Ables

FACTS

On July 24, 2015, Ables filed a complaint in the Kern County Superior Court alleging that she was injured due to both Ghazale Brothers and Central Freight’s negligence. Specifically, Ables alleged that, while delivering a load of chicken meat to Ghazale Brothers, they asked her to help unload the truck. Doubting her ability to do so, she requested Central Freight send help to unload, which it refused to do. Subsequently, she helped unload the chicken but was injured when a pallet hoisted by a machine operated by J. Ghazale broke, causing frozen boxes of chicken to fall on her. Between 2016 and 2018, discovery progressed and was ultimately cut off by the trial court’s order on July 20, 2018 in response to Central Freight’s request to continue trial, which Ghazale Brothers opposed. Central Freight requested continuances twice more: first on February 4, 2019, then on June 24, 2019. Ghazale Brothers opposed both requests. On November 12, 2019, Ghazale Brothers submitted proposed jury instructions and other forms in preparation for trial. Ables then filed a request for a trial continuance on November 14, 2019, which was heard on November 15, 2019. The court granted Ables’s…