1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 10 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 11 12 HIBA ENAYAT, Case No.: 3:21-cv-00634-JO-AHG 13 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING JOINT MOTION TO CONTINUE EARLY 14 v. NEUTRAL EVALUATION 15 THE ELECTRA OWNERS CONFERENCE ASSOCIATION, et al., 16 [ECF No. 24] Defendants. 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 1 Before the Court is the parties’ Joint Motion to Continue the Early Neutral 2 Evaluation Conference (“ENE”) in this case, currently set for May 13, 2022. ECF No. 24. 3 Parties seeking to continue an ENE must demonstrate good cause. See ECF No. 22 4 at 4 (“An ENE may be rescheduled only upon a showing of good cause”); Chmb.R. at 2 5 (stating that any request for continuance requires “[a] showing of good cause for the 6 request”); see also, e.g., Fed. R. Civ. P 16(b)(4) (“A schedule may be modified only for 7 good cause and with the judge’s consent”). 8 “Good cause” is a non-rigorous standard that has been construed broadly across 9 procedural and statutory contexts. Ahanchian v. Xenon Pictures, Inc., 624 F.3d 1253, 1259 10 (9th Cir. 2010). The good cause standard focuses on the diligence of the party seeking to 11 amend the scheduling order and the reasons for seeking modification. Johnson v. Mammoth 12 Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604, 609 (9th Cir. 1992). 13 Here, the parties explain that Plaintiff seeks the continuance because she has retained 14 counsel since the ENE was first set in this case on February 11, 2022. ECF No. 24 at 1. 15 Before her attorney Steven M. McKany entered an appearance in the case, Plaintiff was 16 previously proceeding pro se. Mr. McKany has a scheduling conflict with the ENE date of 17 May 13 due to travel plans, which he made before Plaintiff retained him as counsel and 18 before the ENE was scheduled. Id. Defendant does not oppose the request to continue the 19 ENE to accommodate Mr. McKany’s pre-existing travel plans. Moreover, the parties are 20 currently engaged in settlement negotiations to see whether the case can be settled prior to 21 the ENE. Id. 22 Considering the reasons set forth in the Joint Motion for the request, the Court finds 23 good cause to GRANT the parties’ requested continuance of the ENE. The ENE is hereby 24 CONTINUED to June 15, 2022 at 9:30 a.m. before Magistrate Judge Allison H. Goddard. 25 The related deadlines are RESET as follows: 26 1. Confidential ENE Statements Required: No later than June 8, 2022, the 27 parties shall submit confidential statements of five (5) pages or less directly to the chambers 28 of Magistrate Judge Goddard outlining the nature of the case, the claims, and the defenses. 1 These statements shall not be filed or served on opposing counsel. They shall be lodged 2 via email at efile_goddard@casd.uscourts.gov. The ENE statement is limited to five (5) 3 pages or less, and up to five (5) pages of exhibits or declarations. Each party’s ENE 4 statement must outline: 5 A. the nature of the case and the claims, 6 B. position on liability or defense, 7 C. position regarding settlement of the case with a specific1 8 demand/offer for settlement,2 and 9 D. any previous settlement negotiations or mediation efforts. 10 2. Case Management Conference: The Court will not yet set a Case 11 Management Conference (“CMC”) in the case pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b). If the case 12 does not settle at the ENE, the Court will schedule a CMC after the pending Motion to 13 Dismiss is resolved. 14 3. No later than June 8, 2022, counsel for each party shall send an email to the 15 Court at efile_goddard@casd.uscourts.gov containing the following: 16 i. The name and title of each participant, including all parties 17 and party representatives with full settlement authority, claims 18 adjusters for insured defendants, and the primary attorney(s) 19 responsible for the litigation; 20 ii. An e-mail address for each participant to receive the Zoom 21 video conference invitation; and 22 iii. A cell phone number for that party’s preferred point of 23 24 25 1 A general statement, such as that a party “will negotiate in good faith,” is a not a specific demand or offer. 26 27 2 If a specific demand or offer cannot be made at the time the ENE statement is submitted, then the reasons as to why a demand or offer cannot be made must be stated. Further, the 28 1 contact (and the name of the individual whose cell phone it is) 2 for the Court to use during the ENE to alert counsel via text 3 message that the Court will soon return to that party’s Breakout 4 Room, to avoid any unexpected interruptions of confidential 5 discussions. 6 All other requirements set forth in the Court’s previous order setting the ENE (e.g., 7 || the required participation of representatives with full settlement authority, professionalism 8 dress requirements, requirements for extension requests, etc.), remain in place and are 9 || incorporated by reference as though fully set forth herein. See ECF No. 22. The parties are 10 |/responsible for reviewing the prior Order and complying with all such requirements, other 11 the deadlines explicitly reset by this Order. 12 As before, the ENE will take place via videoconference using the Court’s official 13 ||Zoom.gov account. The parties should also review the Court’s prior order setting the ENE 14 || for technical guidance regarding the use of Zoom. 15 IT IS SO ORDERED. 16 17 Dated: April 21, 2022 18 _ Awan. Motor Honorable Allison H. Goddard 19 United States Magistrate Judge 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28