On June 07, 2018 a
Stipulation,Agreement
was filed
involving a dispute between
Mims, Anna,
Vazquez, Raul,
and
City And County Of San Francisco,
Does 1 To 10,
San Francisco Municipal Transit,
for PERSONAL INJURY/PROPERTY DAMAGE - VEHICLE RELATED
in the District Court of San Francisco County.
Preview
1 DENNIS J. HERRERA, State Bar #139669
City Attorney
2 MEREDITH B. OSBORN, State Bar #250467 ELECTRONICALLY
Chief Trial Deputy F I L E D
3 DAVID A. DELBON, State Bar #133927 Superior Court of California,
County of San Francisco
CHRISTOPHER B. WHITMAN, State Bar #223636
4 Deputy City Attorneys 04/21/2021
Fox Plaza Clerk of the Court
BY: SANDRA SCHIRO
5 1390 Market Street, 6th Floor Deputy Clerk
San Francisco, CA 94102-5408
6 Telephone: (415) 554-3962 [Delbon]
Telephone: (415) 554-4240 [Whitman]
7 Facsimile: (415) 554-3837
Email: david.delbon@sfcityatty.org
8 chris.whitman@sfcityatty.org
9
Attorneys for Defendant
10 CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO
11
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
12
COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO
13
UNLIMITED JURISDICTION
14
RAUL VAZQUEZ, Case No. CGC-18-567035 (Lead Case, Vazquez)
15
Plaintiff, Consolidated With:
16 Case No: CGC-18-572263 (Mims);
vs. Case No: CGC-19-572593 (Woods); and
17 Case No: CGC-18-570306 (Yamawaki)
CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN
18 FRANCISCO, SAN FRANCISCO DECLARATION OF CHRISTOPHER B.
MUNICIPAL TRANSIT, AND DOES 1 TO WHITMAN IN SUPPORT OF STIPULATED
19 10, MOTION TO CONTINUE TRIAL DATE
20 Defendants. Hearing Date: May 18, 2021
Hearing Judge: Samuel K Feng
21 Time: 9:30 a.m.
AND RELATED ACTIONS. Place: Dept. 206
22
Date Action Filed: June 7, 2018
23 Trial Date: June 14, 2021
24
25 I, Christopher B. Whitman, declare as follows:
26 1. I am a Deputy City Attorney with the Office of the City Attorney for the City and
27 County of San Francisco. I am the attorney assigned to handle this action on behalf of Defendant City
28 and County of San Francisco (“the City”). I have personal knowledge of the contents of this
1
Whitman Decl. ISO Mot. to Continue Trial; Case No. CGC-18-567035 n:\lit\li2019\190970\01527047.docx
1 declaration, and if called upon to testify, I could and would testify competently to the contents of this
2 declaration.
3 2. The instant declaration is offered in support of the Stipulated Motion by the City to
4 continue the June 14, 2021 trial date to February 14, 2022.
5 3. This is the parties’ second stipulated request to continue the trial date. The first request
6 was made by stipulated ex parte application, which the Court granted on January 10, 2020.
7 4. Good cause exists for this continuance for the following reasons:
8 • After meeting and conferring, the parties have stipulated to continue the June 14, 2021 trial
9 date to February 14, 2022. (Stipulation to Continue Trial Date, filed concurrently herewith.)
10 • Counsel for the parties have worked diligently and cooperatively to complete discovery and
11 other necessary trial preparation in a timely manner. (Id.)
12 • Deputy City Attorney Christopher B. Whitman, who is counsel of record and lead trial
13 attorney for the City in this matter, was on FMLA parental leave for a period of months between
14 March 2020 and December 2020, and the parties’ agreement to accommodate his leave delayed the
15 parties’ efforts to complete discovery. (Id.)
16 • The parties have been engaged in time-consuming motion practice, including a motion to
17 compel discovery, a writ petition to the First District Court of Appeal for the motion to compel, as
18 well as a motion for summary judgment that the court recently ruled on. (Id.)
19 • The parties wish to explore the possibility of a settlement, including through the use of the
20 Court’s judicial settlement conference program, and hereby request that this case be assigned to a
21 Superior Court Judge for that purpose. But with the current trial date, it would be a hardship to
22 simultaneously complete fact discovery, conduct expert discovery, and prepare for and complete
23 settlement efforts while preparing for trial. (Id.)
24 • Because of ongoing Covid-19 Pandemic, and in particular the risks and difficulties it poses to
25 the parties, the Court, and jurors, the parties wish to continue to the trial to a date when it is more
26 likely to be safe and practical to conduct a jury trial. (Id.)
27 ///
28 ///
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Whitman Decl. ISO Mot. to Continue Trial; Case No. CGC-18-567035 n:\lit\li2019\190970\01527047.docx
1 • No prejudice will result to any of the parties if the Court grants the requested continuance of
2 the trial date. (Id.)
3 I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing is
4 true and correct and that this declaration was executed on April 21, 2021 in San Francisco, CA.
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Whitman Decl. ISO Mot. to Continue Trial; Case No. CGC-18-567035 n:\lit\li2019\190970\01527047.docx
Document Filed Date
April 21, 2021
Case Filing Date
June 07, 2018
Category
PERSONAL INJURY/PROPERTY DAMAGE - VEHICLE RELATED
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1 DENNIS J. HERRERA, State Bar #139669 City Attorney 2 MEREDITH B. OSBORN, State Bar #250467 ELECTRONICALLY Chief Trial Deputy F I L E D 3 DAVID A. DELBON, State Bar #133927 Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco CHRISTOPHER B. WHITMAN, State Bar #223636 4 Deputy City Attorneys 04/21/2021 Fox Plaza Clerk of the Court BY: SANDRA SCHIRO 5 1390 Market Street, 6th Floor Deputy Clerk San Francisco, CA 94102-5408 6 Telephone: (415) 554-3962 [Delbon] Telephone: (415) 554-4240 [Whitman] 7 Facsimile: (415) 554-3837 Email: david.delbon@sfcityatty.org 8 chris.whitman@sfcityatty.org 9 Attorneys for Defendant 10 CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO 11 SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA 12 COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO 13 UNLIMITED JURISDICTION 14 RAUL VAZQUEZ, Case No. CGC-18-567035 (Lead Case, Vazquez) 15 Plaintiff, Consolidated With: 16 Case No: CGC-18-572263 (Mims); vs. Case No: CGC-19-572593 (Woods); and 17 Case No: CGC-18-570306 (Yamawaki) CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN 18 FRANCISCO, SAN FRANCISCO DECLARATION OF CHRISTOPHER B. MUNICIPAL TRANSIT, AND DOES 1 TO WHITMAN IN SUPPORT OF STIPULATED 19 10, MOTION TO CONTINUE TRIAL DATE 20 Defendants. Hearing Date: May 18, 2021 Hearing Judge: Samuel K Feng 21 Time: 9:30 a.m. AND RELATED ACTIONS. Place: Dept. 206 22 Date Action Filed: June 7, 2018 23 Trial Date: June 14, 2021 24 25 I, Christopher B. Whitman, declare as follows: 26 1. I am a Deputy City Attorney with the Office of the City Attorney for the City and 27 County of San Francisco. I am the attorney assigned to handle this action on behalf of Defendant City 28 and County of San Francisco (“the City”). I have personal knowledge of the contents of this 1 Whitman Decl. ISO Mot. to Continue Trial; Case No. CGC-18-567035 n:\lit\li2019\190970\01527047.docx 1 declaration, and if called upon to testify, I could and would testify competently to the contents of this 2 declaration. 3 2. The instant declaration is offered in support of the Stipulated Motion by the City to 4 continue the June 14, 2021 trial date to February 14, 2022. 5 3. This is the parties’ second stipulated request to continue the trial date. The first request 6 was made by stipulated ex parte application, which the Court granted on January 10, 2020. 7 4. Good cause exists for this continuance for the following reasons: 8 • After meeting and conferring, the parties have stipulated to continue the June 14, 2021 trial 9 date to February 14, 2022. (Stipulation to Continue Trial Date, filed concurrently herewith.) 10 • Counsel for the parties have worked diligently and cooperatively to complete discovery and 11 other necessary trial preparation in a timely manner. (Id.) 12 • Deputy City Attorney Christopher B. Whitman, who is counsel of record and lead trial 13 attorney for the City in this matter, was on FMLA parental leave for a period of months between 14 March 2020 and December 2020, and the parties’ agreement to accommodate his leave delayed the 15 parties’ efforts to complete discovery. (Id.) 16 • The parties have been engaged in time-consuming motion practice, including a motion to 17 compel discovery, a writ petition to the First District Court of Appeal for the motion to compel, as 18 well as a motion for summary judgment that the court recently ruled on. (Id.) 19 • The parties wish to explore the possibility of a settlement, including through the use of the 20 Court’s judicial settlement conference program, and hereby request that this case be assigned to a 21 Superior Court Judge for that purpose. But with the current trial date, it would be a hardship to 22 simultaneously complete fact discovery, conduct expert discovery, and prepare for and complete 23 settlement efforts while preparing for trial. (Id.) 24 • Because of ongoing Covid-19 Pandemic, and in particular the risks and difficulties it poses to 25 the parties, the Court, and jurors, the parties wish to continue to the trial to a date when it is more 26 likely to be safe and practical to conduct a jury trial. (Id.) 27 /// 28 /// 2 Whitman Decl. ISO Mot. to Continue Trial; Case No. CGC-18-567035 n:\lit\li2019\190970\01527047.docx 1 • No prejudice will result to any of the parties if the Court grants the requested continuance of 2 the trial date. (Id.) 3 I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing is 4 true and correct and that this declaration was executed on April 21, 2021 in San Francisco, CA. 5 6 7 CHRISTOPHER B. WHITMAN 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 3 Whitman Decl. ISO Mot. to Continue Trial; Case No. CGC-18-567035 n:\lit\li2019\190970\01527047.docx