Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-1_08-cv-01539/USCOURTS-caed-1_08-cv-01539-15/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Lexington Insurance Company
Plaintiff
Sentry Select Insurance Company
Defendant

Document Text:

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STIPULATION AND [PROPOSED] ORDER TO CONTINUE PRE-TRIAL, TRIAL 

DATES – 1:08-CV-1539-LJO-GSA 

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Selman Breitman 

man Breitman LLP

187453.1 138.24037 

LINDA WENDELL HSU (SBN 162971) 

VANESSA LYNN O'BRIEN (SBN 225699) 

SELMAN BREITMAN LLP

33 New Montgomery, Sixth Floor 

San Francisco, CA 94105 

Telephone: (415) 979-0400 

Facsimile: (415) 979-2099 

Email : lhsu@selmanbreitman.com 

 : vobrien@selmanbreitman.com 

Attorneys for Defendant 

SENTRY SELECT INSURANCE COMPANY 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

LEXINGTON INSURANCE COMPANY, a 

Delaware Corporation, 

 Plaintiff, 

 v. 

SENTRY SELECT INSURANCE COMPANY, 

an Illinois Corporation, 

 Defendant. 

CASE NO. 1:08-CV-1539-LJO-GSA 

STIPULATION AND ORDER TO CONTINUE 

PRE-TRIAL AND TRIAL DATES 

JUDGE: Hon. Lawrence J. O'Neill 

PURSUANT TO LOCAL RULES 6-144(a) and 83-143 OF THE UNITED 

STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA, and good 

cause showing due to the parties' desire to avoid unnecessary 

expert expenses by prematurely disclosing expert witnesses, and 

due to personal scheduling conflicts involving Sentry's expert 

witness, IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED by and between DEFENDANT SENTRY 

SELECT INSURANCE COMPANY and PLAINTIFF LEXINGTON INSURANCE 

COMPANY in this action, through their respective attorneys, as 

follows: 

 WHEREAS the parties have scheduled depositions in February 

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STIPULATION AND [PROPOSED] ORDER TO CONTINUE PRE-TRIAL, TRIAL 

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and March 2009 and are attempting to meet and confer with respect 

to written discovery responses, including Sentry's responses to 

Lexington's Special Interrogatories, Sets One and Two, and 

Sentry's responses to Lexington's Requests for Production of 

Documents, Set One, and whereas completion of the above and 

additional discovery may very well result in the amendment of the 

experts' reports and/or may necessitate the disclosure of 

additional experts by either side; 

 WHEREAS on January 13, 2010, Sentry filed a petition for 

writ of mandamus with the United States Court of Appeals, Ninth 

Circuit regarding this Court's ruling on Lexington's motion for 

protective order. To date, Sentry has not received a ruling on 

the petition for writ of mandamus. Should the Ninth Circuit 

decide to consider Sentry's writ, the court will likely require 

additional briefing by both parties. In addition, if the writ is 

granted, the scope of discovery will be broadened, which may 

affect the testimony of the experts and the substance of the 

expert reports. As such, it may be premature to depose the 

experts before the Ninth Circuit issues a ruling on the writ; 

 WHEREAS the parties have had several discussions regarding 

various options involving the possibility of having a court trial 

and streamlining the trial process, in order to reduce the costs 

that will be incurred by both sides. These discussions consist 

of limiting the depositions taken by both sides, and conducting 

an abbreviated court trial with limited live witnesses and one 

expert witness per side. Discussions are continuing and no 

agreement has been reached between the parties. Therefore, 

Case 1:08-cv-01539-LJO-SKO Document 80 Filed 02/10/10 Page 2 of 6
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STIPULATION AND [PROPOSED] ORDER TO CONTINUE PRE-TRIAL, TRIAL 

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continuing the deadline to serve initial and supplemental expert 

disclosures until such time as a mutual agreement has been 

reached on this subject will benefit Lexington and Sentry; 

 WHEREAS Sentry recently learned that its retained expert 

(who was retained some time ago) is involved in a multi-million 

dollar lawsuit venued in southern California, which has occupied 

much of his time and attention. A trial date will be set in that 

other action to begin within the next 60 days, the parties are 

expending significant efforts to establish a Trial Plan, and 

various depositions are scheduled in February and March 2010. In 

addition, one of the expert's colleagues has recently become 

gravely ill, which has further limited the expert's current 

resources and availability. Moreover, the expert is currently 

teaching a course at an out-of-state law school, which is 

scheduled to continue until approximately June 2010. Sentry's 

expert has stated that his schedule will slow down considerably 

by June, 2010 and he will have much more flexibility with respect 

to his ability to prepare for deposition and trial at that time. 

Sentry retained this expert several months ago, and the expert 

has already begun review of documents relevant to the matter 

before this Court. Accordingly, Sentry requests that the dates 

to serve expert disclosures and expert reports be continued in 

order to accommodate Sentry's expert; 

 IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED AND AGREED that the current 

Scheduling Order entered November 17, 2009, may be modified as 

follows: 

1. The last day for the parties to serve initial expert 

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STIPULATION AND [PROPOSED] ORDER TO CONTINUE PRE-TRIAL, TRIAL 

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witness disclosures may be continued from February 11, 

2010 to June 11, 2010.

2. The last day for the parties to serve supplemental 

expert witness disclosures may be continued from 

February 24, 2010 to June 24, 2010.

3. The last day for the parties to complete non-expert 

discovery may be continued from April 7, 2010 to June 

7, 2010.

4. The last day for the parties to complete expert 

discovery may be continued from April 16, 2010 to July 

16, 2010.

5. The Pretrial Motion Filing Deadline may be continued 

from April 9, 2010 to July 1, 2010.

6. The Pretrial Motion Hearing Deadline may be continued 

from May 13, 2010 to August 4, 2010.

7. The pre-trial conference currently scheduled for July 

14, 2010 may be continued to October 4, 2010. 

8. The Trial in this matter currently scheduled for 

September 7, 2010 may be continued to November 16, 

2010.

DATED: February 9, 2010 

By: /s/ Annette Ballatore-Williamson 

ANNETTE BALLATORE-WILLIAMSON (SBN 

 192176) 

Attorney for Plaintiff 

LEXINGTON INSURANCE COMPANY 

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STIPULATION AND [PROPOSED] ORDER TO CONTINUE PRE-TRIAL, TRIAL 

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DATED: February 9, 2010 

By: /s/ Vanessa Lynn O'Brien 

LINDA WENDELL HSU (SBN 162971) 

VANESSA LYNN O'BRIEN (SBN 225699) 

Attorneys for Defendant 

SENTRY SELECT INSURANCE COMPANY 

ORDER

1. The last day for the parties to serve initial expert 

witness disclosures is continued from February 11, 2010 to June 

11, 2010.

2. The last day for the parties to serve supplemental 

expert witness disclosures is continued from February 24, 2010 to 

June 24, 2010.

3. The last day for the parties to complete non-expert 

discovery is continued from April 7, 2010 to June 7, 2010.

4. The last day for the parties to complete expert 

discovery is continued from April 16, 2010 to July 16, 2010.

5. The Pretrial Motion Filing Deadline is continued from 

April 9, 2010, to July 1, 2010.

6. The Pretrial Motion Hearing Deadline is continued from 

May 13, 2010 to August 4, 2010.

7. The pre-trial conference currently scheduled for July 

14, 2010 is continued to October 4, 2010. 

8. The Trial in this matter currently schedule for 

September 7, 2010, is continued to November 15, 2010. 

The parties’ attention is directed to the date proposed for 

trial. Judge O’Neill commences trials, be it a bench trial or 

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STIPULATION AND [PROPOSED] ORDER TO CONTINUE PRE-TRIAL, TRIAL 

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jury trial, on Mondays at 8:30 a.m. Thus, the proposed date of 

Tuesday, November 16, 2010, could not be accommodated. 

Lastly, this Court notes the aforementioned stipulation 

represents the third modification of the initial scheduling order 

dated February 18, 2009. The parties are cautioned that any 

further stipulation seeking modification of the scheduling order 

will be viewed with disfavor absent extraordinary circumstances. 

IT IS SO ORDERED. 

Dated: February 9, 2010 /s/ Gary S. Austin 

6i0kij UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

Case 1:08-cv-01539-LJO-SKO Document 80 Filed 02/10/10 Page 6 of 6