1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 JAZZMIN RENEE KELLY, No. 2:23-cv-00778-CKD 12 Plaintiff, 13 v. PRETRIAL SCHEDULING ORDER 14 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 15 Defendant. 16 17 READ THIS ORDER CAREFULLY. IT CONTAINS IMPORTANT DATES THAT 18 THE COURT WILL STRICTLY ENFORCE AND WITH WHICH ALL COUNSEL AND 19 PARTIES MUST COMPLY. FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THE TERMS OF THIS ORDER 20 MAY RESULT IN THE IMPOSITION OF MONETARY AND ALL OTHER APPROPRIATE 21 SANCTIONS, INCLUDING DISMISSAL OR AN ORDER OF JUDGMENT. 22 After all parties consented to the jurisdiction of a United States Magistrate Judge for all 23 purposes pursuant to

(c), this action was reassigned to the undersigned for all 24 further proceedings and entry of final judgment. (ECF No. 8.) The parties’ joint status report is 25 before the court. (ECF No. 9.) 26 Having reviewed the joint status report, the court now issues the following pretrial 27 scheduling order. 28 //// 1 NATURE OF THE CASE 2 This case arises from a motor vehicle accident that occurred on February 4, 2022, near 3 Willows, California, involving plaintiff’s motor vehicle and a U.S. General Services 4 Administration (GSA) vehicle. Plaintiff seeks to recover under the Federal Tort Claims Act 5 (“FTCA”),

, et seq., for the alleged negligence of the driver of the U.S. GSA 6 vehicle. (ECF No. 1.) 7 SERVICE OF PROCESS 8 The United States, which is the sole defendant in this case, has been served and has 9 responded to the Complaint. No further service is permitted except with leave of Court, good 10 cause having been shown. 11 JOINDER OF PARTIES/AMENDMENT OF PLEADINGS 12 No further joinder of parties or amendments to pleadings are permitted except with leave 13 of Court, good cause having been shown. 14 JURISDICTION/VENUE 15 Jurisdiction and venue are undisputed and found to be proper. 16 INITIAL DISCLOSURES 17 The parties agree to exchange initial disclosures no later than September 1, 2023. 18 DISCOVERY DEADLINES, PROCEDURES FOR DISCOVERY DISPUTES 19 Non-expert discovery shall be completed1 by April 1, 2024. Any discovery-related 20 motions must conform to the requirements of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and this 21 Court’s Local Rules, including Local Rule 251. Judge Delaney generally hears civil motions on 22 Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m. 23 Prior to filing any discovery-related motions, the parties are required to meet and confer in 24 good faith in an attempt to resolve their discovery disputes informally and without court 25 intervention. Such meet and confer shall take place in person, or at a minimum, via a telephonic 26

27 1 “Completed” means (1) all discovery shall have been conducted so that all depositions have been taken and (2) any disputes related to discovery shall have been resolved by appropriate order 28 if necessary and, where discovery has been ordered, the order has been complied with. 1 conference. The mere exchange of letters or e-mails alone is not sufficient. As part of their joint 2 statement related to a discovery motion submitted pursuant to Local Rule 251, the parties shall 3 also specifically outline: (a) what meet-and-confer efforts were undertaken; (b) when and where 4 such discussions took place; (c) who was present; and (d) how the parties’ disputes were 5 narrowed as a result of such discussions. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in 6 summary denial of any discovery motion. 7 The Court strongly encourages the use of informal telephonic discovery conferences with 8 the Court in lieu of formal discovery motion practice. The procedures and conditions for 9 requesting and conducting such an informal telephonic discovery conference are outlined in 10 Judge Delaney’s “Order re Informal Telephonic Conferences re Discovery Disputes,” posted on 11 the Court’s website at http://www.caed.uscourts.gov/caednew/index.cfm/judges/all-judges/5055/. 12 Additionally, subject to the Court’s availability, the Court will also rule on disputes encountered 13 at oral depositions, so as to avoid such depositions from breaking down. In the course of the 14 deposition, the parties may contact Judge Delaney’s courtroom deputy clerk at (916) 930-4004 to 15 inquire regarding Judge Delaney’s availability. However, the parties are cautioned that these 16 informal procedures are not to be abused, and the Court may impose appropriate sanctions on an 17 offending party or parties, even in the course of informal discovery conferences. 18 EXPERT DISCLOSURES AND DISCOVERY 19 Plaintiff shall disclose any expert witnesses in accordance with the specifications of 20 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(2) no later than May 1, 2024. Defendant shall disclose any 21 expert witnesses in accordance with the specifications of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(2) 22 no later than May 31, 2024. Any rebuttal expert disclosures shall be made in accordance with the 23 specifications of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(2) no later than June 14, 2024. Expert 24 disclosures shall be filed with the Court and served upon all other parties. All expert discovery 25 shall be completed (see fn. 1) by August 30, 2024. The same procedures for fact–discovery 26 disputes apply to expert–discovery disputes. 27 An expert witness not timely disclosed will not be permitted to testify unless the party 28 offering the witness demonstrates that: (a) the necessity of the witness could not have been 1 reasonably anticipated at the time that the expert disclosures were due; (b) the Court and opposing 2 counsel were promptly notified upon discovery of the witness; and (c) the witness was promptly 3 proffered for deposition. Failure to provide the information required by Federal Rule of Civil 4 Procedure 26(a)(2) along with the expert disclosures may lead to preclusion of the expert’s 5 testimony or other appropriate sanctions. 6 LAW AND MOTION 7 All law and motion, except as to discovery-related matters, shall be completed (i.e. heard) 8 by November 6, 2024. Counsel and/or parties proceeding without counsel are cautioned to refer 9 to the Local Rules regarding the requirements for noticing such motions on the Court’s regularly 10 scheduled law and motion calendar, including, but not limited to, Local Rule 230. Judge Delaney 11 generally hears civil motions on Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m. This paragraph does not preclude 12 motions for continuances, motions in limine related to trial, temporary restraining orders, or other 13 emergency applications, for which the Court may set a special briefing schedule, if necessary or 14 appropriate. 15 ALL PURELY LEGAL ISSUES ARE TO BE RESOLVED BY TIMELY PRETRIAL 16 MOTION. The purpose of law and motion is to narrow and refine the legal issues raised by the 17 case, as well as to dispose of those issues that are susceptible to resolution without trial by pretrial 18 motion. To accomplish that purpose, the parties need to identify and fully research the issues 19 presented by the case, then examine those issues in light of the evidence obtained through 20 discovery. If it appears to counsel after examining the legal issues and facts that an issue can be 21 resolved by pretrial motion, counsel is to file the appropriate motion consistent with the law and 22 motion cutoff set forth above. Conversely, motions in limine are procedural devices designed to 23 address the admissibility of evidence. THE COURT WILL LOOK WITH DISFAVOR UPON 24 SUBSTANTIVE MOTIONS PRESENTED UNDER THE GUISE OF MOTIONS IN LIMINE 25 AT THE TIME OF TRIAL. 26 //// 27 //// 28 //// 1 FINAL PRETRIAL CONFERENCE/TRIAL SETTING 2 Under the FTCA, this case must be tried to the Court without a jury. See

2403. The Court declines to set final pretrial conference and trial dates at this time. Instead, the 4 Court orders the parties to submit a Notice of Trial Readiness on one of the following timelines: 5 A. After resolution of any pending dispositive motions, the parties are to submit the 6 Notice not later than thirty (30) days after receiving the court’s ruling(s) on the last 7 filed dispositive motion(s); or 8 B. If the parties do not intend to file dispositive motions, the parties are ordered to file the 9 Notice not later than one hundred twenty (120) days after the close of discovery and 10 the notice must include statements of intent to forgo the filing of dispositive motions. 11 In the Notice of Trial Readiness, the parties are to set forth the appropriateness of special 12 procedures, their estimated trial length, any request for a jury, their availability for trial, and if the 13 parties are willing to attend a settlement conference. The Notice shall also estimate how many 14 court days each party will require to present its case, including opening statements and closing 15 arguments. The parties’ estimate shall include time necessary for jury selection, time necessary to 16 finalize jury instructions and instruct the jury. After review of the parties’ Joint Notice of Trial 17 Readiness, the court will issue an order that sets forth dates for a final pretrial conference and 18 trial. 19 OBJECTIONS 20 Any objections to this pretrial scheduling order shall be filed within seven (7) days. 21 SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE 22 Should the parties wish to conduct a settlement conference with a magistrate judge, they 23 are to contact the undersigned’s courtroom deputy clerk to inquire as to the availability of another 24 magistrate judge for a settlement conference. 25 MODIFICATION OF THIS SCHEDULING ORDER 26 The parties are reminded that pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b)(4), this 27 order shall not be modified except by leave of court upon a showing of “good cause.” See 28 Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, Inc.,

(9th Cir. 1992). Mere agreement by the 1 | parties pursuant to a stipulation does not constitute good cause. Nor does the unavailability of 2 || witnesses or counsel, except in extraordinary circumstances, constitute good cause. 3 | Dated: August 9, 2023 ( ae f | / 4 ly i 4 CAROLYNK. DELANEY 5 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 6 7 8 9 || 21.kell.0778 10 1] 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28