Sos v. Costco Wholesale Corporation
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Allison H. Goddard (author)
Analysis
The parties filed a joint motion to extend the fact discovery deadline to accommodate a second Rule 30(b)(6) deposition. The Court granted the motion in part, extending the fact discovery deadline to January 13, 2025, for the specific deposition while keeping all other scheduling deadlines intact.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Joint Motion to Extend Discovery Deadline granted in part“The Court finds good cause to GRANT IN PART the joint motion (ECF No. 17) as follows: 1. All fact discovery shall be completed by all parties by September 30, 2024, except: ... b. The second Rule 30(b)(6) deposition, regarding Categories No. 2 and No. 3, will be completed by January 13, 2025.” | agree with court The court correctly applied the 'good cause' standard required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b)(4) for modifying a scheduling order. The parties demonstrated diligence by identifying the need for a second deposition during the first one and scheduling it promptly. The modification is narrowly tailored to the specific issue (the second deposition) and does not disrupt the rest of the case schedule. |
The order itself: sound — The order is procedurally sound. It correctly identifies the legal standard for modifying a scheduling order (good cause under Rule 16(b)(4)), cites appropriate Ninth Circuit authority defining that standard, and applies it to the specific facts presented (diligent parties needing a short extension for a specific deposition). The ruling is narrowly tailored to the request.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 10 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 11 12 ROBERT SOS, Case No.: 3:24-cv-00459-GPC-AHG 13 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING IN PART JOINT MOTION TO EXTEND 14 v. DISCOVERY DEADLINE 15 COSTCO WHOLESALE CORPORATION, et al., [ECF No. 17] 16 Defendants. 17 18 19 20 Before the Court is the parties’ joint motion to amend the scheduling order. ECF 21 No. 17. The parties seek an order from the Court continuing the fact discovery deadline. 22 Id. 23 Parties seeking to continue deadlines in the scheduling order must demonstrate good 24 cause. FED. R. CIV. P. 16(b)(4) (“A schedule may be modified only for good cause and with 25 the judge’s consent”); see also ECF No. 7 at 8 (Scheduling Order, stating that “[t]he dates 26 [] set forth herein will not be modified except for good cause shown”); Chmb.R. at 2 27 (stating that any request for continuance requires “[a] showing of good cause for the 28 request”). “Good cause” is a non-rigorous standard that has been construed broadly across 1 procedural and statutory contexts. Ahanchian v. Xenon Pictures, Inc., 624 F.3d 1253, 1259 2 (9th Cir. 2010). The good cause standard focuses on the diligence of the party seeking to 3 amend the scheduling order and the reasons for seeking modification. Johnson v. Mammoth 4 Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604, 609 (9th Cir. 1992) (“[T]he focus of the inquiry is upon 5 the moving party’s reasons for seeking modification. . . . If that party was not diligent, the 6 inquiry should end.”). Therefore, “a party demonstrates good cause by acting diligently to 7 meet the original deadlines set forth by the court.” Merck v. Swift Transp. Co., No. CV-16- 8 01103-PHX-ROS, 2018 WL 4492362, at *2 (D. Ariz. Sept. 19, 2018). 9 The parties represent to the Court that the deposition of Salvador Luna, Defendant’s 10 Rule 30(b)(6) witness, occurred on October 22, 2024. ECF No. 17; see also ECF No. 15 at 11 3 (“All fact discovery shall be completed by all parties by September 30, 2024, except: The 12 outstanding subpoena for updated records from Kaiser Permanente relating to Plaintiff. 13 The deposition of Salvador Luna will be completed by October 22, 2024. The deposition 14 of Brian Sos will be completed by October 23, 2024.”). During Mr. Luna’s deposition, “the 15 parties became aware that a different individual was required to testify concerning category 16 No. 2 … and potentially category No. 3.” ECF No. 17 at 3–4. The parties have agreed to 17 take a second Rule 30(b)(6) deposition on the remaining categories, and have one 18 scheduled for January 13, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. Id. at 2. As such, the parties have requested 19 that the fact discovery be extended to include this deposition. 20 The Court appreciates that the parties have been working together diligently to 21 complete discovery. The Court finds good cause to GRANT IN PART the joint motion 22 (ECF No. 17) as follows: 23 1. All fact discovery shall be completed by all parties by September 30, 2024, 24 except: 25 a. The outstanding subpoena for updated records from Kaiser Permanente 26 relating to Plaintiff. 27 b. The second Rule 30(b)(6) deposition, regarding Categories No. 2 and 28 No. 3, will be completed by January 13, 2025. 1 2. All other dates, deadlines, and procedures set forth in the Court’s Scheduling 2 || Order (ECF No. 7) remain in place. 3 IT IS SO ORDERED. 4 Dated: December 20, 2024 5 hice H. Novela 6 Honorable Allison i. Goddard United States Magistrate Judge 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28