Saverimuttu v. Ford Motor Co.

United States District Court for the Eastern District of California

Saverimuttu v. Ford Motor Co.

Trial Court Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 ----oo0oo---- 11

12 BERNARD SAVERIMUTTU, an No. 2:25-cv-00956 WBS AC individual, 13 Plaintiff, 14 v. 15 FORD MOTOR COMPANY, a 16 Delaware Corporation, and DOES 1 through 10, inclusive, 17 Defendants. 18 19 ----oo0oo---- 20 STATUS (PRETRIAL SCHEDULING) ORDER 21 After reviewing the parties’ Joint Status Report, the 22 court hereby vacates the Status (Pretrial Scheduling) Conference 23 scheduled for July 28, 2025, and makes the following findings and 24 orders without needing to consult with the parties any further. 25 I. SERVICE OF PROCESS 26 All defendants have been served, and no further service 27 is permitted without leave of court, good cause having been shown 28 under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b). 1 II. JOINDER OF PARTIES/AMENDMENTS 2 No further joinder of parties or amendments to 3 pleadings will be permitted except with leave of court, good 4 cause having been shown under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5 16(b). See Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, Inc.,

975 F.2d 604 6

(9th Cir. 1992). 7 III. JURISDICTION/VENUE 8 Jurisdiction in this breach of warranty action brought 9 under the Song-Beverly Act is predicated upon

28 U.S.C. § 1332

, 10 because the parties are of diverse citizenship and the amount in 11 controversy exceeds $75,000. Venue is undisputed and hereby 12 found to be proper. 13 IV. DISCOVERY 14 The parties agree to serve the initial disclosures 15 required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(1) on or before 16 July 21, 2025. 17 The parties shall disclose experts and produce reports 18 in accordance with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(2) by no 19 later than May 29, 2026. With regard to expert testimony 20 intended solely for rebuttal, those experts shall be disclosed 21 and reports produced in accordance with Federal Rule of Civil 22 Procedure 26(a)(2) on or before June 26, 2026. 23 All discovery, including depositions for preservation 24 of testimony, is left open, save and except that it shall be so 25 conducted as to be completed by July 24, 2026. The word 26 “completed” means that all discovery shall have been conducted so 27 that all depositions have been taken and any disputes relevant to 28 discovery shall have been resolved by appropriate order if 1 necessary and, where discovery has been ordered, the order has 2 been obeyed. All motions to compel discovery must be noticed on 3 the magistrate judge’s calendar in accordance with the local 4 rules of this court and so that such motions may be heard (and 5 any resulting orders obeyed) not later than July 24, 2026. 6 V. MOTION HEARING SCHEDULE 7 All motions, except motions for continuances, temporary 8 restraining orders, or other emergency applications, shall be 9 filed on or before August 21, 2026. All motions shall be noticed 10 for the next available hearing date. Counsel are cautioned to 11 refer to the local rules regarding the requirements for noticing 12 and opposing such motions on the court’s regularly scheduled law 13 and motion calendar. 14 VI. FINAL PRETRIAL CONFERENCE 15 The Final Pretrial Conference is set for November 2, 16 2026, at 1:30 p.m. in Courtroom No. 5. The conference shall be 17 attended by at least one of the attorneys who will conduct the 18 trial for each of the parties and by any unrepresented parties. 19 Counsel for all parties are to be fully prepared for 20 trial at the time of the Pretrial Conference, with no matters 21 remaining to be accomplished except production of witnesses for 22 oral testimony. Counsel shall file separate pretrial statements, 23 and are referred to Local Rules 281 and 282 relating to the 24 contents of and time for filing those statements. In addition to 25 those subjects listed in Local Rule 281(b), the parties are to 26 provide the court with: (1) a plain, concise statement which 27 identifies every non-discovery motion which has been made to the 28 court, and its resolution; (2) a list of the remaining claims as 1 against each defendant; and (3) the estimated number of trial 2 days. 3 In providing the plain, concise statements of 4 undisputed facts and disputed factual issues contemplated by 5 Local Rule 281(b)(3)-(4), the parties shall emphasize the claims 6 that remain at issue, and any remaining affirmatively pled 7 defenses thereto. If the case is to be tried to a jury, the 8 parties shall also prepare a succinct statement of the case, 9 which is appropriate for the court to read to the jury. 10 VII. TRIAL SETTING 11 The jury trial is set for January 12, 2027 at 9:00 a.m. 12 The parties estimate that the trial will last 3 to 4 days. 13 VIII. SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE 14 A Settlement Conference with a magistrate judge will be 15 set at the time of the Pretrial Conference. Counsel are 16 instructed to have a principal with full settlement authority 17 present at the Settlement Conference or to be fully authorized to 18 settle the matter on any terms. At least seven calendar days 19 before the Settlement Conference counsel for each party shall 20 submit a confidential Settlement Conference Statement for review 21 by the settlement judge. The Settlement Conference Statements 22 shall not be filed and will not otherwise be disclosed to the 23 trial judge. 24 IX. MODIFICATIONS TO SCHEDULING ORDER 25 Any requests to modify the dates or terms of this 26 Scheduling Order, except requests to change the date of the 27 trial, may be heard and decided by the assigned Magistrate Judge. 28 All requests to change the trial date shall be heard and decided ee EI IRIE EI EE III IIE III OS IE III IEE

1 only by the undersigned judge. 2 IT IS SO ORDERED. 3 | Datea: July 17, 2025 tleom ah. A. be—~ WILLIAMB.SHUBB ©. UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

Reference

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