Sunderland v. PharmaCare U.S., Inc.
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Allison H. Goddard (author)
Analysis
The parties filed a joint motion to extend the deadline to raise discovery disputes by ten days to allow for continued meet-and-confer efforts. The court granted the motion, finding that good cause existed to extend the deadline to April 2, 2024.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Granting the joint motion to extend the deadline to contact the court regarding discovery disputes“Good cause appearing, the Court GRANTS the motion. ECF No. 42.” | agree with court The court correctly applied the 'good cause' standard required by the local rules and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 6(b). The parties represented they were actively conferring and needed a short extension to resolve issues cooperatively. This is a standard procedural request where the showing of active efforts to resolve disputes without judicial intervention typically satisfies the good cause requirement. The extension is modest (10 days) and serves the interest of judicial economy. |
The order itself: sound — The order is procedurally sound. It correctly identifies the applicable standard (good cause), cites appropriate Ninth Circuit authority defining that standard, and applies the facts (active meet and confer, short extension) to the standard. The reasoning is concise but sufficient for a routine scheduling order.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 10 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 11 12 LINDA SUNDERLAND and Case No.: 3:23-cv-01318-JES-AHG BENJAMIN BINDER, 13 ORDER GRANTING JOINT individually and on behalf of all others MOTION TO EXTEND DEADLINE 14 similarly situated, TO CONTACT THE COURT 15 Plaintiffs, REGARDING DISCOVERY DISPUTE 16 v. 17 PHARMACARE U.S., INC., et al., [ECF No. 42] 18 Defendants. 19 20 Before the Court is the parties’ joint motion to extend the deadline to raise discovery 21 disputes with the Court. ECF No. 42. Under the Court’s 45-Day Rule (see AHG.Chmb.R. 22 at 2–3), the parties would have been required to bring any discovery dispute regarding 23 Defendant’s responses to Plaintiffs’ discovery requests to the Court’s attention by 24 March 23, 2024. The parties seek an order from the Court extending the deadline slightly. 25 Parties seeking to continue deadlines must demonstrate good cause. Chmb.R. at 2 26 (stating that any request for continuance requires “[a] showing of good cause for the 27 request”); see also FED. R. CIV. P. 6(b) (“When an act may or must be done within a 28 specified time, the court may, for good cause, extend the time”). 1 “Good cause” is a non-rigorous standard that has been construed broadly across 2 || procedural and statutory contexts. Ahanchian vy. Xenon Pictures, Inc., 624 F.3d 1253, 1259 3 || (9th Cir. 2010). The good cause standard focuses on the diligence of the party seeking to 4 || amend the scheduling order and the reasons for seeking modification. Johnson v. Mammoth 5 || Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604, 609 (9th Cir. 1992) (“[T]he focus of the inquiry is upon 6 || the moving party’s reasons for seeking modification. . . . If that party was not diligent, the 7 inquiry should end.’’) (internal citation omitted). 8 Here, the parties have represented to the Court that they are actively meeting and 9 || conferring regarding Defendant’s discovery responses. ECF No. 42 at 2. The parties further 10 ||represent that they “are currently engaged in communications ... to resolve any active 11 |/issues” but believe they may need “additional time to clear up outstanding matters.” Jd. 12 || Hence, the parties seek an order from the Court extending the deadline raise their dispute 13 || by ten days, to facilitate a cooperative resolution. Id. 14 The Court appreciates that the parties have been working together to resolve their 15 disputes without judicial intervention. Good cause appearing, the Court GRANTS the 16 ||motion. ECF No. 42. Thus, the parties must bring any discovery dispute regarding 17 || Defendant’s responses to Plaintiffs’ Interrogatories, Requests for Admission, and Requests 18 Production to the Court’s attention in the manner described in ECF No. 25 at ¥ 4 19 ||no later than April 2, 2024. 20 IT IS SO ORDERED. 21 Dated: March 22, 2024 22 _ Apion. Honorable Allison H. Goddard 23 United States Magistrate Judge 24 25 26 27 28