The opinion
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8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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12 TAYLOR SMART AND MICHAEL No. 2:22-cv-02125 WBS
HACKER, Individually and on KJN
13 Behalf of All Those Similarly
Situated,
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Plaintiffs,
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v.
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NATIONAL COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC
17 ASSOCIATION, an unincorporated
association,
18 Defendant.
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JOSEPH COLON, SHANNON RAY, No. 1:23-cv-00425 WBS
20 KHALA TAYLOR, PETER ROBINSON, KJN
KATHERINE SEBBAME, and PATRICK
21 MEHLER, individually and on
behalf of all those similarly
22 situated,
23 Plaintiffs,
24 v.
25 NATIONAL COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC
ASSOCIATION, an unincorporated
26 association,
27 Defendant.
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2 STATUS (PRETRIAL SCHEDULING) ORDER
3 After reviewing the parties’ Joint Status Report, the
4 court hereby vacates the Status (Pretrial Scheduling) Conference
5 scheduled for August 28, 2023, and makes the following findings
6 and orders without needing to consult with the parties any
7 further.
8 I. SERVICE OF PROCESS
9 All defendants have been served, and no further service
10 is permitted without leave of court, good cause having been shown
11 under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b).
12 II. JOINDER OF PARTIES/AMENDMENTS
13 The court has approved the parties’ joint stipulation,
14 requesting that the court extend the deadline for defendant to
15 answer plaintiffs’ Complaints. (See Smart Docket No. 36.)
16 Pursuant to the stipulation, defendant shall file its Answers to
17 plaintiffs’ Complaints by August 31, 2023. No further joinder of
18 parties or amendments to pleadings will be permitted except with
19 leave of court, good cause having been shown under Federal Rule
20 of Civil Procedure 16(b). See Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations,
21 Inc., 975 F.2d 604 (9th Cir. 1992).
22 III. JURISDICTION/VENUE
23 The court has federal question jurisdiction, 28 U.S.C.
24 §§ 1331 and 1337, because plaintiffs bring this putative class
25 action pursuant to §§ 4 and 16 of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. §§
26 15(a) and 26, and for violations of § 1 of the Sherman Antitrust
27 Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1. The court has supplemental jurisdiction over
28 plaintiff’s state law claims under 28 U.S.C. § 1367.
1 Plaintiffs also allege that the court has original
2 jurisdiction under the Class Action Fairness Act, 28 U.S.C. §
3 1332, because (1) the amount in controversy exceeds $5,000,000;
4 (2) there are members of the proposed classes who are citizens of
5 a different state than defendant; and (3) there are 100 or more
6 members in the proposed class.
7 Venue is undisputed and hereby found to be proper.
8 IV. DISCOVERY
9 The parties in the Smart and Colon cases agree to
10 coordinate discovery and other proceedings, when appropriate, to
11 avoid duplication.
12 The parties agreed to serve the initial disclosures
13 required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(1) by August
14 21, 2023. The parties have held their Rule 26(f) conference.
15 The parties in the Smart case have engaged in minimal venue-
16 related discovery. (Id. at 8.) The Smart plaintiffs issued
17 their first set of document requests to defendant on August 16,
18 2023. The parties in the Colon case have engaged in no
19 discovery. (Id. at 9.)
20 The parties shall disclose experts and produce reports
21 in accordance with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(2) by no
22 later than January 7, 2025. With regard to expert testimony
23 intended solely for rebuttal, those experts shall be disclosed
24 and reports produced in accordance with Federal Rule of Civil
25 Procedure 26(a)(2) on or before February 7, 2025.
26 Defendant asks that the court bifurcate discovery so
27 that discovery related to class certification occurs first, and
28 discovery related to the merits of the claims occurs after the
1 court has issued a decision on class certification. (JSR at 12.)
2 Plaintiff believes that bifurcating discovery is inefficient and
3 impractical because there will be considerable overlap between
4 class certification discovery and merits discovery. (Id.)
5 Further, the JSR includes very specific discovery
6 requests, including anticipated subjects of discovery, production
7 of documents, a potential protective order, authenticity of
8 documents, electronic discovery, interrogatories, and
9 depositions. (See id. at 9-17.) The parties also request
10 different deadlines for fact and expert discovery. (Id. at 19-
11 21.)
12 In the Eastern District of California, discovery is
13 managed by the assigned Magistrate Judge. Thus, this Order will
14 not address whether to bifurcate discovery or any of the parties’
15 specific discovery requests. The parties may make any discovery
16 requests or file any discovery related motions with Judge Newman.
17 All discovery, including depositions for preservation
18 of testimony, is left open, save and except that it shall be so
19 conducted as to be completed by March 7, 2025. The word
20 “completed” means that all discovery shall have been conducted so
21 that all depositions have been taken and any disputes relevant to
22 discovery shall have been resolved by appropriate order if
23 necessary and, where discovery has been ordered, the order has
24 been obeyed. All motions to compel discovery must be noticed on
25 the magistrate judge’s calendar in accordance with the local
26 rules of this court and so that such motions may be heard (and
27 any resulting orders obeyed) not later than March 7, 2025.
28 V. MOTION HEARING SCHEDULE
1 Plaintiffs’ motion for class certification shall be
2 filed on or before August 2, 2024. Defendant’s opposition to the
3 motion and plaintiffs’ reply to the opposition shall be filed in
4 accordance with Local Rule 230.1
5 All other motions, except motions for continuances,
6 temporary restraining orders, or other emergency applications,
7 shall be filed on or before April 25, 2025. All motions shall be
8 noticed for the next available hearing date. Counsel are
9 cautioned to refer to the local rules regarding the requirements
10 for noticing and opposing such motions on the court’s regularly
11 scheduled law and motion calendar.
12 VI. FINAL PRETRIAL CONFERENCE
13 The Final Pretrial Conference is set for July 14, 2025,
14 at 1:30 p.m. in Courtroom No. 5. The conference shall be
15 attended by at least one of the attorneys who will conduct the
16 trial for each of the parties and by any unrepresented parties.
17 Counsel for all parties are to be fully prepared for
18 trial at the time of the Pretrial Conference, with no matters
19 remaining to be accomplished except production of witnesses for
20 oral testimony. Counsel shall file separate pretrial statements,
21 and are referred to Local Rules 281 and 282 relating to the
22 contents of and time for filing those statements. In addition to
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1 The parties request specific dates for defendant’s
24 Opposition and plaintiffs’ Reply. Further, the parties request a
specific date for the hearing on the motion for class
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certification. The parties may stipulate to such a briefing
schedule at the time plaintiffs file their motion for class
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certification. The date selected by the parties is not one of
27 the court’s regularly scheduled law and motion days. Counsel is
cautioned to review the court’s calendar when noticing the motion
28 for class certification.
1 those subjects listed in Local Rule 281(b), the parties are to
2 provide the court with: (1) a plain, concise statement which
3 identifies every non-discovery motion which has been made to the
4 court, and its resolution; (2) a list of the remaining claims as
5 against each defendant; and (3) the estimated number of trial
6 days.
7 In providing the plain, concise statements of
8 undisputed facts and disputed factual issues contemplated by
9 Local Rule 281(b)(3)-(4), the parties shall emphasize the claims
10 that remain at issue, and any remaining affirmatively pled
11 defenses thereto. If the case is to be tried to a jury, the
12 parties shall also prepare a succinct statement of the case,
13 which is appropriate for the court to read to the jury.
14 VII. TRIAL SETTING
15 The jury trial is set for September 16, 2025 at 9:00
16 a.m. The parties estimate that the trial will last up to 3
17 weeks.
18 VIII. SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE
19 The parties represent that they are amenable to private
20 mediation by an agreed-upon mediator and will continue to have
21 discussions about the appropriate time for mediation. (JSR at
22 18.) If a resolution is not reached through private mediation by
23 the time of the Pretrial Conference, a Settlement Conference with
24 a magistrate judge will be set at that time. Counsel are
25 instructed to have a principal with full settlement authority
26 present at the Settlement Conference or to be fully authorized to
27 settle the matter on any terms. At least seven calendar days
28 before the Settlement Conference counsel for each party shall
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1 submit a confidential Settlement Conference Statement for review
2 by the settlement judge. The Settlement Conference Statements
3 shall not be filed and will not otherwise be disclosed to the
4 trial judge.
5 IX. MODIFICATIONS TO SCHEDULING ORDER
6 Any requests to modify the dates or terms of this
7 Scheduling Order, except requests to change the date of the
8 trial, may be heard and decided by the assigned Magistrate Judge.
9 | All requests to change the trial date shall be heard and decided
10 only by the undersigned judge.
11 IT IS SO ORDERED.
12 | Dated: August 23, 2023 □□ tteom. Ad. bt—~
13 WILLIAM B. SHUBB
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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