United States of America et al v. Cherokee General Corporation et al, No. 2:2022cv00299 - Document 51 (W.D. Wash. 2023)
Court Description: ORDER granting Parties' 50 Stipulated MOTION to Extend Deadlines. Expert Witness Disclosure/Reports under FRCP 26(a)(2) due by 2/22/2024, Rebuttal Expert Disclosure/Reports due by 3/15/2024, Discovery Motions due by 3/21/2024, Discovery completed by 4/1/2024, Dispositive motions due by 4/7/2024. Signed by District Judge Kymberly K. Evanson. (SB)
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United States of America et al v. Cherokee General Corporation et al 1 Doc. 51 THE HONORABLE KYMBERLY EVANSON 2 3 4 5 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, for the Use and Benefit of SCI INFRASTRUCTURES, LLC; AND SCI INFRASTRUCTURES, LLC, a Washington limited liability company, Plaintiffs, v. NO. 2:22-cv-00299-KKE STIPULATION AND ORDER EXTENDING CASE DEADLINES CHEROKEE GENERAL CORPORATION, an Oregon corporation; and HARTFORD FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY, a Connecticut corporation, Defendants. CHEROKEE GENERAL CORPORATION, an Oregon corporation, 15 Counterclaim and Third-Party Plaintiff, 16 v. 17 SCI INFRASTRUCTURES, LLC, a Washington limited liability company; and SWISS RE CORPORATE SOLUTIONS AMERICA INSURANCE CORPORATION f/k/a NORTH AMERICAN SPECIALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, Bond No. 2216796, 18 19 20 21 Counterclaim Defendants. 22 23 24 STIPULATION AND ORDER EXTENDING CASE DEADLINES (NO. 2:22-cv-00299-KKE) Dockets.Justia.com 1 STIPULATION 2 Plaintiff and Counterclaim Defendant SCI Infrastructures, LLC (“SCI”), Defendant 3 and Counterclaim and Third-Party Plaintiff Cherokee General Corporation (“Cherokee”), 4 Defendant Hartford Fire Insurance Company (“Hartford”), and Counterclaim Defendant Swiss 5 Re Corporate Solutions America Insurance Corporation f/k/a North American Specialty 6 Insurance Company (“Swiss Re”) (collectively referred to as the “Parties”) hereby submit this 7 Stipulated Motion to Extend Certain Deadlines in Dkt. #40. 8 I. INTRODUCTION 9 Pursuant to the Court’s September 14, 2023 Order Granting Stipulated Motion to 10 Extended Case Schedule (Dkt. #40), the following discovery-related deadlines were set by the 11 Court: Event 12 Date 13 JURY TRIAL SET FOR 09:00 am on 7/22/2024 14 Disclosure of expert testimony under FRCP 26(a)(2) due 12/22/2023 15 1/23/2024 16 Disclosure of rebuttal expert testimony under FRCP 26(a)(2) due All motions related to discovery must be filed by 17 Discovery completed by 2/22/2024 18 3/25/2024 22 All dispositive motions and motions challenging expert witness testimony must be filed by this date (see LCR 7(d)). Such motions must be noted for consideration no later than the fourth Friday thereafter (see LCR 7(d)) Settlement conference, if mediation has been requested by the parties per LCR 39.1 held no later than Mediation per LCR 39.1 if requested by the parties, held no later than All motions in limine must be filed by 23 Proposed jury instructions and agreed LCR 16.1 Pretrial Order 7/1/2024 19 20 21 24 STIPULATION AND ORDER EXTENDING CASE DEADLINES (NO. 2:22-cv-00299-KKE) 1/23/2024 4/22/2024 6/6/2024 6/17/2024 1 2 3 due, including exhibit list with completed authenticity, admissibility, and objections fields Trial briefs, proposed voir dire questions, and depositions designations due Pretrial conference scheduled at 10:00 am on 7/8/2024 7/11/2024 4 At this time, the Parties believe there is good cause pursuant to FRCP 16(b)(4) as well 5 as LCR 16(b)(6) for an extension of discovery-related deadlines in the Court’s Order Granting 6 Stipulated Motion to Extended Case Schedule (Dkt. #40). The Parties are not asking the Court 7 to extend any deadlines that have already passed, nor are the Parties asking the trial date be 8 modified. Rather, the parties are asking that the Court grant the Parties’ joint request to extend 9 the following pending discovery-related deadlines: 10 Event Current Date Requested Date 11 12/22/2023 2/22/2024 1/23/2024 3/15/2024 13 Disclosure of expert testimony under FRCP 26(a)(2) due Disclosure of rebuttal expert testimony under FRCP 26(a)(2) due All motions related to discovery must be filed by 1/23/2024 3/21/2024 14 Discovery completed by 2/22/2024 4/1/2024 15 All dispositive motions and motions challenging expert witness testimony must be filed by this date (see LCR 7(d)). Such motions must be noted for consideration no later than the fourth Friday thereafter (see LCR 7(d)) 3/25/2024 4/7/2024 12 16 17 18 The Parties believe the above-requested extensions are necessary given the high 19 volume of documents still being produced in this matter, coupled with efforts to obtain access 20 to documents marked as confidential pursuant to a Protective Order in the matter of Cherokee 21 General Corporation v. United States, Case No. 18-412C (Ct. Cl. 2018) (the “Underlying 22 Lawsuit”). The Parties are jointly coordinating the production of documents requested from 23 24 STIPULATION AND ORDER EXTENDING CASE DEADLINES (NO. 2:22-cv-00299-KKE) 1 third parties via subpoenas served months ago, and some or all of the Parties intend to issue 2 additional subpoenas in the coming weeks. 3 In addition to the above, discovery in this litigation includes depositions of several 4 different individuals, some of whom are no longer employed by the parties and/or are currently 5 attempted to be located/reached by the parties, and other individuals currently/formerly 6 employed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (“USACE”), which have posed 7 logistical challenges related to the scheduling of the same due to restrictions by the United 8 States. 9 The extensions requested by the Parties would allow the Parties additional time to 10 resolve issues posed by the Protective Order in the Underlying Lawsuit, contact former and/or 11 unavailable employees for the purposes of deposing the same, obtain documents pursuant to 12 subpoenas previously issued, and provide the time necessary to obtain and review all relevant 13 facts and information necessary to resolve this dispute. 14 15 16 II. RELIEF REQUESTED The Parties ask that the Court to extend the currently pending discovery-related deadlines set pursuant to Dkt. #40 as follows: 17 Event Current Date Requested Date 18 12/22/2023 2/22/2024 1/23/2024 3/15/2024 20 Disclosure of expert testimony under FRCP 26(a)(2) due Disclosure of rebuttal expert testimony under FRCP 26(a)(2) due All motions related to discovery must be filed by 1/23/2024 3/21/2024 21 Discovery completed by 2/22/2024 4/1/2024 22 All dispositive motions and motions challenging expert witness testimony must be filed by this date (see LCR 7(d)). Such motions must be noted for consideration no later than the fourth Friday thereafter (see LCR 7(d)) 3/25/2024 4/7/2024 19 23 24 STIPULATION AND ORDER EXTENDING CASE DEADLINES (NO. 2:22-cv-00299-KKE) 1 2 In the alternative, to the extent the Court declines to grant the above-requested 3 extensions, the Parties respectfully request the Court grant the following extensions of 4 deadlines regarding expert reports: 5 Event Current Date 6 Disclosure of expert testimony under FRCP 26(a)(2) due Disclosure of rebuttal expert testimony under FRCP 26(a)(2) due 12/22/2023 Requested Date (In the Alternative) 2/6/2024 1/23/2024 2/26/2024 7 8 9 III. STATEMENT OF FACTS 10 To date, the Parties have worked diligently and effectively together on this matter, and 11 have already attempted to mediate this dispute. Both SCI and Cherokee have issued discovery 12 which has resulted in the continued production of documents, but leave the Parties with a 13 significant volume of documents to review. The parties are currently attempting to schedule 14 depositions, which has proven challenging given the logistical difficulties of scheduling 15 witnesses employed or formerly employed by the USACE, (e.g., requiring the Parties submit 16 Touhy Requests prior to deposing current/former employees of the USACE, the USACE’s 17 restrictions of witness availability, etc.), the upcoming holidays, and the fact that several 18 witnesses are former employees of the Parties. Finally, the Parties are currently engaged in 19 discussions with one another and counsel for the Department of Justice in order for SCI to 20 obtain documents produced by the United States in the Underlying Lawsuit, and are currently 21 engaged in efforts to compel the production of documents pursuant to subpoenas issued (or 22 subpoenas that will be issued) to third parties. The foregoing efforts have made a brief 23 continuance of the deadlines in the interest of the Parties and the Court, as the above-requested 24 STIPULATION AND ORDER EXTENDING CASE DEADLINES (NO. 2:22-cv-00299-KKE) 1 extensions will allow for a more efficient and effective resolution of the issues posed in this 2 dispute. 3 4 IV. A. ARGUMENT Legal Standard 5 Pursuant to FRCP 16(b)(4), LCR 16(b)(6) the deadlines set forth in the Court’s Order 6 Granting Stipulated Motion to Extended Case Schedule (Dkt. #40) may be modified with good 7 cause. The “good cause” standard considers the diligence of the party (or Parties) seeking the 8 amendment. Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, 975 F.2d 604, 609, (1992). The District Court 9 can modify the schedule "if it cannot reasonably be met despite the diligence of the party 10 seeking the extension." Johnson, 975 F.2d at 609. 11 B. The Court Should Extend Discovery-Related Deadlines By 30 Days 12 The above-described facts support that there is good cause for an extension of the 13 currently pending discovery-related deadlines in this matter. The extension will allow for the 14 Parties to continue to engage in necessary discovery and motion practice to prepare for trial or 15 another mediation effort. The Parties have effectively used their time and worked diligently 16 together by exchanging information and documents, and have worked towards resolution of 17 the above-referenced challenges through regular and cooperative phone calls both with one 18 another and with third parties in possession of information relevant to this dispute. At this 19 point, an extension of the currently pending discovery-related deadlines is necessary to ensure 20 the Parties will have an opportunity to conduct all necessary discovery before the deadlines for 21 discovery and dispositive motions expire. A failure to grant an extension of these currently 22 pending deadlines would force the Parties to proceed in the case on incomplete facts and on an 23 unnecessarily expedited schedule. 24 STIPULATION AND ORDER EXTENDING CASE DEADLINES (NO. 2:22-cv-00299-KKE) 1 2 3 4 5 V. CONCLUSION For the reasons stated above, the Parties jointly request the Court grant the aboverequested extensions of currently pending discovery-related deadlines. DATED: December 1, 2023. I certify that this memorandum contains 1,278 words, in compliance with the Local Civil Rules. 6 ASHBAUGH BEAL LLP 7 8 9 10 By: s/ Khalid Aziz Robert S. Marconi, WSBA #16369 bmarconi@ashbaughbeal.com Khalid Aziz, WSBA #57409 kaziz@ashbaughbeal.com Attorneys for SCI Infrastructure, LLC 11 TOMLINSON BOMSZTYK RUSS 12 13 14 15 16 17 By: s/ David Vaz Blair M. Russ, WSBA #40374 bmr@tbr-law.com Aric S. Bomsztyk, WSBA #38020 asb@tbr-law.com David Vaz, WSBA #60480 dv@tbr-law.com Attorneys for Cherokee General Corporation and Hartford Insurance Company 18 WILLIAMS KASTNER GIBBS 19 20 21 22 By: s/ Paul Friedrich Paul K. Friedrich, WSBA #43080 pfriedrich@williamskastner.com Attorneys for Swiss Re Corporate Solutions America Insurance Corporation f/k/a North American Specialty Insurance Company 23 24 STIPULATION AND ORDER EXTENDING CASE DEADLINES (NO. 2:22-cv-00299-KKE) 1 ORDER 2 The parties’ stipulated motion (Dkt. No. 50) is GRANTED: 3 Event Date 4 Disclosure of expert testimony under FRCP 26(a)(2) due 2/22/2024 Disclosure of rebuttal expert testimony under FRCP 26(a)(2) due 3/15/2024 All motions related to discovery must be filed by 3/21/2024 Discovery completed by 4/1/2024 All dispositive motions and motions challenging expert witness testimony must be filed by this date (see LCR 7(d)). Such motions must be noted for consideration no later than the fourth Friday thereafter (see LCR 7(d)) 4/7/2024 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Any case deadline previously set (see Dkt. No. 40) and not modified by this order remains in effect. DATED this 1st day of December, 2023. A 15 16 Kymberly K. Evanson United States District Judge 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Presented by: ASHBAUGH BEAL LLP By: s/ Khalid Aziz Robert S. Marconi, WSBA #16369 bmarconi@ashbaughbeal.com Khalid Aziz, WSBA #57409 kaziz@ashbaughbeal.com Attorneys for SCI Infrastructure, LLC 24 STIPULATION AND ORDER EXTENDING CASE DEADLINES (NO. 2:22-cv-00299-KKE) 1 2 3 4 5 6 TOMLINSON BOMSZTYK RUSS By: s/ David Vaz Blair M. Russ, WSBA #40374 bmr@tbr-law.com Aric S. Bomsztyk, WSBA #38020 asb@tbr-law.com David Vaz, WSBA # dv@tbr-law.com Attorneys for Cherokee General Corporation and Hartford Insurance Company 7 8 WILLIAMS KASTNER GIBBS 9 10 11 12 By: s/ Paul Friedrich Paul K. Friedrich, WSBA #43080 pfriedrich@williamskastner.com Attorneys for Swiss Re Corporate Solutions America Insurance Corporation f/k/a North American Specialty Insurance Company 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 STIPULATION AND ORDER EXTENDING CASE DEADLINES (NO. 2:22-cv-00299-KKE)
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