 22 23 | dates in the Scheduling Order and Discovery Plan shall be firm and no extension shall 2 be given without permission from the court based on good cause shown. 3 DATED: January 22, 2024 4 Bh UNWTED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 7 8 9 10 1] 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23