Griego v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

9 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 10 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA JESENIA ZAMORA, individually and on Case No.: 3:20-cv-401-BAS-AHG behalf of all others similarly situated, and 13 ORDER GRANTING JOINT BRANDAN GRIEGO, MOTION TO CONTINUE EARLY Plaintiffs, NEUTRAL EVALUATION 15 CONFERENCE AND CASE v. MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE WAL-MART STORES, INC.; WALMART, INC.; WAL-MART [ECF No. 19] ASSOCIATES, INC.; SAM’S WEST, INC., and DOES 1–100, Defendants.

Before the Court is the parties’ joint motion to continue the Early Neutral Evaluation Conference (“ENE”) and Case Management Conference (“CMC”), currently scheduled for July 17, 2020. ECF No. 19.

Parties seeking to continue an ENE must demonstrate good cause. ECF No. 13 at 6–7 (“An ENE may be rescheduled only upon a showing of good cause”); Chmb.R. at 2 (stating that any request for continuance requires “[a] showing of good cause for the request”); see, e.g., FED. R. CIV. P. 6(b) (“When an act may or must be done within a specified time, the court may, for good cause, extend the time”); FED. R. CIV. P. 16(b)(4) (“A schedule may be modified only for good cause and with the judge’s consent”).

3 “Good cause” is a non-rigorous standard that has been construed broadly across procedural and statutory contexts. Ahanchian v. Xenon Pictures, Inc., 624 F.3d 1253, 1259 (9th Cir. 2010). The good cause standard focuses on the diligence of the party seeking to amend the scheduling order and the reasons for seeking modification. Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604, 609 (9th Cir. 1992) (“[T]he focus of the inquiry is upon the moving party’s reasons for seeking modification. . . . If that party was not diligent, the inquiry should end.”) (internal citation omitted).

10 Here, the parties have represented to the Court that Plaintiff’s lead counsel has become unavailable to attend the ENE on July 17 due to a family medical emergency. ECF No. 19 at 3; ECF No. 19-1 at 2. Therefore, the parties seek a continuance of the ENE, CMC, and related deadlines. ECF No. 19 at 3. The parties have met and conferred, and have provided the Court with mutually agreeable conference dates in August. Id.; ECF No. 19-1 at 2.

16 The Court appreciates the parties’ thorough motion and attention to the Court’s chambers rules, and finds good cause to continue the ENE and CMC. As such, the parties’ joint motion is GRANTED as follows: 19 1. The ENE, originally rescheduled for July 17, 2020, is hereby RESET for August 26, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. before Magistrate Judge Allison H. Goddard.

21 2. Since the ENE has been rescheduled, each party’s ENE Statements are now due no later than August 21, 2020. These statements must conform with the requirements set forth in the Court’s original order setting ENE. See ECF No. 13 at 3.

24 3. In the event the case does not settle at the ENE, the Court will immediately thereafter hold a CMC pursuant to FED. R. CIV. P. 16(b). The Court orders the following to occur before the CMC: 27 A. The parties must file a Joint Case Management Statement by 28 August 18, 2020. The Joint Case Management Statement must address 1 all points in the “Joint Case Management Statement Requirements for 2 Magistrate Judge Allison H. Goddard,” which can be found at: 3 https://www.casd.uscourts.gov/Judges/goddard/docs/Goddard%20Join 4 t%20Case%20Management%20Statement%20Rules.pdf.

5 B. If they have not been exchanged already,1 initial disclosures pursuant 6 to Rule 26(a)(1)(A-D) must occur no later than August 7, 2020.

7 4. In accordance with the Local Rules, the Court requires personal attendance of all parties, party representatives, including claims adjusters for insured defendants, and the primary attorney(s) responsible for the litigation. CivLR 16.1(a). However, due to the current COVID-19 public emergency,2 and upon due consideration, the Court hereby modifies the ENE to be via videoconference for all attendees. To facilitate the videoconference ENE, the Court hereby orders as follows: 13 A. The Court will use its official Zoom video conferencing account to hold 14 the ENE. If you are unfamiliar with Zoom: Zoom is available on 15 computers through a download on the Zoom website 16 (https://zoom.us/meetings) or on mobile devices through the The Court’s updated deadline was June 29, 2020. ECF No. 15 at 4. The Court encourages the parties to exchange initial disclosures by this date if they have not already done so, but has granted an extension if needed, given Plaintiff’s counsel’s family emergency.

2 On March 17, 2020, Chief Judge Larry A. Burns issued an Order in response to the COVID-19 public emergency (“CJO #18”) which, among other things, suspends the requirement under Civil Local Rule 16.1(a) that ENEs be conducted in person to protect public safety and prevent the spread of COVID-19. See CJO #18 at ¶ 9. CJO #18 is available on the Court website at https://www.casd.uscourts.gov/_assets/pdf/rules/Order%20of%20the%20Chief%20Judge %2018.pdf. This order was extended until mid-July by CJO # 30, which is available on the Court website at https://www.casd.uscourts.gov/_assets/pdf/news/Order%20of%20the%20Chief%20Judge %2030.pdf.

1 installation of a free app. Joining a Zoom conference does not require 2 creating a Zoom account, but it does require downloading the .exe file 3 (if using a computer) or the app (if using a mobile device). Participants 4 are encouraged to create an account, install Zoom and familiarize 5 themselves with Zoom in advance of the ENE.4 There is a cost-free 6 option for creating a Zoom account.

7 B. Prior to the start of the ENE, the Court will email each participant an 8 invitation to join a Zoom video conference. Again, if possible, 9 participants are encouraged to use laptops or desktop computers for the 10 video conference, as mobile devices often offer inferior performance.

11 Participants shall join the video conference by following the ZoomGov 12 Meeting hyperlink in the invitation. Participants who do not have 13 Zoom already installed on their device when they click on the 14 ZoomGov Meeting hyperlink will be prompted to download and 15 install Zoom before proceeding. Zoom may then prompt participants 16 to enter the password included in the invitation. All participants will be 17 placed in a waiting room until the ENE begins.

18 C. Each participant should plan to join the Zoom video conference at least 19 five minutes before the start of the ENE to ensure that the conference 20 begins promptly at 2:00 p.m. The Zoom e-mail invitation may 21 indicate an earlier start time, but the ENE will begin at the Court- 22 scheduled time.

25 3 If possible, participants are encouraged to use laptops or desktop computers for the video conference, rather than mobile devices.

27 4 For help getting started with Zoom, visit: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en- us/categories/200101697-Getting-Started 1 D. Zoom’s functionalities will allow the Court to conduct the ENE as it 2 ordinarily would conduct an in-person one. The Court will divide 3 participants into separate, confidential sessions, which Zoom calls 4 Breakout Rooms.5 In a Breakout Room, the Court will be able to 5 communicate with participants from a single party in confidence.

6 Breakout Rooms will also allow parties and counsel to communicate 7 confidentially without the Court.

8 E. No later than August 21, 2020, counsel for each party shall send an e- 9 mail to the Court at [email protected] containing the 10 following: 11 i. The name and title of each participant, including all parties 12 and party representatives with full settlement authority, claims 13 adjusters for insured defendants, and the primary attorney(s) 14 responsible for the litigation; 15 ii. An e-mail address for each participant to receive the Zoom 16 video conference invitation; and 17 iii. A telephone number where each participant may be reached 18 so that if technical difficulties arise, the Court will be in a 19 position to proceed telephonically instead of by video 20 conference. (If counsel prefers to have all participants of their 21 party on a single conference call, counsel may provide a 22 conference number and appropriate call-in information, 23 including an access code, where all counsel and parties or party 24 representatives for that side may be reached as an alternative to 25 providing individual telephone numbers for each participant.)

5 For more information on what to expect when participating in a Zoom Breakout 1 iv. A cell phone number for that party’s preferred point of 2 contact (and the name of the individual whose cell phone it is) 3 for the Court to use during the ENE to alert counsel via text 4 message that the Court will soon return to that party’s Breakout 5 Room, to avoid any unexpected interruptions of confidential 6 discussions.

7 F, All participants shall display the same level of professionalism during 8 the ENE and be prepared to devote their full attention to the ENE as if 9 they were attending in person, 1.e., cannot be driving while speaking to 10 the Court. Because Zoom may quickly deplete the battery of a 11 participant’s device, each participant should ensure that their device is 12 plugged in or that a charging cable is readily available during the video 13 conference.

14 5. All procedures and requirements set forth in the Court’s Order Setting ENE ||CECF No. 13) and Order Continuing ENE (ECF No. 15) remain in place, except as 16 explicitly modified by this order.

18 IT IS SO ORDERED.

19 ||Dated: June 24, 2020 0 _ArwiornH. Kuler Honorable Allison H. Goddard 21 United States Magistrate Judge