Opinion
18cv2110-DMS-LL
06-18-2021
JEFFREY A. HARPER; KATHERINE M. HARPER, Plaintiffs, v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Defendant.
ORDER DENYING JOINT MOTION
TO CONTINUE EARLY NEUTRAL
EVALUATION AND CASE
MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE [ECF No. 39]
Linda Lopez United States Magistrate Judge
Currently before the Court is the parties' Joint Motion to Continue the video Early Neutral Evaluation Conference (“ENE”) and Case Management Conference (“CMC”) set for July 7, 2021. ECF No. 39. The parties seek to continue the ENE and CMC for forty-five days “to permit the parties additional time to file and the Court time to consider a motion to stay this action pending a decision in a related matter in the United States Tax Court.” Id. at 2. The parties state they anticipate filing a joint motion to stay by June 30, 2021. Id. at 4.
Pursuant to Civil Local Rule 16.1.c.1, “[w]ithin forty-five (45) days of the filing of an answer, counsel and the parties must appear before the assigned judicial officer supervising discovery for an early neutral evaluation conference[.]” Additionally, the Court previously advised that “[r]equests to continue ENEs are rarely granted.” See ECF No. 38 at 5. The anticipated filing of a joint motion to stay the case is not good cause to continue the ENE and CMC at this time. Accordingly, the parties' Joint Motion is DENIED. The parties are reminded their confidential ENE statements and participant statements are due on or before June 28, 2021 . See ECF No. 28 at 3, 7.
IT IS SO ORDERED.