1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 JOHANNA VISCARRA, Case No.: 3:19-cv-02438-JLS-AHG 12 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING JOINT MOTION TO CONTINUE EARLY 13 v. NEUTRAL EVALUATION 14 SUNROAD BCV AUTO, INC., et al., CONFERENCE AND CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE 15 Defendants.

16 [ECF No. 11]

17 This matter comes before the Court on the parties’ Joint Motion to Continue Early 18 Neutral Evaluation and Case Management Conference and Related Dates. ECF No. 11. 19 Parties seeking to continue an ENE must demonstrate good cause. ECF No. 8 at 4 (“An 20 ENE may be rescheduled only upon a showing of good cause”); Chmb.R. at 2 (stating that 21 any request for continuance requires “[a] showing of good cause for the request”); see also 22 Fed. R. Civ. P 16(b)(4) (“A schedule may be modified only for good cause and with the 23 judge’s consent”). 24 “Good cause” is a non-rigorous standard that has been construed broadly across 25 procedural and statutory contexts. Ahanchian v. Xenon Pictures, Inc.,

, 1259 26 (9th Cir. 2010). The good cause standard focuses on the diligence of the party seeking to 27 amend the scheduling order and the reasons for seeking modification. Johnson v. Mammoth 28 1 Recreations, Inc.,

(9th Cir. 1992). 2 The Court has reviewed the Joint Motion and finds that the parties have readily met 3 the good cause standard here. Due to family medical emergencies beyond their control, 4 counsel for Defendant BMW of El Cajon and Hartford will be unable to attend the ENE as 5 scheduled on February 26, 2020. ECF No. 11 at 2. Additionally, the parties have all agreed 6 to the requested continuance and have otherwise complied with Judge Goddard’s 7 requirements for seeking a continuance. See ECF No. 8 at 3-4. 8 However, the parties’ requested date for resetting the ENE is unavailable on the 9 Court’s calendar. After conferring with counsel via email to ascertain their and the parties’ 10 availability on alternative dates, the Court hereby GRANTS the Motion to Continue (ECF 11 No. 11), VACATES the February 26, 2020 ENE, and RESETS it for May 4, 2020 at 12 2:00 PM in the chambers of Magistrate Judge Allison H. Goddard, located on the third 13 floor of the Edward J. Schwartz U.S. Courthouse, 221 West Broadway, Suite 3142, San 14 Diego, California 92101. Do not report to Courtroom 3B; report to Chambers. Counsel 15 for any non-English speaking party is responsible for arranging for the appearance of an 16 interpreter at the conference. 17 The Court RESETS the related deadlines as follows: 18 1. Confidential ENE Statements Required: No later than April 29, 2020, the parties 19 shall submit confidential statements of five (5) pages or less directly to the chambers 20 of Magistrate Judge Goddard outlining the nature of the case, the claims, and the 21 defenses. These statements shall not be filed or served on opposing counsel. 22 They shall be lodged via email at [email protected]. The ENE 23 statement is limited to five (5) pages or less, and up to five (5) pages of exhibits 24 or declarations. Each party’s ENE statement must outline: 25 A. the nature of the case and the claims, 26 B. position on liability or defense, 27 28 1 C. position regarding settlement of the case with a specific! 2 demand/offer for settlement,” and 3 D. any previous settlement negotiations or mediation efforts. 4 2. Case Management Conference: In the event the case does not settle at the ENE, 5 the Court will immediately thereafter hold a Case Management Conference 6 (‘CMC’) pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P 16(b). The Court maintains the existing deadline 7 of February 19, 2020 to complete initial disclosures. Additionally, the parties have 8 already met their deadline of filing a Joint Case Management Statement by February 9 18, 2020. ECF No. 12. If the parties wish to submit an updated Joint Case 10 Management Statement prior to the rescheduled CMC, they must do so no later than 1] April 27, 2020. 12 The parties must abide by all other mandatory procedures set forth in the Court’s 13 || previous Order setting the ENE and CMC. ECF No. 8. 14 IT IS SO ORDERED. 15 16 Dated: February 19, 2020 _ Siow. Xion Honorable Allison H. Goddard 18 United States Magistrate Judge 19 20 21 22 23

25 ||' A general statement, such as that a party “will negotiate in good faith,” is a not a 26 specific demand or offer.

27 ||? If a specific demand or offer cannot be made at the time the ENE statement is 28 submitted, then the reasons as to why a demand or offer cannot be made must be stated. Further, the party must explain when they will be in a position to state a demand or offer.