Opinion
STEVEN M. ANDERSON, STEVEN G. MARTIN, BEST BEST & KRIEGER LLP, Riverside, CA, Attorney for Plaintiff STATE WATER CONTRACTORS.
BRADLEY H. OLIPHANT, UNITED STATES DEP'T OF JUSTICE, Wildlife and Marine Resources Section, Denver, CO.
WILLIAM J. SHAPIRO, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Sacramento, CA, Attorneys for FEDERAL DEFENDANTS.
PLAINTIFF STATE WATER CONTACTORS' AND FEDERAL DEFENDANTS' JOINT STIPULATION AND ORDER EXTENDING STAY REGARDING MOTION FOR ATTORNEYS' FEES AND OTHER EXPENSES
LAWRENCE J. O'NEILL, District Judge.
On March 19, 2015, in response to a joint motion and stipulation by the parties, this Court ordered a stay of the briefing related to the Plaintiff State Water Contractors' ("SWC") motion for an award of attorneys' fees and other expenses (Doc. 772) ("Attorneys' Fees Motion") against Defendants Sally Jewell, Secretary of Interior, et al. ("Federal Defendants") for 180 days from the date of said order. Doc. 771. The Court additionally ordered that at the conclusion of 180 days, SWC and the Federal Defendants must apprise the Court of any settlement or further requested action. Id. The 180-day deadline expires on September 15, 2015.
SWC and the Federal Defendants hereby jointly inform the Court that they are proceeding diligently with settlement discussions regarding the Attorneys' Fees Motion. To further facilitate the completion of the pending settlement discussions, SWC and the Federal Defendants hereby jointly move this Court for an extension of the stay of briefing related to the Attorneys' Fee Motion for an additional 14 days until September 29, 2015. In support of this motion SWC and the Federal Defendants further stipulate as follows:
1. Briefing and argument on the Attorneys' Fees Motions may be unnecessary in light of the parties' intent to attempt to settle the SWC's claims, and accordingly, further proceedings on the Attorneys' Fees Motion should be stayed until September 29, 2015, to allow for further settlement discussions.
2. On or before September 29, 2015, SWC and the Federal Defendants will apprise the Court of any settlement or further requested action, or jointly propose a briefing schedule to address SWC's motion for fees and other expenses if there has been no complete settlement. That schedule will provide for SWC to supplement its motion for recovery of attorneys' fees and other expenses with documentation of all time and expenses sought, including the additional time spent in seeking fees, opposition by the Federal Defendants, and reply by SWC, with a hearing for the motion if the Court deems a hearing necessary.
Based on the joint stipulation set forth above, SWC and the Federal Defendants respectfully request that this Court stay briefing and argument on SWC's motion for recovery of attorneys' fees and other expenses until September 29, 2015.
Respectfully submitted this 14th day of September 2015.
IT IS SO ORDERED.