Opinion ID: 797977
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: heinz's deposition testimony

Text: 46 Noyes moved under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b) to modify the scheduling order and under Rule 56(f) to postpone consideration of the summary judgment motion until she could depose Heinz — a central defense witness. The district court denied the motions. 47 Noyes originally noticed Heinz's deposition to take place more than two weeks prior to the discovery cut-off. At Kelly Services' request, the deposition was rescheduled several times, pushing it past the discovery cut-off date. The parties stipulated to an extension of the discovery deadline to permit further discovery, including the Heinz deposition. The court took no action on the proposed order. Heinz failed to appear for his deposition on the rescheduled date, which would have allowed sufficient time for Noyes to utilize the testimony in her summary judgment opposition. Heinz sat for his deposition two days after the due date for Noyes' opposition to Kelly Services' summary judgment motion. 48 The district court concluded that Noyes had failed to show diligence in completing Heinz's deposition and, on that basis, denied the Rule 16(b) and Rule 56(f) motions. The circumstances of scheduling Heinz's deposition are not particularly unusual, as counsel often agree to continuances as a matter of courtesy. Nonetheless, the ultimate result left Noyes prejudiced due to a delay caused by an adverse witness. Although the appeal of the denial of the Rule 56(f) motion is moot in light of the remand, the question whether the discovery cutoff should have been extended to encompass Heinz's deposition remains a live issue. 49 In view of Noyes' timely noticing of Heinz's deposition, Kelly Services' multiple requests to delay the deposition, and Heinz's failure to appear as scheduled, it was an abuse of discretion to deny the motion to modify the scheduling order. 6 Cf. Garrett v. City & County of San Francisco, 818 F.2d 1515, 1518-19 (9th Cir. 1987) (holding that district court improperly denied Rule 56(f) motion where the plaintiff in a Title VII action diligently pursued discovery but was unable to obtain complete responses prior to due date of response to the opposing party's motion for summary judgment).