Jones v. Becerra
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- On appeal
- Matthew Jones v. Rob Bonta (2022-05-11) — affirmed — the Ninth Circuit's later ruling on this docket
- Panel
- Allison H. Goddard (author)
Analysis
The parties filed a joint motion to extend the deadline for the close of fact discovery by approximately one month due to heavy caseloads and scheduling conflicts. The court granted the motion, extending the fact discovery deadline to December 15, 2020.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Joint Motion to Modify Deadline for Close of Fact Discovery granted“Upon due consideration, The Court finds the parties have shown good cause to GRANT the joint motion. The deadline for completing fact discovery is extended to December 15, 2020.” | agree with court The court correctly applied the 'good cause' standard under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b)(4). The order recites that the parties acted diligently (exchanging responses, scheduling depositions) but faced unexpected heavy caseloads and scheduling conflicts, which constitutes a valid showing of good cause for a modest extension. The decision follows from the law and the record recited in the order. |
The order itself: sound — The order is procedurally sound. It correctly identifies the applicable rule (Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(4)), cites binding Ninth Circuit authority for the standard of review, and applies that standard to the specific facts presented (diligence plus unexpected caseload/scheduling issues). There are no significant gaps or legal errors.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 MATTHEW JONES, et al., Case No.: 3:19-cv-1226-L-AHG 12 Plaintiffs, 13 v. ORDER GRANTING JOINT MOTION TO MODIFY DEADLINE 14 XAVIER BECERRA, in his official FOR CLOSE OF FACT DISCOVERY capacity as Attorney General of the State 15 of California, et al., [ECF No. 64] 16 Defendants. 17 18 19 This matter comes before the Court on the parties’ Joint Motion to Modify Deadline 20 for Close of Fact Discovery. ECF No. 64. 21 Under Fed. R. Civ. P 16(b)(4), “[a] schedule may be modified only for good cause 22 and with the judge’s consent.” “Good cause” is a non-rigorous standard that has been 23 construed broadly across procedural and statutory contexts. Ahanchian v. Xenon Pictures, 24 Inc., 624 F.3d 1253, 1259 (9th Cir. 2010). The good cause standard focuses on the diligence 25 of the party seeking to amend the scheduling order and the reasons for seeking 26 modification. Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604, 609 (9th Cir. 1992). 27 “[T]he court may modify the schedule on a showing of good cause if it cannot reasonably 28 be met despite the diligence of the party seeking the extension.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 16, advisory 1 ||committee’s notes to 1983 amendment. Therefore, “a party demonstrates good cause by 2 acting diligently to meet the original deadlines set forth by the court.” Merck v. Swift 3 || Transportation Co., No. CV-16-01103-PHX-ROS, 2018 WL 4492362, at *2 (D. Ariz. 4 19, 2018). 5 Here, the parties explain that, though they have pursued discovery diligently, they 6 require an additional thirty to forty days to complete fact discovery. ECF No. 64 at 3. The 7 || parties represent that they have exchanged responses to discovery requests, have scheduled 8 || several depositions to occur in October and November, and are working together to resolve 9 |/any issues related to discovery responses. Jd. However, counsel for both parties have 10 |}unexpectedly heavy caseloads and also are experiencing challenges in scheduling 11 || depositions due to scheduling conflicts. Jd. Accordingly, they submit that good cause exists 12 || to extend the fact discovery cutoff from November 6, 2020 to December 15, 2020. Id. at 13 4. 14 Upon due consideration, the Court finds the parties have shown good cause to 15 ||}GRANT the joint motion. The deadline for completing fact discovery is extended to 16 || December 15, 2020. All other dates and deadlines remain as previously set. 17 IT IS SO ORDERED. 18 Dated: October 28, 2020 19 _ Siow. Xion Honorable Allison H. Goddard 20 United States Magistrate Judge 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28