Morgan v. Rohr, Inc.
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Allison H. Goddard (author)
Analysis
The court considered a joint stipulation by the parties to continue the class certification discovery cut-off date. The court granted the motion, extending the deadline from March 17, 2021, to March 24, 2021, contingent upon specific issues arising during a scheduled deposition.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Granting the Joint Motion to Continue Class Certification Discovery Cut-Off“The Court finds the parties have established good cause for the requested extension and accordingly GRANTS the Motion (ECF No. 51).” | agree with court The court applied the 'good cause' standard under Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(4). The parties jointly stipulated to the extension, and the court found that the need for the extension was tied to the scheduling of a 30(b)(6) deposition on the original cut-off date. The extension was narrowly tailored to address potential issues with that specific deposition. This is a standard procedural ruling that follows from the cited rule and the facts presented. |
The order itself: sound — The order correctly identifies the applicable rule (Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(4)) and the relevant standard ('good cause'). It cites appropriate Ninth Circuit authority to define the standard. The factual basis for the extension (the 30(b)(6) deposition scheduled on the cut-off date) is clearly stated, and the extension is narrowly tailored to the specific issue. The reasoning is sufficient for a procedural scheduling order.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 NATHANIEL MORGAN, individually Case No.: 3:20-cv-00574-GPC-AHG and on behalf of others similarly situated, 12 ORDER GRANTING JOINT Plaintiff, MOTION TO CONTINUE CLASS 13 CERTIFICATION DISCOVERY v. 14 CUT-OFF ROHR, INC., et al., 15 [ECF No. 51] Defendants. 16 17 This matter comes before the Court on the parties’ Joint Stipulation to Continue 18 Class Certification Discovery Cut-Off. ECF No. 51. 19 Under Fed. R. Civ. P 16(b)(4), “[a] schedule may be modified only for good cause 20 and with the judge’s consent.” “Good cause” is a non-rigorous standard that has been 21 construed broadly across procedural and statutory contexts. Ahanchian v. Xenon Pictures, 22 Inc., 624 F.3d 1253, 1259 (9th Cir. 2010). The good cause standard focuses on the diligence 23 of the party seeking to amend the scheduling order and the reasons for seeking 24 modification. Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604, 609 (9th Cir. 1992). 25 “[T]he court may modify the schedule on a showing of good cause if it cannot reasonably 26 be met despite the diligence of the party seeking the extension.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 16, advisory 27 committee’s notes to 1983 amendment. Therefore, “a party demonstrates good cause by 28 acting diligently to meet the original deadlines set forth by the court.” Merck v. Swift 1 || Transportation Co., No. CV-16-01103-PHX-ROS, 2018 WL 4492362, at *2 (D. Ariz. 2 || Sept. 19, 2018). 3 The Court previously found good cause to grant a 30-day extension of the class 4 || certification deadline from February 15 to March 17, 2021. ECF No. 50. The basis of that 5 ||extension was to permit the parties to work together to coordinate an additional 30(b)(6) 6 || deposition for certain topics regarding which Defendant’s existing 30(b)(6) witness could 7 ||not be designated to testify. See id. In the instant motion, the parties explain that the 8 ||deposition of the 30(b)(6) witness on the remaining topics was scheduled on 9 || March 17, 2021—the discovery cut-off date. For that reason, the parties agreed to request 10 ||a one-week continuance of the class certification discovery deadline, to the extent the 11 || deposition does not proceed as planned or the witness identifies documents during the 12 || deposition that have not yet been produced. ECF No. 51 at 4. 13 The Court finds the parties have established good cause for the requested extension 14 || and accordingly GRANTS the Motion (ECF No. 51). The class certification discovery cut- 15 || offis hereby extended from March 17, 2021 to March 24, 2021 to the extent the deposition 16 Defendant Rohr, Inc.’s 30(b)(6) witness does not proceed as planned on March 17, 2021, 17 || or the witness identifies documents during the deposition that have not yet been produced, 18 Plaintiffs must request an informal conference. This extension does not apply to any 19 || other discovery matter. 20 All other dates and deadlines set forth in the Scheduling Order (ECF No. 44) remain 21 place, except as explicitly modified by intervening orders of the Court. 22 IT IS SO ORDERED. 23 24 Dated: March 18, 2021 _ Siow. Xion Honorable Allison H. Goddard 26 United States Magistrate Judge 27 28