1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 LUCIA AGUIRRE MANCILLA, an Case No.: 3:23-cv-01944-W-VET individual, 12

SCHEDULING ORDER

Plaintiff, 13 REGULATING DISCOVERY AND v. OTHER PRE-TRIAL 14

PROCEEDINGS

SEA WORLD PARKS, a Delaware 15 corporation; DOE MANAGER (DOE 1); 16 DOE EMPLOYEE (DOE 2); and DOES 3 through 50, inclusive, 17 Defendants. 18 19 20 Pursuant to Rule 16.1(d) of the Local Rules, the Court held a Case Management 21 Conference on April 24, 2024. After consulting with the attorneys of record for the parties 22 and being advised of the status of the case, and good cause appearing, IT IS HEREBY 23 ORDERED: 24 1. Any motion to join other parties, to amend the pleadings, or to file additional 25 pleadings shall be filed by May 24, 2024. 26 27 28 1 2. Counsel shall appear for a remote Status Conference before Magistrate Judge 2 Valerie E. Torres on June 27, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. Instructions for remote appearances will 3 be provided two (2) business days prior to the conference. 4 3. Counsel and party representatives must appear for a continued Early Neutral 5 Evaluation Conference (“ENE”) on August 7, 2024 at 9:30 a.m. before Magistrate Judge 6 Valerie E. Torres. The Court will hold the continued ENE via Zoom video conferencing 7 and will email counsel an invitation with the Zoom meeting information. Each participant 8 should plan to join the Zoom video conference at least five (5) minutes before the start of 9 the ENE. Counsel is responsible for ensuring their clients can participate in the continued 10 ENE. All participants must display the same level of professionalism and attention during 11 the continued ENE as if they were attending in person (e.g., not be driving while speaking 12 to the Court, or otherwise distracted). 13 a. Full Settlement Authority Required: Pursuant to Local Rule 16.1.c.1, all 14 parties, party representatives, including claims adjusters for insured parties, and counsel 15 with primary responsibility for the case must participate in the continued ENE.2 A party 16 appearing at the ENE without full and complete settlement authority will be in violation of 17 this directive. Any deviation from this directive requires prior Court approval. This 18 appearance must be made with full and complete authority to make settlement decisions.3 19

20 21 1 As used herein, references to “counsel” or “attorney(s)” include any party appearing pro se. 22 2 The attendance requirement includes parties that are indemnified by others. 23 3 Full authority to settle means that the individuals at the MSC are authorized to fully 24 explore settlement options and to agree at that time to any settlement terms acceptable 25 to the parties. Heileman Brewing Co., Inc. v. Joseph Oat Corp., 871 F.2d 648, 653 (7th Cir. 1989). Party participants need to have “unfettered discretion and authority” to 26 change the settlement position of a party. Pitman v. Brinker Int’l, Inc., 216 F.R.D. 481, 27 485-486 (D. Ariz. 2003). One of the purposes of requiring a person with complete settlement authority to attend the conference is that the person’s view of the case may 28 1 In the case of a public/private corporation, partnership, association, or other entity, 2 an authorized representative (i.e., not outside counsel) must be present with authority to 3 bind the entity and settle the case up to the plaintiff’s prayer for damages (excluding 4 punitive damage prayers). This requirement ensures representatives present have authority 5 to settle the case at the ENE without seeking further approval. Counsel for a government 6 entity is excused from this requirement if the government attorney who participates in the 7 ENE (i) has primary responsibility for handling the case, and (ii) may negotiate settlement 8 offers that the attorney is willing to recommend to the government official having ultimate 9 settlement authority. 10 b. Updated Confidential ENE Statements Required: No later than 11 July 31, 2024, counsel for each party must lodge an updated and confidential ENE 12 Statement by e-mail to the Court at efile_torres@casd.uscourts.gov. Confidential ENE 13 Statements must not exceed seven (7) pages, excluding exhibits. If exhibits are attached, 14 the parties are encouraged to highlight the relevant portions. The updated ENE Statements 15 shall include the content specified for confidential settlement briefs, as detailed in the 16 undersigned’s Chambers Rules, available on the Court’s website. 17 4. All fact discovery shall be completed by all parties by October 25, 2024. 18 “Completed” means that all discovery under Fed. R. Civ. P. 30-36, and discovery 19 subpoenas under Fed. R. Civ. P. 45, must be initiated a sufficient period of time in advance 20 of the cut-off date, so that it may be completed by the cut-off date, taking into account the 21 times for service, notice, and response as set forth in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. 22 Counsel shall promptly and in good faith meet and confer regarding all discovery disputes 23 in compliance with Local Rule 26.1(a). The Court expects counsel to make every effort to 24 resolve all disputes without court intervention through the meet and confer process. If the 25 26 27 authority is not adequate. Nick v. Morgan’s Foods, Inc., 270 F.3d 590, 595-597 (8th 28 Cir. 2001). 1 parties reach an impasse on any discovery issue, counsel shall follow the procedures 2 governing discovery disputes set forth in Judge Torres’ Civil Chambers Rules. A failure 3 to comply in this regard will result in a waiver of a party’s discovery issue. Absent an 4 order of the Court, no stipulation continuing or altering this requirement will be 5 recognized by the Court. 6 5. A Mandatory Settlement Conference (“MSC”) shall be conducted by Zoom 7 video conferencing on November 6, 2024 at 9:30 a.m. before Magistrate Judge Valerie E. 8 Torres.4 9 a. The following are mandatory procedures to be followed in preparation for 10 the MSC. Absent express permission from this Court, counsel must timely comply with 11 the dates and deadlines herein. Questions regarding the MSC or the mandatory guidelines 12 set forth herein may be directed to Judge Torres’ Chambers at (619) 557-6384. 13 b. Full Settlement Authority Required. Pursuant to Local Rule 16.1.c.1, all 14 parties, party representatives, including claims adjusters for insured parties, and the 15 principal attorney(s) responsible for the litigation must participate in the MSC.5 This 16 appearance must be made with full and complete authority to negotiate and enter into a 17 binding settlement.6 Counsel for a government entity is excused from this requirement if 18 the government attorney who participates in the MSC (i) has primary responsibility for 19 handling the case, and (ii) may negotiate settlement offers that the attorney is willing to 20 recommend to the government official having ultimate settlement authority. 21 22 23 24 4 Counsel may request the MSC be converted to an in-person appearance through a joint 25 call or email to Judge Torres’ Chambers (efile_torres@casd.uscourts.gov). Counsel must meet and confer prior to making such a request. 26 5 The attendance requirement includes parties that are indemnified by others. Any 27 deviation from this Order requires prior Court approval. 28 6 See Note 3. 1 c. Confidential Settlement Brief. No later than seven (7) calendar days 2 before the MSC, each party must lodge a Confidential Settlement Brief by email to 3 efile_torres@casd.uscourts.gov. The Confidential Settlement Brief should not exceed ten 4 (10) pages, excluding exhibits, and must be formatted according to the requirements of 5 Local Rule 5.1(a). Parties attaching exhibits must attach only the relevant pages of multi- 6 page exhibits and must highlight the relevant portions. 7 d. Contents of Settlement Brief. All Confidential Settlement Briefs shall 8 include the content specified in the Court’s Chambers Rules, available at 9 https://www.casd.uscourts.gov/Judges/torres/docs/Civil%20Chambers%20Rules.pdf. 10 e. Procedure for Zoom Videoconference. Two (2) business days prior to 11 the MSC, the Court will email counsel of record an invitation with the Zoom meeting 12 information. Participants can join the Zoom video conference by following the ZoomGov 13 Meeting hyperlink or using the meeting ID and password provided. Each participant should 14 plan to join the Zoom video conference at least five (5) minutes before the start of the 15 MSC. Counsel is responsible for ensuring their clients can participate in the MSC. All 16 participants must display the same level of professionalism and attention during the MSC 17 as if they were attending in person (e.g., not be driving while speaking to the Court, or 18 otherwise distracted). 19 6. The parties shall designate their respective experts in writing by 20 November 22, 2024. The parties must identify any person who may be used at trial to 21 present evidence pursuant to Fed. R. Evid. 702, 703 or 705. This requirement is not limited 22 to retained experts. The parties shall designate rebuttal experts in writing by 23 December 6, 2024. The written expert designations shall include the name, address and 24 telephone number of the expert and a reasonable summary of the testimony the expert is 25 expected to provide, including any summary of facts and opinions required by Fed. R. Civ. 26 P. 26(a)(2)(C). The designations shall also include the normal rates the expert charges for 27 deposition and trial testimony. 28 1 7. By January 3, 2025, each party shall comply with the disclosure provisions 2 in Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2)(A) and (B). This disclosure requirement applies to all persons 3 retained or specially employed to provide expert testimony, or whose duties as an employee 4 of the party regularly involve giving expert testimony. Except as provided in the 5 paragraph below, any party that fails to make these disclosures shall not, absent 6 substantial justification, be permitted to use evidence or testimony not disclosed at 7 any hearing or at the time of trial. In addition, the Court may impose sanctions as 8 permitted by Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(c). 9 8. Any party shall supplement its disclosure regarding contradictory or rebuttal 10 evidence under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2)(D) and 26(e) by January 17, 2024. 11 9. All expert discovery shall be completed by all parties by February 14, 2025. 12 The parties shall comply with the same procedures set forth in the paragraph governing 13 fact discovery. 14 10. Failure to comply with any discovery order of the Court may result in the 15 sanctions provided for in Fed. R. Civ. P. 37, including a prohibition on the introduction of 16 experts or other designated matters in evidence. 17 11. All pre-trial motions must be filed by March 14, 2025. Counsel for the 18 moving party must obtain a motion hearing date from the law clerk of the judge who will 19 hear the motion. The period of time between the date you request a motion date and the 20 hearing date may vary from one district judge to another. Please plan accordingly. Failure 21 to make a timely request for a motion date may result in the motion not being heard. 22 Motions in limine are to be filed as directed in the Local Rules, or as otherwise set by the 23 district judge. 24 12. Pursuant to Civil Local Rule 7.1(f)(3)(c), if an opposing party fails to file 25 opposition papers in the time and manner required by Civil Local Rule 7.1(e)(2), that 26 failure may constitute a consent to the granting of a motion or other request for ruling by 27 the court. Accordingly, all parties are ordered to abide by the terms of Local Rule 7.1(e)(2) 28 or otherwise face the prospect of any pretrial motion being granted as an unopposed motion 1 pursuant to Civil Local Rule 7.1(f)(3)(c). Should either party choose to file or oppose a 2 motion for summary judgment or partial summary judgment, no Separate Statement of 3 Disputed or Undisputed Facts is required. 4 13. Despite the requirements of Civil Local Rule 16.1(f)(2), neither party is 5 required to file a Memorandum of Contentions of Fact and Law at any time. The parties 6 shall instead focus their efforts on drafting and submitting a proposed pretrial order by the 7 time and date specified by Civil Local Rule 16.1(f)(6)(b). The proposed pretrial order shall 8 comply with Civil Local Rule 16.1(f)(6) and the Standing Order in Civil Cases issued by 9 the assigned district judge. 10 14. Counsel shall comply with the pre-trial disclosure requirements of Fed. R. 11 Civ. P. 26(a)(3) by June 9, 2025. Failure to comply with these disclosure requirements 12 could result in evidence preclusion or other sanctions under Fed. R. Civ. P. 37. 13 15. Counsel shall meet and take the action required by Local Rule 16.1(f)(4) by 14 June 16, 2025. At this meeting, counsel shall discuss and attempt to enter into stipulations 15 and agreements resulting in simplification of the triable issues. Counsel shall exchange 16 copies and/or display all exhibits other than those to be used for impeachment. The exhibits 17 shall be prepared in accordance with Local Rule 16.1(f)(4)(c). Counsel shall note any 18 objections they have to any other parties’ Pretrial Disclosures under Fed. R. Civ. P. 19 26(a)(3). Counsel shall cooperate in the preparation of the proposed pretrial conference 20 order. 21 16. Counsel for plaintiff will be responsible for preparing the pretrial order and 22 arranging the meetings of counsel pursuant to Civil Local Rule 16.1(f). By June 23, 2025, 23 plaintiff’s counsel must provide opposing counsel with the proposed pretrial order for 24 review and approval. Opposing counsel must communicate promptly with plaintiff’s 25 counsel concerning any objections to form or content of the pretrial order, and both parties 26 shall attempt promptly to resolve their differences, if any, concerning the order. 27 17. The Proposed Final Pretrial Conference Order, including objections to any 28 other parties’ Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(3) Pretrial Disclosures shall be prepared, served, and 1 lodged with the assigned district judge by June 30, 2025, and shall be in the form 2 prescribed in and comply with Local Rule 16.1(f)(6). 3 18. In addition to submitting the proposed final pretrial conference order, the 4 parties are further ordered to separately submit informal letter briefs, not exceeding two 5 single spaced pages, served on opposing counsel and received in the chambers of Judge 6 Thomas J. Whelan, United States District Judge (and not filed with the Clerk’s Office) by 7 2:30 p.m. on July 9, 2025. The letter brief should be a relatively informal and 8 straightforward document. The letter brief should outline a short, concise, and objective 9 factual summary of the party’s case in chief, the number of hours/days each party intends 10 to expend at trial, the approximate number of witnesses, whether certain witnesses will be 11 coming in from out of town, the number of testifying expert witnesses, whether any unique 12 demonstrative exhibits may be presented, the number of proposed motions in limine that 13 may be filed, precisely when the parties would be prepared to submit their in limine papers 14 (and whether the parties have met and conferred with respect to in limine issues), the issue 15 of proposed jury instructions and when the parties intend to submit them before trial, and 16 voir dire issues, either party’s preference as to what date(s) the trial should begin and any 17 other pertinent information that either party may deem useful to assist the Court in the 18 execution of the pretrial conference and in setting the matter for trial. 19 19. The final Pretrial Conference is scheduled on the calendar of the Honorable 20 Thomas J. Whelan on July 14, 2025 at 10:30 a.m.. 21 20. The parties must review the chambers’ rules for the assigned district judge 22 and magistrate judge. 23 21. A post-trial settlement conference before a magistrate judge may be held 24 within 30 days of verdict in the case. 25 22. The dates and times set forth herein will not be modified except for good cause 26 shown. 27 23. Briefs or memoranda in support of or in opposition to any pending motion 28 shall not exceed twenty-five (25) pages in length without leave of a district court judge. No 1 ||reply memorandum shall exceed ten (10) pages without leave of a district court judge. 2 || Briefs and memoranda exceeding ten (10) pages in length shall have a table of contents 3 a table of authorities cited. 4 24. Plaintiff's counsel shall serve a copy of this order on all parties that enter this 5 || case hereafter. 6 IT IS SO ORDERED. 7 Dated: April 25, 2024 8 [wre Honorable Valerie E. Torres 10 United States Magistrate Judge 1] 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28