Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-1_13-cv-01465/USCOURTS-caed-1_13-cv-01465-1/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 625
Nature of Suit: Drug Related Seizure of Property
Cause of Action: 21:881 Forfeiture Property-Drugs

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

UNITED STATES,

Plaintiff,

v.

APPROXIMATELY $18,920.00 IN 

U.S. CURRENCY

CLAIMANT CHRISTIAN DAPAAH,

Defendants.

Case No. 1: 13-cv-1465-SAB

SCHEDULING ORDER (Fed. R. Civ. P 16)

Discovery Deadlines:

Initial Disclosures: January 17, 2014

Non-Expert Discovery: January 27, 2015

Expert Disclosure: December 30, 2014

Supp Expert Disclosure: January 27, 2015

Expert Discovery: February 10, 2015

Non-Dispositive Motion Deadlines:

Filing: January 27, 2015

Hearing: Pursuant to Local Rules

Dispositive Motion Deadlines: 

Filing: February 10, 2015

Hearing: Pursuant to Local Rules

Pre-Trial Conference:

May 1, 2015 at 9:30 a.m.

Courtroom 9

Trial: June 16, 2015 at 8:30 a.m. 

Courtroom 9

 Jury Trial - 3 Days

I. Date of Scheduling Conference

The Scheduling Conference was held on December 17, 2013.

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II. Appearances of Counsel

Heather Mardel Jones telephonically appeared on behalf of Plaintiff.

Jesse Garcia telephonically appeared on behalf of Defendant.

III. Consent to Magistrate Judge

The parties have consented to proceed before a United States magistrate judge.

IV. Initial Disclosure under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1)

The Parties are ordered to exchange the initial disclosures required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 

26(a)(1) on or before January 17, 2014.

V. Amendments to Pleading

The parties do not anticipate any amendments to the pleadings at this time. The parties 

are advised that filing motions and/or stipulations requesting leave to amend the pleadings does 

not reflect on the propriety of the amendment or imply good cause to modify the existing 

schedule, if necessary. All proposed amendments must (A) be supported by good cause pursuant 

to Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b) if the amendment requires any modification to the existing schedule, see 

Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604, 609 (9th Cir. 1992), and (B) establish, 

under Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a), that such an amendment is not (1) prejudicial to the opposing party, 

(2) the product of undue delay, (3) proposed in bad faith, or (4) futile, see Foman v. Davis, 371 

U.S. 178, 182 (1962).

VI. Discovery Plan and Cut-Off Dates

The parties are ordered to complete all non-expert discovery on or before January 27, 

2015 and all expert discovery on or before February 10, 2015.

The parties are directed to disclose all expert witnesses, in writing, on or before

December 30, 2014 and to disclose all supplemental experts on or before January 27, 2015. The 

written designation of retained and non-retained experts shall be made pursuant to Fed. R. Civ.

P. 26(a)(2), (A), (B) and (C) and shall include all information required thereunder. Failure 

to designate experts in compliance with this order may result in the Court excluding the testimony 

or other evidence offered through the experts that are not properly disclosed in compliance with 

this order.

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The provisions of Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(4) and (5) shall apply to all discovery relating to 

experts and their opinions. Experts must be fully prepared to be examined on all subjects and

opinions included in the designation. Failure to comply will result in the imposition of sanctions, 

which may include striking the expert designation and the exclusion of their testimony.

The provisions of Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(e) regarding a party's duty to timely supplement 

disclosures and responses to discovery requests will be strictly enforced.

The parties are cautioned that the discovery/expert cut-off deadlines are the dates by 

which all discovery must be completed. Absent good cause, discovery motions will not be heard 

after the discovery deadlines. Moreover, absent good cause, the Court will only grant relief on a 

discovery motion if the relief requested requires the parties to act before the expiration of the 

relevant discovery deadline. In other words, discovery requests and deposition notices must be 

served sufficiently in advance of the discovery deadlines to permit time for a response, time to 

meet and confer, time to prepare, file and hear a motion to compel and time to obtain relief on a 

motion to compel. Counsel are expected to take these contingencies into account when proposing 

discovery deadlines. Compliance with these discovery cutoffs requires motions to compel be 

filed and heard sufficiently in advance of the discovery 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.

VII. Pre-Trial Motion Schedule

Unless prior leave of Court is obtained at least seven (7) days before the filing date, all 

moving and opposition briefs or legal memorandum in civil cases shall not exceed twenty-five 

(25) pages. Reply briefs filed by moving parties shall not exceed ten (10) pages. Before 

scheduling any motion, the parties must comply with all requirements set forth in Local Rule 230 

and 251.

A. Non-Dispositive Pre-Trial Motions

As noted, all non-expert discovery, including motions to compel, shall be completed no 

later than January 27, 2015. All expert discovery, including motions to compel, shall be 

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completed no later than February 10, 2015. Compliance with these discovery cutoffs requires 

motions to compel be filed and heard sufficiently in advance of the discovery 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. Non-dispositive motions are heard on Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m., before 

United States Magistrate Judge Stanley A. Boone in Courtroom 9.

In scheduling any non-dispositive motion, the Magistrate Judge may grant Applications 

for an Order Shortening Time pursuant to Local Rule 144(e). However, if counsel does not 

obtain an Order Shortening Time, the Notice of Motion must comply with Local Rule 251.

Counsel may appear and argue non-dispositive motions by telephone, providing a written 

request to so appear is made to the Magistrate Judge's Courtroom Clerk no later than three (3)

court days before the noticed hearing date. In the event that more than one attorney requests to 

appear by telephone, then it shall be the obligation of the moving party(ies) to arrange and 

originate a conference call to the court. 

Discovery Disputes: If a motion is brought under Fed. R. Civ. P. 37, the parties must 

prepare and file a Joint Statement re Discovery Disagreement (“Joint Statement”) as required by 

Local Rule 251. The Joint Statement must be filed seven (7) calendar days before the scheduled 

hearing date. Courtesy copies of all motion-related documents, declarations, and exhibits must be 

delivered to the Clerk’s Office by 10:00 a.m. on the fourth court day prior to the scheduled 

hearing date. Motions will be removed from the court’s hearing calendar if the Joint Statement is 

not timely filed or if courtesy copies are not timely delivered. In order to satisfy the meet and 

confer requirement set forth in Local Rule 251(b), the parties must confer and talk to each other

in person, over the telephone or via video conferencing before the hearing about the discovery 

dispute. The Court may issue sanctions against the moving party or the opposing party if either 

party fails to meet and confer in good faith.

B. Dispositive Pre-Trial Motions

All dispositive pre-trial motions shall be filed no later than February 10, 2015 and heard 

pursuant to the Local Rules in Courtroom 9 before United States Magistrate Judge Stanley A. 

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Boone. In scheduling such motions, counsel shall comply with Fed. R. Civ. P 56 and Local 

Rules 230 and 260.

Motions for Summary Judgment or Summary Adjudication: Prior to filing a motion for 

summary judgment or motion for summary adjudication, the parties are ORDERED to meet, in 

person or by telephone, and confer to discuss the issues to be raised in the motion.

The purpose of the meeting shall be to: 1) avoid filing motions for summary judgment 

where a question of fact exists; 2) determine whether the respondent agrees that the motion has 

merit in whole or in part; 3) discuss whether issues can be resolved without the necessity of 

briefing; 4) narrow the issues for review by the court; 5) explore the possibility of settlement 

before the parties incur the expense of briefing a summary judgment motion; and 6) to arrive at a 

Joint Statement of Undisputed Facts.

The moving party shall initiate the meeting and provide a draft of the Joint Statement of 

Undisputed Facts. In addition to the requirements of Local Rule 260, the moving party shall 

file a Joint Statement of Undisputed Facts.

In the Notice of Motion, the moving party shall certify that the parties have met and 

conferred as ordered above or set forth a statement of good cause for the failure to meet and 

confer.

VIII. Pre-Trial Conference Date

The Pre-Trial conference is set for May 1, 2015 at 9:30 a.m. in Courtroom 9 before 

United States Magistrate Judge Stanley A. Boone.

The parties are ordered to file a Joint Pretrial Statement pursuant to Local Rule 

281(a)(2). The parties are further directed to submit a digital copy of their Pretrial Statement in 

Word format, directly to Magistrate Judge Stanley A. Boone’s chambers by email at 

SABorders@caed.uscourts.gov. 

Counsels’ attention is directed to Rules 281 and 282 of the Local Rules for the Eastern 

District of California, as to the obligations of counsel in preparing for the pre-trial conference. 

The Court will insist upon strict compliance with those rules. In addition to the matters set forth 

in the Local Rules, the Joint Pretrial Statement shall include a Joint Statement of the Case to be 

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used by the Court to explain the nature of the case to the jury during voir dire.

IX. Trial Date

Trial is set for June 16, 2015 at 8:30 a.m. in Courtroom 9 before United States 

Magistrate Judge Stanley A. Boone.

A. This is a jury trial.

B. Counsels’ Estimate of Trial Time: 3 Days.

C. Counsels’ attention is directed to Local Rule 285 for the Eastern District of 

California.

X. Settlement Conference

Should the parties desire a settlement conference, they will jointly request one of the

court, and one will be arranged. In making such request, the parties are directed to notify the 

court as to whether or not they desire the undersigned to conduct the settlement conference or to 

arrange for one before another judicial officer. 

XI. Request for Bifurcation, Appointment of Special Master, or other Techniques 

to Shorten Trial

Not applicable at this time.

XII. Related Matters Pending

There are no pending related matters.

XIII. Compliance with Federal Procedure

All counsel are expected to familiarize themselves with the Federal Rules of Civil 

Procedure and the Local Rules of the Eastern District of California, and to keep abreast of any 

amendments thereto. The Court must insist upon compliance with these Rules if it is to 

efficiently handle its increasing case load and sanctions will be imposed for failure to follow the 

Rules as provided in both the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Local Rules for the 

Eastern District of California.

Additional requirements and more detailed procedures for courtroom practice before 

United States Magistrate Judge Stanley A. Boone can be found at the United States District Court 

for the Eastern District of California’s website (www.caed.uscourts.gov) under Judges; United 

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States Magistrate Judge Stanley A. Boone (SAB). In the area entitled “Case Management 

Procedures,” there is a link to “Standard Information.” All parties and counsel shall comply with 

the guidelines set forth therein.

XIV. Effect of this Order

The foregoing order represents the best estimate of the court and counsel as to the agenda 

most suitable to dispose of this case. The trial date reserved is specifically reserved for this case. 

If the parties determine at any time that the schedule outlined in this order cannot be met, counsel 

are ordered to notify the court immediately of that fact so that adjustments may be made, either 

by stipulation or by subsequent status conference.

Stipulations extending the deadlines contained herein will not be considered unless 

they are accompanied by affidavits or declarations, and where appropriate attached 

exhibits, which establish good cause for granting the relief requested. The parties are 

advised that due to the impacted nature of civil cases on the district judges in the Eastern 

District of California, Fresno Division, that stipulations to continue set dates are disfavored 

and will not be granted absent good cause. 

Lastly, should counsel or a party appearing pro se fail to comply with the directions 

as set forth above, an ex parte hearing may be held and contempt sanctions, including 

monetary sanctions, dismissal, default, or other appropriate judgment, may be imposed 

and/or ordered.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: December 27, 2013 

UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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