MOTION FOR ADMINISTRATIVE RELIEF FOR AN ORDER TO MODIFY CASE MANAGEMENT ORDER TO EXTEND NON-EXPERT DISCOVERY
EDWARD M. CHEN, District Judge.
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that Plaintiff Antonio saidiani hereby moves the Court for administrative relief pursuant to Local Civil Rules 6-3 and 7-11, an order modifying the Case Management and Pretrial Order for Jury Trial, [Doc. 47] to extend the non-expert discovery cut-off date for deposition discovery only.
An extension is needed to allow Plaintiff to serve a deposition subpoena on Ms. Robin Troglauer, Plaintiff's former manager. Plaintiff timely served a Notice of Deposition for Ms. Troglauer on August 28, 2015. On September 2, 2015 Plaintiff was informed that Ms. Troglauer's employment with Defendants had recently ended, creating the need to serve a deposition subpoena. Plaintiff respectfully asks for an extension of the non-expert discovery cut-off date from September 10, 2015 to October 9, 2015 in order to permit Plaintiff to secure the deposition of Ms. Troglauer.
This motion for an order modifying the Case Management and Pretrial Order for Jury Trial, [Doc. 47], is based on the following:
1. Non-expert discovery ends September 10, 2015. [Doc. 47] There has been one extension of the discovery cut-off date from September 3, 2015 to September 10, 2015. [Doc. 50] Trial is set for March 7, 2015. [Doc. 47]
2. This motion is made solely on Plaintiff's own behalf. Defendants have not stipulated to extending the non-expert discovery date. Plaintiff sought a stipulation via email to Defense Counsel on September 4th, September 7th, September 8th, and September 9, 2015. Plaintiff provided a draft of the proposed Stipulation and Proposed Order on September 7, 2015. Plaintiff also telephoned Defense Counsel on September 9, 2015. Defendants never responded to Plaintiff's emails or telephone inquiry. (Scarpino Decl., ¶¶ 2-4)
3. Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(4) authorizes the modification of scheduling orders, "for good cause and with the judge's consent." Pretrial scheduling orders maybe modified if the dates scheduled, "cannot reasonably be met despite the diligence of the party seeking the extension." Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, Inc. 975 F.2d 604, 609 (9th Cir. 1992). The focus of the good cause inquiry is on the party's reasons for needing the extension and the party's diligence. Id.
4. The parties have diligently engaged in discovery and have shown a high degree of cooperation in completing discovery before the discovery cut-off date. Plaintiff agreed to appear for deposition on September 2, 2015, on only 7 days notice. (Scarpino Decl., ¶ 11) Plaintiff also served a Response to Defendants' Second Request for Production of Documents, which had been outstanding since February 6, 2015. Likewise, Defense Counsel voluntarily provided Plaintiff with a copy of documents previously produced by Plaintiff's former counsel that were missing from Plaintiff's file. (Scarpino Decl., ¶ 9) Defense Counsel also cooperated in setting dates for both Plaintiff's and Ms. Troglauer's depositions. Finally, Plaintiff has served an additional Interrogatories and two Requests for Production of Documents.
5. All essential discovery has been completed except for the deposition of Ms. Robin Troglauer, Plaintiff's former manager and the person responsible for Plaintiff's termination. Ms. Troglauer is located in Southern California. Defense counsel had informed Plaintiff that Ms. Troglauer remained employed with Defendant Concentra. (Scarpino Decl., ¶¶ 5-6) Plaintiff made numerous requests for deposition dates for Ms. Troglauer, starting on July 16, 2015. (Scarpino Decl., ¶¶ 5-11). Finally, Plaintiff served a Notice of Deposition for Ms. Troglauer on August 28, 2015. The deposition was set for September 8, 2015. The deposition notice did not include a request for production of documents. (Scarpino Decl., ¶ 12)
6. On September 2, 2015, Defense Counsel informed Plaintiff that Ms. Troglauer's employment with Defendant Concentra had recently terminated. (Scarpino Decl., ¶ 13) As a result, Plaintiff's Notice of Deposition was not effective to secure Ms. Troglauer's appearance for deposition. An extension of the discovery cut-off date is needed to allow Plaintiff to secure Ms. Troglauer's deposition through service of a deposition subpoena.
7. An extension of the non-expert discovery cut-off date for deposition discovery will impact the Court's Order that mediation be completed by September 24, 2015, and the Status Conference set for October 8, 2015. [Doc. 50] No other dates would be effected by an extension of the non-expert discovery cut-off date to October 9, 2015. No parties would suffer prejudice if this stipulation is granted.
Good cause exists to extend the non-expert discovery cut-off date from September 10, 2015 to October 9, 2015, so that Plaintiff can secure Ms. Troglauer's appearance at deposition through service of a deposition subpoena.
[PROPOSED] ORDER EXTENDING NON-EXPERT DISCOVERY
For good cause having been shown, Plaintiff Saidiani's motion administrative relief is GRANTED. The Non-Expert Discovery Cut-off Date for the deposition of Ms. Robin Troglauer only is extended to October 2, 2015.
