1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 RICK SCHMITT, Case No.: 3:24-cv-01933-LL-AHG 12 Plaintiff, ORDER:

13 v. (1) GRANTING IN PART JOINT 14 FORD MOTOR COMPANY, et al., MOTION TO EXTEND DISCOVERY DEADLINES, and 15 Defendants.

16 (2) ISSUING FIRST AMENDED SCHEDULING ORDER 17

18 [ECF No. 13] 19 Before the Court is the parties’ joint motion to extend amend the scheduling order 20 and extend all case management deadlines by 90 days. ECF No. 13. The Court requested 21 and has received the parties’ supplemental briefing. ECF Nos. 14, 15. 22 Parties seeking to continue deadlines in the scheduling order must demonstrate good 23 cause. FED. R. CIV. P. 16(b)(4) (“A schedule may be modified only for good cause and with 24 the judge’s consent”); ECF No. 12 at 7 (Scheduling Order, stating that “[t]he dates [] set 25 forth herein will not be modified except for good cause shown”); see also Chmb.R. at 2 26 (stating that any request for continuance requires “[a] showing of good cause for the 27 request”). Courts have broad discretion in determining whether there is good cause. See, 28 e.g., Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, Inc.,

(9th Cir. 1992); Liguori v. 1 Hansen, No. 2:11cv492-GMN-CWH,

, at *12 (D. Nev. Mar. 6, 2012). 2 “Good cause” is a non-rigorous standard that has been construed broadly across procedural 3 and statutory contexts. Ahanchian v. Xenon Pictures, Inc.,

(9th Cir. 4 2010). The good cause standard focuses on the diligence of the party seeking to amend the 5 scheduling order and the reasons for seeking modification. Johnson,

6 (“[T]he focus of the inquiry is upon the moving party’s reasons for seeking modification.... 7 If that party was not diligent, the inquiry should end.”) (internal citation omitted). 8 Here, the parties represent that they “have been cooperating to schedule and timely 9 complete fact discovery and were on track to do so until recent events that were beyond 10 the Parties’ control have made completion impossible.” ECF No. 13 at 2–3. The parties do 11 not explain what these “recent events” are, however. The parties do explain that they had 12 made several attempts to find mutually agreeable dates for certain depositions and the 13 vehicle inspection, but were unable to do so. Id. at 3. As such, the parties requested a 14 90-day extension of all dates in the scheduling order. Id. at 4. Upon completion of the 15 supplemental briefing required by the Court (see ECF No. 14), the parties have since 16 confirmed the following: “Defendant’s Rule 30(b)(6) witness is confirmed for deposition 17 on August 13, 2025, and Plaintiff’s deposition is confirmed for June 27, 2025. [] The 18 Parties have confirmed the Vehicle Inspection for August 12, 2025.” ECF No. 15 at 2. 19 Despite the joint motion’s shortcomings,1 the Court finds good cause to GRANT IN 20 PART the parties’ joint motion. ECF No. 13. The Court issues the following First 21 Amended Scheduling Order: 22 23 24 1 Fact discovery closed on May 29, 2025, (see ECF No. 12 at 2), but the instant motion to 25 continue the fact discovery deadline, among others, was filed on May 29, 2025. ECF No. 13. By filing the motion on the affected deadline, the parties failed to follow the 26 Court’s Chambers Rules. See Chmb.R. at 2 (requiring that “[a]ll requests for continuances 27 must be made by a joint motion no less than seven calendar days before the affected date”) (emphasis added). The Court expresses its deep concern in the parties’ blatant disregard 28 1 1. Counsel shall refer to Judge Lopez’s Chambers Rules for Civil Cases, as well 2 as the undersigned magistrate judge’s chambers rules, which are accessible via the Court’s 3 website at www.casd.uscourts.gov. 4 2. May 29, 2025 remains the deadline for completion3 of fact discovery, except 5 for the following: 6 a. The deposition of Plaintiff will be completed by June 27, 2025. 7 b. The deposition of Defendant’s Rule 30(b)(6) witness will be completed by 8 August 13, 2025. 9 c. The Vehicle Inspection will take place by August 12, 2025. 10 3. The parties shall designate their respective experts in writing on or before 11 September 12, 2025. The parties must identify any person who may be used at trial to 12

13 2 References to “counsel” throughout this order include any party representing himself or 14 herself. 15 3 “Completed” means that all discovery under Rules 30-36 of the Federal Rules of Civil 16 Procedure, and discovery subpoenas under Rule 45, must be initiated a sufficient period of 17 time in advance of the cut-off date, so that it may be completed by the cut-off date, taking into account the times for service, notice and response as set forth in the Federal Rules of 18 Civil Procedure. Counsel shall promptly and in good faith meet and confer with regard to 19 all discovery disputes in compliance with Local Rule 26.1(a). A failure to comply in this regard will result in a waiver of a party’s discovery issue. Absent an order of the court, no 20 stipulation continuing or altering this requirement will be recognized by the court. The 21 Court expects counsel to make every effort to resolve all disputes without court intervention through the meet and confer process. If the parties reach an impasse on any 22 discovery issue, the movant must e-mail chambers at [email protected] no 23 later than 45 days after the date of service of the written discovery response that is in dispute, seeking a telephonic conference with the Court to discuss the discovery dispute. 24 The email must include: (1) at least three proposed times mutually agreed upon by the 25 parties for the telephonic conference; (2) a neutral statement of the dispute; and (3) one sentence describing (not arguing) each parties’ position. The movant must copy opposing 26 counsel on the email. No discovery motion may be filed until the Court has conducted its 27 pre-motion telephonic conference, unless the movant has obtained leave of Court. All parties are ordered to read and to fully comply with the Chambers Rules of Magistrate 28 1 present evidence pursuant to Rules 702, 703, or 705 of the Federal Rules of Evidence. This 2 requirement is not limited to retained experts. The deadline for exchange of rebuttal experts 3 shall be on or before October 14, 2025. Expert designations shall include the name, 4 address, and telephone number of each expert and a reasonable summary of the testimony 5 the expert is expected to provide. The list shall also include the normal rates the expert 6 charges for deposition and trial testimony. 7 Please be advised that failure to comply with this section or any other discovery 8 order of the Court may result in the sanctions provided for in Federal Rule of Civil 9 Procedure 37, including a prohibition on the introduction of experts or other 10 designated matters in evidence. 11 4. All expert disclosures required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(2) 12 shall be served on all parties on or before September 12, 2025. Any contradictory or 13 rebuttal information shall be disclosed on or before October 14, 2025. In addition, Federal 14 Rule of Civil Procedure 26(e) imposes a duty on the parties to supplement the expert 15 disclosures made pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(2)(B) by the time that 16 pretrial disclosures are due under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(3) (discussed 17 below). This disclosure requirement applies to all persons retained or specially employed 18 to provide expert testimony, or whose duties as an employee of the party regularly involve 19 the giving of expert testimony. 20 Please be advised that failure to comply with this section or any other discovery 21 order of the Court may result in the sanctions provided for in Federal Rule of Civil 22 Procedure 37, including a prohibition on the introduction of experts or other 23 designated matters in evidence. 24 5. All expert discovery shall be completed by all parties on or before 25 November 14, 2025. The parties shall comply with the same procedures set forth in the 26 paragraph governing fact discovery. 27 6. All pretrial motions, which includes Daubert motions but excludes motions 28 in limine, shall be filed on or before January 8, 2026. Counsel for the moving party shall 1 set the motion hearing date 35 days from the date the motion is filed. Parties intending to 2 file a motion shall not contact Judge Lopez’s chambers for a motion hearing date. The 3 parties should review Judge Lopez’s Chambers Rules for Civil Cases for the additional 4 requirements for noticed motions before Judge Lopez. 5 Pursuant to Civil Local Rule 7.1.f.3.c, if an opposing party fails to file opposition 6 papers in the time and manner required by Civil Local Rule 7.1.e.2, that failure may 7 constitute a consent to the granting of a motion or other request for ruling by the 8 Court. Accordingly, all parties are ordered to abide by the terms of Civil Local Rule 7.1.e.2 9 or face the prospect of any pretrial motion being granted as an unopposed motion pursuant 10 to Civil Local Rule 7.1.f.3.c. 11 7. A Mandatory Settlement Conference shall be conducted on 12 March 20, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. before Magistrate Judge Allison H. Goddard via 13 videoconference. The Court requires the personal attendance of all named parties, party 14 representatives with full4 settlement authority, including claims adjusters for insured 15 defendants, and the primary attorney(s) responsible for the litigation at the conference. No 16 later than March 12, 2026, each party must submit to the Court via email (not filed) (at 17 [email protected]) the names, titles, and email addresses of all attendees. 18 Court staff will then email all participants the Zoom invitation. Plaintiff must serve on 19 Defendant a written settlement proposal, which must include a specific demand amount, 20 21 22 4 The Court reminds the parties that parties and party representatives with full and complete 23 authority to enter into a binding settlement must be present at the MSC. Full authority to settle means that a person must be authorized to fully explore settlement options and to 24 agree at that time to any settlement terms acceptable to the parties. Heileman Brewing Co., 25 Inc. v. Joseph Oat Corp.,

(7th Cir. 1989). The person needs to have “unfettered discretion and authority” to change the settlement position of a party. Pitman 26 v. Brinker Int’l, Inc.,

, 485–86 (D. Ariz. 2003). Limited or sum certain 27 authority is not adequate. Nick v. Morgan’s Foods, Inc.,

, 595–97 (8th Cir. 2001). A person who needs to call another person who is not present at the MSC before 28 1 no later than February 26, 2026. The defendant must respond to the plaintiff in writing 2 with a specific offer amount prior to the Meet and Confer discussion. The parties should 3 not file or otherwise copy the Court on these exchanges. Rather, the parties must include 4 their written settlement proposals in their respective Settlement Conference Statements to 5 the Court. Counsel for the parties must meet and confer in person or by phone no later than 6 March 5, 2026. Each party must prepare a Settlement Conference Statement, which will 7 be served on opposing counsel and lodged with the Court no later than March 12, 2026. 8 The Statement must be lodged in .pdf format via email to 9 [email protected] (not filed). The substance of the Settlement Conference 10 Statement must comply fully with Judge Goddard’s Mandatory Settlement Conference 11 Rules (located at 12 https://www.casd.uscourts.gov/Judges/goddard/docs/Goddard%20Mandatory%20Settlem 13 ent%20Conference%20Rules.pdf). Each party may also prepare an optional Confidential 14 Settlement Letter for the Court’s review only, to be lodged with the Court no later than 15 March 12, 2026. The Letter must be lodged in .pdf format via email to 16 [email protected] (not filed). Should a party choose to prepare a Letter, 17 the substance of the Settlement Conference Letter must comply fully with Judge Goddard’s 18 Mandatory Settlement Conference Rules. All parties are ordered to read and to fully 19 comply with the Chambers Rules and Mandatory Settlement Conference Rules of 20 Magistrate Judge Allison H. Goddard. 21 8. In jury trials before Judge Lopez, neither party is required to file Memoranda 22 of Contentions of Fact and Law pursuant to Civil Local Rule 16.1(f). 23 9. Counsel shall comply with the pretrial disclosure requirements of Federal 24 Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(3) on or before April 9, 2026. Failure to comply with these 25 disclosure requirements could result in evidence preclusion or other sanctions under 26 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37. 27 10. Counsel shall meet and take the action required by Civil Local Rule 16.1(f)(4) 28 on or before April 16, 2026. The parties shall meet and confer and prepare a proposed 1 pretrial order containing the following: 2 a. A joint neutral statement to be read to the jury, not in excess of one 3 page, of the nature of the case and the claims and defenses. 4 b. A list of the causes of action to be tried, referenced to the complaint 5 (and counterclaim if applicable). For each cause of action, the order shall 6 succinctly list the elements of the claim, damages/remedies, and any defenses. 7 A cause of action in the complaint (and/or counterclaim) which is not listed 8 shall be dismissed with prejudice. 9 c(1). A list of each witness counsel actually expect to call at trial with a brief 10 statement, not exceeding four sentences, of the substance of the witnesses’ 11 testimony. 12 c(2). 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. 15 c(3). A list of additional witnesses, including experts, counsel do not expect 16 to call at this time but reserve the right to call at trial along with a brief 17 statement, not exceeding four sentences, of the substance of the witnesses’ 18 testimony. 19 d(1). A list of all exhibits that counsel actually expect to offer at trial with a 20 one-sentence description of the exhibit. Plaintiff’s exhibits must be identified 21 numerically, starting with “1,” and Defendant’s alphabetically, starting with 22 A to Z, then AA to AZ, then BA to BZ, etc. 23 / / 24 / / 25 / / 26 / / 27 / / 28 / / 1 d(2). A list of all other exhibits that counsel do not expect to offer at this time 2 but reserve the right to offer if necessary at trial with a one-sentence 3 description of the exhibit.5 4 e. A statement of all facts to which the parties stipulate. This statement shall be 5 on a separate page and will be read to and provided to the jury at the beginning of 6 trial. 7 f. A list of all deposition transcripts by page and line, or videotape depositions 8 by section, that will be offered at trial. 9 g. Whether the case will be tried by jury or by the Court without a jury. 10 h. Estimated number of hours per side for trial. 11 i. Counsel will note any objections they have to any other parties’ Federal Rules 12 of Civil Procedure 26(a)(3) pretrial disclosures. 13 Counsel shall cooperate in the preparation of the proposed pretrial order. The Court 14 encourages the parties to consult with the assigned magistrate judge to work out any 15 problems in preparation of the proposed pretrial order. The Court will entertain any 16 questions concerning the conduct of the trial at the pretrial conference. 17 11. Counsel for Plaintiff will be responsible for preparing the proposed pretrial 18 order and arranging the meetings of counsel pursuant to Civil Local Rule 16.1(f). On or 19 before April 23, 2026. Plaintiff’s counsel must provide opposing counsel with the 20 proposed pretrial order for review and approval. Opposing counsel must communicate 21 promptly with Plaintiff’s counsel concerning any objections to form or content of the 22 23 24 5 When the proposed pretrial order is submitted to chambers, the Court prefers the trial 25 exhibits to be jointly listed in a table format, including columns designated for exhibit numbers/letters, description of exhibits, whether there are objections to the exhibits, and 26 grounds for objections. The joint table shall also include a column indicating whether the 27 exhibits are likely to be used or may be used at trial, or alternatively, two separate joint tables shall be created with one for exhibits likely to be used and one for exhibits that may 28 1 || proposed pretrial order, and both parties shall attempt promptly to resolve their differences, 2 ||if any, concerning the proposed pretrial order. 3 12. The proposed pretrial order, including objections to any other party’s Federal 4 ||Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(3) pretrial disclosures, shall be lodged with the district 5 ||judge’s chambers on or before April 30, 2026, and shall be in the form prescribed in Civil 6 ||Local Rule 16.1(f)(6) and this Order. 7 13. The filing deadline and hearing date for motions in limine will be set at or 8 || after the final Pretrial Conference. 9 14. The final Pretrial Conference is scheduled on the calendar of the Honorable 10 || Linda Lopez on May 14, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. in Courtroom 5D. 11 15. A post-trial settkement conference before a magistrate judge may be held 12 || within thirty days of verdict in the case. 13 16. The dates and times set forth herein will not be modified except for good cause 14 || shown. 15 17. Briefs or memoranda in support of or in opposition to any pending motion 16 ||shall not exceed twenty-five pages in length without leave of a district judge. No reply 17 |}memorandum shall exceed ten pages without leave of a district judge. Briefs and 18 |}memoranda exceeding ten pages in length shall have a table of contents and a table of 19 || authorities cited. 20 19. Plaintiff’s counsel shall serve a copy of this order on all parties that enter this 21 || case hereafter. 22 IT IS SO ORDERED. 23 ||Dated: June 9, 2025 0 _ArwiorwH. Xyolard Honorable Allison H. Goddard 25 United States Magistrate Judge 26 27 28