UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

CASE NO. 22-22671-CIV-ALTONAGA/Torres

DELIO BATISTA, et al., 

Plaintiffs, 

v. 

AVANT ASSURANCE INC., et al., 

Defendants. 

__________________________________/

ORDER

THIS CAUSE came before the Court upon the parties’ Joint Motion for Extension of 

Discovery Deadline [ECF No. 47], filed on February 7, 2023. The parties seek to alter the 

deadlines contained in the Scheduling Order [ECF No. 18], entered on October 27, 2022. (See

generally Mot.).1 The parties request a 60-day extension of the discovery deadline, as well as 

corresponding extensions to the deadlines to file pre-trial motions and certain pre-trial documents. 

(See generally id.).2 

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b)(4), a scheduling order “may be modified only 

for good cause and with the judge’s consent.” This good cause standard precludes modification 

unless the schedule cannot be met despite the diligence of the parties seeking the extension. See, 

e.g., Oravec v. Sunny Isles Luxury Ventures, L.C., 527 F.3d 1218, 1232 (11th Cir. 2008) (“We 

1 The Court relies on the pagination generated by the Case Management/Electronic Case Files system, 

which appears in the header on all filings. 

2 The parties begin with a request for a 60-day “extension of time to conduct discovery” (Mot. 1), yet 

subsequently seek “an extension of the discovery deadline . . . from March 6, 2023 to April 6, 2023” (id. ¶ 

9). The parties’ Proposed Order [ECF No. 47-1] presumably attempts to reflect a 60-day extension but 

shows the new deadline as May 6, 2022 — not May 6, 2023. (See id.). Further complicating matters, May 

6, 2023 is a Saturday. The Court will grant the 60-day request, but the new discovery deadline will be May 

8, 2023. The parties are cautioned to carefully review future filings. 

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have recognized that Rule 16[b]’s good cause standard ‘precludes modification of the scheduling 

order unless the schedule cannot be met despite the diligence of the party seeking the extension.” 

(alteration added; other alteration adopted; citations omitted)); Roberson v. BancorpSouth Bank, 

Inc., No. 12-0669, 2013 WL 4870839, at *2 (S.D. Ala. Sept. 12, 2013) (“Diligence, not lack of 

prejudice, is the touchstone of the Rule 16(b)(4) inquiry.” (citations omitted)). 

The parties have minimally satisfied this standard. Accordingly, it is 

ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the parties’ Joint Motion for Extension of Discovery 

Deadline [ECF No. 47] is GRANTED in part. The Scheduling Order [ECF No. 18] is amended 

as follows: 

1. May 8, 2023. All discovery, including expert discovery, is completed.

2. May 15, 2023. All pre-trial motions and Daubert motions (which include motions to 

strike experts) are filed. Each party is limited to filing one Daubert motion. If all evidentiary 

issues cannot be addressed in a 20-page memorandum, leave to exceed the page limit will be 

granted. The parties are reminded that Daubert motions must contain the Local Rule 

7.1(a)(3) certification.

3. June 12, 2023. Parties must file and submit joint pre-trial stipulation, proposed jury 

instructions and verdict form, or proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law, as applicable, 

and motions in limine (other than Daubert motions). Each party is limited to filing one motion in

limine which may exceed the page limits allowed by the Rules. The parties are reminded that 

motions in limine must contain the Local Rule 7.1(a)(3) certification.

4. No extensions of time will be given for response and reply memoranda.

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DONE AND ORDERED in Miami, Florida, this 8th day of February, 2023.

________________________________________

CECILIA M. ALTONAGA

CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

cc: counsel of record

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