Muneer v. Seaworld Parks & Entertainment, Inc.
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Michael S. Berg (author)
Analysis
The parties filed a joint motion to continue expert discovery and pretrial motions deadlines due to scheduling difficulties with expert depositions. The court granted the motion, extending the expert discovery deadline to May 2, 2025, and the pretrial motions deadline to June 2, 2025.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Granting the Joint Motion to Continue Expert Discovery and Pretrial Motions Deadlines“Finding good cause, the Court GRANTS the Joint Motion and CONTINUES the case schedule as follows: All expert discovery must be completed by May 2, 2025. All pretrial motions must be filed by June 2, 2025.” | agree with court The court applied the 'good cause' standard required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b)(4) and cited the Ninth Circuit precedent in Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, Inc. The order recites that the parties complied with local chambers rules by detailing steps taken and providing specific reasons for the delay (scheduling problems with expert depositions). The extension is modest (approximately 45 days) and allows for completion of depositions before the settlement conference. The decision follows from the law and the record recited in the order. |
The order itself: sound — The order correctly identifies the applicable legal standard (Rule 16(b)(4) and the Ninth Circuit's 'good cause' test from Johnson). It recites the factual basis for the motion (scheduling difficulties with expert depositions) and notes the parties' compliance with local rules regarding the motion's content. The conclusion that good cause exists is supported by the recited facts. The reasoning is concise but sufficient for a routine scheduling order.
Opinion
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 MONHSEN MUNEER, by and through his Case No.: 24cv529-W (MSB) Guardian Ad Litem, MINHAJ MUNEER, 12 ORDER GRANTING JOINT MOTION TO Plaintiff, 13 CONTINUE EXPERT DISCOVERY AND v. PRETRIAL MOTIONS DEADLINES 14 [ECF NO. 24] SEAWORLD PARKS & ENTERTAINMENT, 15 INC., et al., 16 Defendants. 17 18 19 Pending before the Court is the parties’ “Joint Motion to Continue Expert 20 Discovery Deadlines,” filed by Plaintiff Monhsen Muneer, Cross-Defendant and guardian 21 ad litem Minhaj Muneer, and Defendant and Cross-Complainant SeaWorld LLC 22 (hereinafter, “the Parties”). (ECF No. 24, “Joint Motion.”) The Parties request that the 23 Court continue the expert discovery and pretrial motions deadlines to May 2, 2025, and 24 June 2, 2025, respectively. (Id. at 3.) In support, the Parties explain that all fact 25 discovery has been completed, and all expert designations and disclosures have been 26 exchanged. (Id.) However, there have been problems scheduling the depositions of 27 Plaintiff’s experts, Dr. Neil Ghodadra and Philip L. Rosescu, P.E., M.S., and 1 || 3-4.) Accordingly, the parties believe that continuing the expert discovery and pretrial 2 || motions deadlines by approximately forty-five days “will afford them the opportunity to 3 || complete expert depositions and adequately evaluate their respective positions” before 4 || the July 18, 2025, Mandatory Settlement Conference. (Id. at 4.) 5 A scheduling order “may be modified only for good cause and with the judge’s 6 ||consent.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(4). The good cause standard “primarily considers the 7 || diligence of the party seeking the amendment. The district court may modify the 8 || pretrial schedule ‘if it cannot reasonably be met despite the diligence of the party 9 seeking the extension.’” Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604, 609 (9th 10 || Cir. 1992). Here, the parties have complied with Judge Berg’s Civil Chambers Rules by 11 || detailing the steps taken to comply with the current Scheduling Order deadlines and 12 || providing specific reasons why the deadlines cannot be met. (See Judge Berg’s Civil 13 || Chambers Rules, Rule V.) Finding good cause, the Court GRANTS the Joint Motion and 14 || CONTINUES the case schedule as follows: 15 e All expert discovery must be completed by May 2, 2025. 16 e All pretrial motions must be filed by June 2, 2025. Counsel for the moving party 17 must obtain a motion hearing date from the law clerk of the judge who will hear 18 the motion. 19 || All other guidelines in the Court’s original Scheduling Order [ECF No. 9] remain in place. 20 IT IS SO ORDERED. 21 Dated: March 3, 2025 = _2 33 Honorable Michael S. Berg United States Magistrate Judge 24 25 26 27 28