1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 DAMANDEEP SINGH GILL, No. 2:23-cv-0890 DC AC P 12 Plaintiff, 13 v. ORDER 14 COUNTY OF PLACER, et al., 15 Defendants. 16 17 Plaintiff has filed a motion to amend the pretrial scheduling order, which is supported by 18 exhibits including a stipulation by the parties to extend all but one of the deadlines in the pretrial 19 scheduling order. ECF No. 20. Plaintiff also seeks recission of the court’s order referring the 20 case to Alternative Dispute Resolution. Id. at 3. The parties agree that good cause exists to 21 modify all deadlines set in the pretrial scheduling order with the exception of the deadline for 22 Joinder of Parties/Amendments. Id. at 25-28. With respect to that deadline, plaintiff seeks 23 modification and defendants appear to oppose it. 24 A case schedule may be modified only for good cause and with the judge’s consent. Fed. 25 R. Civ. P. 16(b)(4). Moreover, “[w]hen an act may or must be done within a specified time, the 26 court may, for good cause, extend the time . . . on a motion made after the time has expired if the 27 party failed to act because of excusable neglect.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(b)(1)(B). When ruling on a 28 request to extend a filing deadline, the court considers (1) the danger of prejudice to the opposing 1 party; (2) the length of the delay and its impact on court proceedings; (3) the reason for the delay; 2 and (4) the good faith of the moving party. Pioneer Investment Services Co. v. Brunswick 3 Associates Ltd. Partnership,

(1993). 4 The pretrial scheduling order stated: “Plaintiff anticipates the joinder of additional parties 5 based on the current unidentified Doe defendants named in the first amended complaint. The 6 deadline to file and schedule a hearing on any motion to amend the complaint pursuant to Rule 7 15(a)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure is December 23, 2024.” ECF No. 15 at 1-2. 8 Defendants’ objection to extension of this deadline appears to be based on the potential scope of 9 amendments, which is not entirely known at this time. See ECF No. 20 at 31 (Exhibit C, Emails 10 Concerning Modification to Pretrial Scheduling Order). Such arguments, however, are best 11 suited for opposition to any future motion to amend. The circumstances that establish good cause 12 for the extension of other deadlines—including plaintiff’s serious hand injury that required 13 surgery and has impacted his ability to participate fully in discovery and case preparation, and his 14 wife’s current high risk pregnancy and the need for plaintiff to care for his two-year-old 15 daughter—equally support extension of the deadline for joinder and amendments, especially 16 given the need for plaintiff to identify Doe defendants in discovery. As defendants acknowledge 17 in the stipulation, this is the first request for modification of the schedule and no trial date is set. 18 The undersigned accordingly finds that defendants will not be prejudiced by the extension 19 plaintiff seeks. 20 The court finds that plaintiff has established good cause within the meaning of Rule 21 16(b)(4) and good cause and excusable neglect under Rule 6(b)(1)(B). Accordingly, his motion 22 will be granted to the extent that all deadlines will be extended. However, the court has adjusted 23 certain dates proposed by the parties to ensure orderly litigation. 24 Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: 25 1. Plaintiff’s motion to amend the pretrial scheduling order (ECF No. 20) is 26 GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART, as follows. 27 2. The pretrial scheduling order (ECF No. 15) is hereby modified as follows: 28 a. All non-expert discovery shall be completed by July 31, 2026. ] Motions to compel discovery must be noticed for hearing in 2 accordance with the Local Rules to be heard no later than June 24, 3 2026. 4 b. Any motion to amend the complaint pursuant to Rule 15(a)(2) of the 5 Federal Rules of Civil Procedure must be noticed for hearing in 6 accordance with the Local Rules to be heard no later than September 7 2, 2026. 8 c. All parties are to disclose in writing, file with the court, and serve 9 upon all other parties, a list containing the name, address and area of 10 expertise of each expert witness they propose to tender at trial, not 11 later than September 2, 2026. 12 d. No later than September 30, 2026, all parties are to disclose in 13 writing, file with the court and serve upon all other parties, a list 14 containing the name, address and area of expertise of each rebuttal 15 expert witness the party proposes to tender at trial. 16 e. Expert discovery shall be completed by October 30, 2026. 17 f. All dispositive and other pretrial motions (other than motions related 18 to discovery) shall be heard by December 15, 2026. 19 3. The Order at ECF No. 19 is VACATED. The parties may jointly request a court 20 || settlement conference at any time. 21 | DATED: August 28, 2025 A/

22 ALLISON CLAIRE 33 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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