1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 YOLANDA LOPEZ, Case No.: 24-cv-01812-CAB-MMP

12 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING IN PART 13 v. JOINT MOTION TO AMEND SCHEDULING ORDER 14 COSTCO WHOLESALE REGULATING DISCOVERY CORPORATION; COSTCO 15 AND OTHER PRE-TRIAL WHOLESALE MEMBERSHIP, INC.; PROCEEDINGS 16 and DOES 1-100, inclusive, and each of

them, 17 [ECF No. 23] Defendant. 18

19 Before the Court is the parties’ Joint Motion to Amend the Scheduling Order. ECF 20 No. 23. For good cause, the Court GRANTS IN PART the Joint Motion and enters the 21 following Amended Scheduling Order: 22 1. Counsel1 shall refer to the Judge Bencivengo’s Chambers Rules for Civil 23 Cases, which is accessible via the Court’s website at www.casd.uscourts.gov. For ease of 24 reference, Judge Bencivengo’s rules concerning the procedure for seeking permission to 25 file documents under seal is attached hereto. 26 27

28 1 2. Plaintiff(s) (or the party(ies) having the burden of proof on any claim) shall 2 serve on all parties a list of experts whom that party expects to call at trial on or before 3 September 5, 2025. Defendant(s) (or the party(ies) defending any claim, counterclaim, 4 crossclaim, or third party claim) shall serve on all parties a list of experts whom that party 5 expects to call at trial on or before September 5, 2025. On or before September 19, 2025, 6 any party may supplement its designation in response to any other party’s designation, so 7 long as that party has not previously retained an expert to testify on that subject. Expert 8 designations shall include the name, address, and telephone number of each expert, and a 9 reasonable summary of the testimony the expert is expected to provide. The list shall also 10 include the normal rates the expert charges for deposition and trial testimony. 11 The parties must identify any person who may be used at trial to present evidence 12 pursuant to Rules 702, 703 or 705 of the Federal Rules of Evidence. This requirement is 13 not limited to retained experts. 14 Please be advised that failure to comply with this section or any other discovery 15 order of the Court may result in the sanctions provided for in Fed. R. Civ. P. 37, 16 including a prohibition on the introduction of experts or other designated matters in 17 evidence. 18 3. All expert disclosures required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2) shall be served on 19 all parties on or before October 24, 2025. Any contradictory or rebuttal information shall 20 be disclosed on or before November 7, 2025. In addition, Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(e)(1) imposes 21 a duty on the parties to supplement the expert disclosures made pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 22 26(a)(2)(B) by the time that pretrial disclosures are due under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(3) 23 (discussed below). This disclosure requirement applies to all persons retained or specially 24 employed to provide expert testimony, or whose duties as an employee of the party 25 regularly involve the giving of expert testimony. 26 Please be advised that failure to comply with this section or any other discovery 27 order of the Court may result in the sanctions provided for in Fed. R. Civ. P. 37, 28 including a prohibition on the introduction of experts or other designated matters in 1 evidence. 2 4. All fact discovery shall be completed by all parties by September 12, 2025. 3 “Completed” means that all discovery under Rules 30-36 of the Federal Rules of Civil 4 Procedure, and discovery subpoenas under Rule 45, must be initiated a sufficient period of 5 time in advance of the cut-off date, so that it may be completed by the cut-off date, taking 6 into account the times for service, notice and response as set forth in the Federal Rules of 7 Civil Procedure. Counsel shall promptly and in good faith meet and confer with 8 regard to all discovery disputes in compliance with Local Rule 26.1(a). The Court 9 expects counsel to make every effort to resolve all disputes without court intervention 10 through the meet and confer process. If the parties reach an impasse on any discovery 11 issue, counsel shall file an appropriate motion within the time limit and procedures outlined 12 in the undersigned magistrate judge’s chambers rules. A failure to comply in this regard 13 will result in a waiver of a party’s discovery issue. Absent an order of the court, no 14 stipulation continuing or altering this requirement will be recognized by the court. 15 5. All expert discovery shall be completed by all parties by December 19, 2025. 16 The parties shall comply with the same procedures set forth in the paragraph governing 17 fact discovery. 18 6. All pre-trial motions, other than motions to amend or join parties or motions 19 in limine, shall be filed on or before January 23, 2026. All Daubert motions shall also be 20 filed on or before January 23, 2026. Counsel for the moving party shall set the motion 21 date on the date that is 35 days from the date the motion is filed. Parties intending to file 22 a motion shall not contact Judge Bencivengo’s chambers for a hearing date. The parties 23 should review Judge Bencivengo’s chambers rules for civil cases for the additional 24 requirements for noticed motions before Judge Bencivengo. 25 Pursuant to Local Rule 7.1.f.3.c, if an opposing party fails to file opposition 26 papers in the time and manner required by Local Rule 7.1.e.2, that failure may 27 constitute a consent to the granting of a motion or other request for ruling by the 28 Court. Accordingly, all parties are ordered to abide by the terms of Local Rule 7.1.e.2 or 1 otherwise face the prospect of any pretrial motion being granted as an unopposed motion 2 pursuant to Local Rule 7.1.f.3.c. 3 8. A Mandatory Settlement Conference shall be conducted on October 10, 2025 4 at 9:30 a.m. in the chambers of Magistrate Judge Michelle M. Pettit. All parties are 5 ordered to read and to fully comply with the Chamber Rules of the assigned magistrate 6 judge. 7 a. No later than September 4, 2025, Plaintiff must serve on Defendant a 8 written settlement proposal, which must include a specific demand amount. 9 Defendant must respond to the Plaintiff in writing with a specific offer amount no 10 later than September 11, 2025. The parties shall not file or copy the Court on these 11 exchanges. 12 b. No later than September 18, 2025, the parties must meet and confer in 13 person or via videoconference to discuss at least the following: (i) Who will attend 14 the MSC on behalf of each party, including counsel, client representatives with full 15 authority to make final decisions regarding any settlement offer, and any insurance 16 representatives; (ii) Identification of any persons or entities, such as a board of 17 directors, who must approve a proposed settlement agreement, as well as the nature 18 and duration of any approval process; and (iii) Insurance coverage available to cover 19 all or part of the claimed losses or to fund all or part of any party’s defense, and the 20 status of any tenders for coverage. 21 c. No later than September 30, 2025, each party must submit a MSC 22 Statement (not to exceed ten pages) that will be exchanged with the other parties. 23 Each party may also submit an optional Confidential Settlement Letter (not to exceed 24 five pages) that will be for the Court’s review only. Both the MSC Statement and 25 the Confidential Letter (if one is submitted) shall be lodged (not filed) with the Court 26 via email ([email protected]). Exhibits are limited to twenty (20) pages 27 absent express permission from the Court in advance of the statement submission 28 deadline. 1 d. The MSC Statement must be served on the opposing party and include 2 at least the following: (i) a brief statement of the facts of the case; (ii) a brief 3 statement of the claims and defenses, including the statutory or other grounds upon 4 which the claims are founded, and a candid evaluation of the parties’ likelihood of 5 prevailing on claims and defenses, and any major issues in dispute; (iii) a statement 6 of facts not reasonably in dispute; (iv) a list of the key facts in dispute and the specific 7 evidence relevant to a determination of those facts; (v) any discrete issue that, if 8 resolved, would facilitate the resolution of the case; (vi) brief statement of the issues 9 of law with respect to liability and damages (the statement must be supported by 10 legal authority, but extended legal argument is not necessary); (vii) a statement of 11 the relief sought, including an itemization of damages and any other non-monetary 12 relief; and (viii) except to the extent prohibited by applicable rules of privilege, a 13 summary of any prior settlement negotiations, including the settlement proposals 14 exchanged pursuant to subsection (a) above. 15 e. Pursuant to the undersigned’s Chambers Rules, the Court SETS a pre- 16 settlement telephonic conference with counsel only on October 7, 2025, at 9:30 a.m. 17 to prepare for the MSC. Lead counsel must attend the call. Counsel for each party 18 shall provide Judge Pettit’s Chambers via email ([email protected]) 19 with the attorney’s name(s) and a direct number on which the attorney(s) can be 20 reached within the hour. The Court will speak with counsel for each party 21 consecutively, and the conversations will be confidential and off the record to the 22 same extent as a settlement conference. 23 9. The parties must comply with the pretrial disclosure requirements of Fed. R. 24 Civ. P. 26(a)(3) no later than April 24, 2026. Please be advised that failure to comply 25 with this section or any other discovery order of the Court may result in the sanctions 26 provided for in Fed. R. Civ. P. 37, including a prohibition on the introduction of 27 experts or other designated matters in evidence. 28 10. In jury trial cases before the Honorable Cathy Ann Bencivengo, neither party 1 is required to file Memoranda of Contentions of Fact and Law pursuant to Civil Local Rule 2 16.1.f.2. 3 11. Counsel shall confer and take the action required by Local Rule 16.1.f.4.a on 4 or before May 1, 2026. The parties shall meet and confer and prepare a proposed pretrial 5 order containing the following: 6 1. A joint neutral statement to be read to the jury, not in excess of one page, of the nature of the case and the claims and defenses. 7 2. A list of the causes of action to be tried, referenced to the Complaint 8 [and Counterclaim if applicable]. For each cause of action, the order shall succinctly list the elements of the claim, damages and any defenses. A cause 9 of action in the Complaint [and/or Counterclaim] which is not listed shall be 10 dismissed with prejudice. 3(a). A list of each witness counsel actually expect to call at trial with a brief 11 statement, not exceeding four sentences, of the substance of the witnesses’ 12 testimony. 3(b). A list of each expert witness counsel actually expect to call at trial with 13 a brief statement, not exceeding four sentences, of the substance of the 14 witnesses’ testimony. 3(c). A list of additional witnesses, including experts, counsel do not expect 15 to call at this time but reserve the right to call at trial along with a brief 16 statement, not exceeding four sentences, of the substance of the witnesses’ testimony. 17 4(a). A list of all exhibits that counsel actually expect to offer at trial with a 18 one-sentence description of the exhibit. All exhibits are to be identified numerically, plaintiff starting with “1” and defendant beginning with an 19 agreed upon numerical designation. 20 4(b). A list of all other exhibits that counsel do not expect to offer at this time but reserve the right to offer if necessary at trial with a one-sentence 21 description of the exhibit. 22 5. A statement of all facts to which the parties stipulate. This statement shall be on a separate page and will be read to and provided to the jury. 23 6. A list of all deposition transcripts by page and line, or videotape 24 depositions by section, that will be offered at trial. 7. Counsel will note any objections they have to any other parties’ Fed. R. 25 Civ. P. 26(a)(3) Pretrial Disclosures. 26 27 The Court encourages the parties to consult with the assigned magistrate judge to work out 28 any problems in preparation of the proposed pretrial order. The court will entertain any 1 || questions concerning the conduct of the trial at the pretrial conference. 2 13. Counsel for the Plaintiff(s) must provide opposing counsel with the proposed 3 || pretrial order for review and approval and take any other action required by Local Rule 4 || 16.1.f.6.a on or before May 8, 2026. Opposing counsel must communicate promptly with 5 || plaintiffs attorney concerning any objections to form or content of the pretrial order, and 6 || both parties shall attempt promptly to resolve their differences, if any, concerning the order. 7 14. The proposed pretrial order shall be lodged with the district judge’s chambers 8 or before May 15, 2026, and shall be in the form prescribed in Local Rule 16.1.f.6. 9 15. The final Pretrial Conference is scheduled on the calendar of the Honorable 10 || Cathy Ann Bencivengo for May 22, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. 11 16. The trial in this matter shall commence on Monday, June 22, 2026 at 8:45 12 ||a.m. 13 17. Plaintiff's counsel shall serve a copy of this order on all parties that enter this 14 || case hereafter. 15 IT IS SO ORDERED. 16 ||Dated: June 2, 2025 Will th. ead 17 HON. MICHELLE M. PETTIT ig United States Magistrate Judge

19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

Protective Orders and Requests to File under Seal in Civil Cases

Although the Court acknowledges the parties’ desire to maintain the confidentiality of documents produced in discovery, “[w]hen discovery material is filed with the court [] its status changes.” Foltz v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co.,

(9th Cir. 2003). The public policy reasons behind a presumption of access to judicial documents apply.

The common law and the Constitution afford the public a qualified right of access to judicial records and proceedings. Times Mirror Co. v. U.S., 873. F.2d 1210, 1211 n.1 (9th Cir. 1989); Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n,

(9th Cir. 2010).

In the Ninth Circuit there is a strong presumption in favor of access to court records and a party must show compelling reasons to file materials under seal as part of a non-discovery motion, even if they were produced subject to a discovery protective order. See Foltz,

. Once the protected discovery documents are made part of a dispositive [or non-discovery] motion, “they lose their status of being raw fruits of discovery” and no longer enjoy protected status without some overriding interests in favor of keeping the material confidential. See

.

Court records should be sealed to keep confidential only what must be kept secret, temporarily or permanently, as the situation requires. The party seeking to file under seal must provide articulable facts showing a compelling reason to limit public access to court filings. That a litigant might be embarrassed or exposed to additional liability or litigation, without more, is not sufficient. Foltz,

. A court’s decision to seal material must be based on a compelling reason and the order allowing a filing under seal must articulate the factual basis for its ruling without relying on hypothesis or conjecture. Pintos,

. “A ‘good cause’ showing will not suffice to fulfill the ‘compelling reasons’ standard that a party must meet to rebut the presumption of access to dispositive pleadings and attachments.”

(citing Kamakana v. City & Cty. of Honolulu,

, 1180 (9th Cir. 2006)).

Because the party that designated material as confidential should have the burden (and expense) of moving to file such documents under seal, the following procedures shall apply when a party intends to file a non-discovery motion before Judge Bencivengo that cites to or attaches documents designated confidential.

1. If the party filing the motion (or opposition thereto) intends to cite or attach documents or information that it believes should be filed under seal, the moving party must file a motion for permission to file under seal at least seven calendar days prior to the date on which it intends to file the motion. A courtesy copy of the motion for permission to file under seal, along with a courtesy copy of the unredacted materials that the party wants to file under seal, shall be delivered to Judge Bencivengo’s Chambers within 24 hours of filing. After receiving a ruling from the Court on the motion for permission to file under seal, the party may file its substantive motion (or opposition) consistent with the Court’s order.

2. If the party filing the motion (or opposition thereto) intends to cite or attach documents or information that another party has designated as confidential pursuant to a protective order entered in the case, it shall serve notice to the designating party by email, no later than eight business days prior to the date it intends to file the motion, specifically identifying the documents and information it is contemplating using in connection with the motion. The designating party shall then have four business days from the date of the notice to file a motion seeking permission for the documents and information to be filed under seal. A courtesy copy of the motion for permission to file under seal, along with a courtesy copy of the unredacted materials that the party wants to file under seal, shall be delivered to Judge Bencivengo’s Chambers within 24 hours of filing. After receiving a ruling from the Court on the motion for permission to file under seal, the party may file its substantive motion (or opposition) consistent with the Court’s order. If the designating party does not timely file a motion for permission to file under seal, the confidential designation will be deemed waived, and the party seeking to use the documents or information shall file it publicly in connection with its motion or opposition.