Garcia v. M.G Luna, Inc.

Aug 4, 2026
1:20-cv-00190

ORDER SETTING STATUS CONFERENCE

This matter comes before the Court upon sua sponte review of the docket. The case was filed on February 6, 2020, and no filings have been made since Plaintiffs withdrew their motion for sanctions on December 9, 2025. (Doc. 92).

The Court declines to undertake a complete summary of the convoluted 6-year procedural history of this case, but notes a primary obstacle to moving the case forward appears to be Plaintiffs’ inability to complete service on Defendant Maria Guadalupe Luna and/or M.G. Luna, Inc. (together, the “Luna Defendants”). The court has previously held the Luna Defendants in contempt for failing to respond to defaulted defendant subpoenas and imposed sanctions in August 2024 (Doc. 63); granted a 90-day extension in September 2024 to assess the impact of Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings on Plaintiffs’ ability to effect personal service (Doc. 67); granted an additional 45 days in November 2024 to complete personal service (Doc. 69); and authorized service through the California Secretary of State in February 2025 (Docs. 73, 77-78). Despite these efforts, the docket does not reflect that service has been effectuated service on the Luna Defendants. (See docket).

The Court has also repeatedly stayed the case or granted additional time for Plaintiff and Defendants Westland Farms LLC and Madera Persimmon Growers Inc. to schedule mediation. (Doc. 39 (staying the case for settlement discussions with the Department of Industrial Relations Division of Labor Standards Enforcement in April 2023), Doc.45 (continuing stay in December 2023), Doc. 55 (granting 90 days to meet and confer as to mediation in April 2024), Doc. 64 (granting 14 days to advise as to status of mediation in August 2024), Doc. 69 (granting 45 days to schedule mediation in November 2024), 86 (staying case for 60 days for parties to agree upon a mediator and schedule a mediation in August 2025). In October 2025, Plaintiff filed a status report stating that they attempted to contact Westland Farms LLC and Madera Persimmon Growers Inc., but received no response. (Doc. 88). No further status reports have been filed since then.

Before deciding whether further action is warranted under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) for failure to prosecute, the Court requires updated information regarding: (1) Plaintiffs’ attempts to serve the Luna Defendants; (2) the status of mediation discussions, if any, between Plaintiffs and Defendants Westland Farms LLC and Madera Persimmon Growers Inc.; and (3) and (3) any other avenues for moving this case forward.

Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED:

  1. The Court will hold a status videoconference on August 19, 2026, at 10:00 A.M. via Zoom. The Courtroom Deputy will provide the meeting ID and passcode to the parties by email before the hearing.
  2. The parties shall be prepared to discuss the procedural posture of this case, including:
    1. Plaintiff‘s additional efforts to serve the Luna Defendants, and, the feasibility of further efforts, if any; and
    2. The status of mediation discussions, including whether mediation remains useful given the posture of the case.
    3. Identifying any other avenues for moving this case forward.

Dated: August 4, 2026

HELENA M. BARCH-KUCHTA

UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE