McDonald v. Jones

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California grants defendants’ first request to extend the pretrial motions deadline. The court denies the request insofar as it was brought under Local Rule 233, but finds good cause under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b) and extends the deadline to October 6, 2025.

Holdings

1. A request to extend the pretrial-motions deadline in order to file a summary judgment motion is governed by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b), rather than Local Rule 233, because granting the request would extend the dispositive-motion deadline.
2. Defendants demonstrated good cause under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b)(4) to extend the pretrial-motions deadline from August 22, 2025, to October 6, 2025.

Questions Presented

1. Whether defendants' request to extend the dispositive pretrial-motions deadline was properly governed by Local Rule 233.
2. Whether defendants demonstrated good cause under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b)(4) to modify the scheduling order and extend the pretrial-motions deadline.

Disposition

other