INITIAL PHASE DISCOVERY SCHEDULING ORDER

KIMBERLY J. MUELLER, District Judge.

An initial scheduling conference was held in this case on November 30, 2017. Ron Nelson appeared for plaintiff; Matthew Harvey appeared for defendant.

Having reviewed the parties' Joint Status Report filed on November 22, 2017, and discussed a schedule for the case with counsel at the hearing, the court makes the following orders:

I. SERVICE OF PROCESS

All named defendants have been served and no further service is permitted without leave of court, good cause having been shown.

II. ADDITIONALPARTIES/AMENDMENTS/PLEADINGS

The parties shall file a joint stipulated amended complaint within 90 days, or plaintiff shall file a request to amend within 90 days of the scheduling conference. No further joinder of parties or amendments to pleadings is permitted without leave of court, good cause having been shown. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b); Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604 (9th Cir. 1992).

III. JURISDICTION/VENUE

Jurisdiction is predicated upon 28 U.S.C. § 1332. Jurisdiction and venue are not disputed.

IV. FACT DISCOVERY

Initial disclosures as required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a) shall be completed by December 15, 2017. All initial written and document discovery shall be completed by May 1, 2018. In this context, "completed" means that all initial fact discovery shall have been conducted so that any disputes relative to discovery shall have been resolved by appropriate order if necessary and, where discovery has been ordered, the order has been obeyed. All motions to compel discovery must be noticed on the magistrate judge's calendar in accordance with the local rules of this court. While the assigned magistrate judge reviews proposed discovery phase protective orders, requests to seal or redact are decided by Judge Mueller as discussed in more detail below. In addition, while the assigned magistrate judge handles discovery motions, the magistrate judge cannot change the schedule set in this order, except that the magistrate judge may modify a discovery cutoff to the extent such modification does not have the effect of requiring a change to the balance of the schedule.

The parties shall abstain from taking any depositions until May 1, 2018, so they may complete the initial phase of discovery scheduled above, and meet and confer about the most efficient way to resolve the remaining legal and factual issues relevant to the underlying construction defect lawsuits.

V. MOTION HEARING SCHEDULE

A status conference is set for April 20, 2018, at 2:30 p.m., to discuss the results of the initial phase of discovery and the next phase of the case. The parties shall submit, at least seven (7) days prior to the Status Conference, a Joint Status Report.

VI. SEALING

No document will be sealed, nor shall a redacted document be filed, without the prior approval of the court. If a document for which sealing or redaction is sought relates to the record on a motion to be decided by Judge Mueller, the request to seal or redact should be directed to her and not the assigned Magistrate Judge. All requests to seal or redact shall be governed by Local Rules 141 (sealing) and 140 (redaction); protective orders covering the discovery phase of litigation shall not govern the filing of sealed or redacted documents on the public docket. The court will only consider requests to seal or redact filed by the proponent of sealing or redaction. If a party plans to make a filing that includes material an opposing party has identified as confidential and potentially subject to sealing, the filing party shall provide the opposing party with sufficient notice in advance of filing to allow for the seeking of an order of sealing or redaction from the court.

VII. SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE

No settlement conference is currently scheduled. A settlement conference may be set at the time of the Final Pretrial Conference or at an earlier time at the parties' request. In the event that an earlier court settlement conference date or referral to the Voluntary Dispute Resolution Program (VDRP) is requested, the parties shall file said request jointly, in writing. Because the case will be tried to a jury, all parties should be prepared to advise the court whether they will stipulate to the trial judge acting as settlement judge and waive disqualification by virtue thereof.

Counsel are instructed to have a principal with full settlement authority present at any Settlement Conference or to be fully authorized to settle the matter on any terms. Each judge has different requirements for the submission of settlement conference statements; the appropriate instructions will be sent to you after the settlement judge is assigned.

VIII. MODIFICATION OF STATUS (PRETRIAL SCHEDULING) ORDER

The parties are reminded that pursuant to Rule 16(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Scheduling Order shall not be modified except by leave of court upon a showing of good cause. Agreement of the parties by stipulation alone does not constitute good cause. Except in extraordinary circumstances, unavailability of witnesses or counsel does not constitute good cause.

As noted, the assigned magistrate judge is authorized to modify only the discovery dates shown above to the extent any such modification does not impact the balance of the schedule of the case.

IX. OBJECTIONS TO STATUS (PRETRIAL SCHEDULING) ORDER

This Status Order will become final without further order of the court unless objections are filed within fourteen (14) calendar days of service of this Order.

IT IS SO ORDERED.