Charlie Scollard v. Costco Wholesale, et al.
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
Analysis
The court considered Plaintiff's motion to continue the Early Neutral Evaluation (ENE) and Case Management Conference due to a pending motion to remand. The court granted the motion, continuing the ENE to May 29, 2026, finding that the pending remand motion constituted good cause.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Motion to Continue Early Neutral Evaluation Conference and Case Management Conference granted“Accordingly, the Court GRANTS Plaintiff's Motion to Continue Early Neutral Evaluation Conference and Case Management Conference.” | agree with court The court applied the 'good cause' standard required by the local rules and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 6(b). The presence of a pending motion to remand, which could result in the case being dismissed or sent back to state court, is a widely accepted basis for continuing pretrial proceedings to avoid wasted judicial resources. The court's discretion to grant a continuance in this context is well-established. |
The order itself: sound — The order correctly identifies the applicable standard (good cause) and cites appropriate Ninth Circuit and local district authority. The reasoning that a pending motion to remand justifies a continuance to preserve judicial resources is legally sound and standard practice. The order is concise but fully addresses the motion.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 CHARLIE SCOLLARD, Case No.: 3:26-cv-1198-JLS-SBC 12 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO 13 v. CONTINUE ENE AND STAY PROCEEDINGS 14 COSTCO WHOLESALE, et al., 15 Defendants. [Dkt. No. 7]
16 Before the Court is Plaintiff’s April 8, 2026, Motion to Continue Early Neutral 17 Evaluation Conference and Case Management Conference (hereafter “Motion”) (Dkt. No. 18 7). The Motion seeks to continue the Early Neutral Evaluation (“ENE”) currently set for 19 April 28, 2026, at 10:00 AM before United States Magistrate Judge Steve B. Chu (see Dkt. 20 No. 4). The motion is opposed by Defendant (Dkt. No. 7 at 2) but an opposition has not 21 been filed. After duly considering the submissions, the Motion is GRANTED for the 22 reasons set forth below. 23 Parties seeking to continue an ENE must demonstrate good cause. (Dkt. No. 4 at 3- 24 4 (Counsel must file a motion “setting forth good cause for the request”); see Fed. R. Civ. 25 P. 6(b) (“[w]hen an act may or must be done within a specified time, the court may, for 26 good cause, extend the time”). Courts have broad discretion in determining whether there 27 is good cause. See, e.g., Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604, 607 (9th Cir. 28 1 |} 1992); Olvera v. Citibank, N.A., No. 25-cv-789-H-AHG, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117769, 2 *2, *4-*5 (S.D. Cal. June 19, 2025). “Good cause” is a non-rigorous standard that has 3 ||been construed broadly across procedural and statutory contexts. Ahanchian v. Xenon 4 || Pictures, Inc., 624 F.3d 1253, 1259 (9"" Cir. 2010). 5 Here, there is a motion to remand currently pending before the court (Dkt. No. 5). 6 || There is a hearing on the motion set for April 23, 2026 (Dkt No. 5) and the parties are 7 ||currently briefing the motion. In light of the pending motion to remand, the Court finds a 8 ||thirty-day continuance is prudent. Plaintiff has demonstrated good cause and the Court 9 || finds it an efficient use of judicial resources to continue the ENE until after the motion to 10 |}remand has been decided. While Defendant opposes the continuance (Dkt. 7 at 2), the Court 11 |/finds that a thirty-day continuance strikes the right balance between using judicial 12 ||resources efficiency with the need to hold an ENE early in a case. 13 Accordingly, the Court GRANTS Plaintiff's Motion to Continue Early Neutral 14 || Evaluation Conference and Case Management Conference. The Court continues the ENE 15 || until May 29, 2026, at 02:00 PM. If the case does not settle, the Court will move into the 16 ||Case Management Conference at that time. The parties must comply with all of the 17 requirements set forth in the Court’s February 27, 2026, Notice and Order for Early Neutral 18 || Evaluation Conference and Case Management Conference (Dkt. No. 4) prior to that ENE. 19 IT IS SO ORDERED. 20 || Dated: April 15, 2026 21 BF A. 23 Hon. SteveB.Chu United States Magistrate Judge 24 25 26 27 28