Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-1_18-cv-01058/USCOURTS-caed-1_18-cv-01058-3/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 820
Nature of Suit: Copyright
Cause of Action: 17:501 Copyright Infringement

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

PAUL REIFFER,

Plaintiff,

v.

HGM HOLDINGS LLC,

Defendant.

Case No. 1:18-cv-01058-NONE-BAM

ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO 

EXTEND DISCOVERY AND CONTINUE 

ASSOCIATED DATES

(Doc. No. 44)

Currently before the Court is Plaintiff Paul Reiffer’s (“Plaintiff”) Motion to Extend 

Discovery and Continue Associated Dates. (Doc. No. 44.) Defendant HGM Holdings LLC 

(“Defendant”) filed a statement of non-opposition to the motion. (Doc. No. 46.) The Court 

found the matter suitable for decision without the need for oral argument pursuant to Local 

Rule 230(g). (Doc. No. 45.) Having considered the motion as well as the entire record in this 

case, the Court GRANTS the motion as follows.

Plaintiff seeks to modify the Scheduling Order in this case and extend the deadlines for 

completion of non-expert discovery, dispositive motions, and trial due to the ongoing COVID19 pandemic and because counsel for Defendant has not been responsive to Plaintiff’s efforts to 

complete discovery.

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 (Doc. No. 44.) Plaintiff intends to file a motion to compel discovery and 

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In the motion, Plaintiff also requests that the Court set a video settlement conference. (Doc. No. 44.) The 

parties may jointly request a settlement conference by contacting Esther Valdez, Courtroom Deputy, at 

evaldez@caed.uscourts.gov. 

Case 1:18-cv-01058-DAD-BAM Document 47 Filed 04/20/20 Page 1 of 3
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requests that non-expert discovery be continued to June 5, 2020, “or until 30 days after the 

national emergency is declared over[.]” (Id.) 

The Court finds that there is good cause to grant Plaintiff’s request to extend non-expert 

discovery to June 5, 2020, and to extend the dispositive motion deadline, pretrial conference, 

and trial accordingly. Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(4); Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, Inc., 975 

F.2d 604, 609 (9th Cir. 1992). To accommodate the Court’s calendar as well as the availability 

of judges to decide this case, and in light of the Standing Order issued by District Judge Dale 

A. Drozd (Doc. No. 39-1), IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Scheduling Order (Doc. No. 

30) is modified as follows:

Non-Expert

Discovery Cutoff: June 5, 2020

Pretrial Motion

Filing Deadline: July 10, 2020

Pretrial Conf: November 6, 2020

1:30 p.m.

Dept 4 (NONE)

Trial: January 12, 2021

8:30 a.m.

Dept 4 (NONE)

The parties are strongly encouraged to resolve any discovery disputes according to the 

Court’s informal discovery dispute procedures. Plaintiff is further reminded that, as explained 

in the Scheduling Order, compliance with the non-expert discovery cutoffs requires motions to 

compel to be filed and heard sufficiently in advance of the cutoff so that the Court may grant 

effective relief within the allotted discovery time. A party’s failure to have a discovery dispute 

heard sufficiently in advance of the discovery cutoff may result in denial of the motion as 

untimely.

The Court also notes that this is the third request and Plaintiff’s second motion to modify 

the Scheduling Order in this case. (See Doc. Nos. 38, 41.) No further extensions or 

modifications of the deadlines in this case will be granted absent a demonstrated showing of 

good cause, which will be narrowly construed. Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b). However, good cause 

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may consist of the inability to comply with court orders in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Any such future difficulties should be explained.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: April 20, 2020 /s/ Barbara A. McAuliffe _

UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

Case 1:18-cv-01058-DAD-BAM Document 47 Filed 04/20/20 Page 3 of 3