Opinion
Case No. C-08-03406 SBA
November 29, 2011.
GEOFFREY V. WHITE, LAW OFFICE OF GEOFFREY V. WHITE, Attorneys for Plaintiff.
HORACE W. GREEN, GREEN HUMBERT, Attorneys for Defendants.
STIPULATION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE CROSS-MOTIONS FOR JUDGMENT AND [PROPOSED ] ORDER THEREON
Pursuant to Civil Local rule 16-2(e) and this Court's Standing Order, Plaintiff Patricia Fortlage and Defendant Heller Ehrman Long-Term Disability Plan, through their undersigned counsel, hereby stipulate and agree as follows:
WHEREAS, this is an action by Plaintiff Fortlage to recover Long-Term Disability benefits;
WHEREAS, on July 21, 2011, the Court set the date for the parties to file Cross-Motions for Judgment or Summary Judgment in this action for December 6, 2011, with discovery to be completed by October 31, 2011 (Doc. 129);
WHEREAS, the parties have completed discovery by the scheduled cutoff date of October 31, 2011;
WHEREAS, after the date of the Court's Scheduling Order, Plaintiff's counsel received scheduling orders involving two actions for breach of fiduciary duty, one against a pension plan and another against a disability plan in the Eastern District of California, involving complex discovery and summary judgment motion practice during the period November 2011 through January 2012, with firm Court trial dates set in those actions;
WHEREAS, after the date of the Court's Scheduling Order, Plaintiff's counsel also received a briefing schedule in a complex ERISA appeal now pending in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, with Plaintiff's Opening Brief due on January 31, 2012, and requiring coordination with the U.S. Department of Labor as amicus;
WHEREAS, Plaintiff's counsel is a sole practitioner, and it would be practically impossible for counsel to meet the requirements of the current briefing schedule for filing Cross-Motions for Judgment herein;
NOW THEREFORE, it is hereby stipulated by and between the parties, through their undersigned counsel, that pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.Pro. Rule 16(b)(4), good cause exists to modify the Court's Scheduling Order, and the Court is respectfully requested to extend the time for the parties to file their Cross-Motions for Judgment or Summary Judgment to February 7, 2012, with Opposition filed on February 21, 2012, and any Reply by February 28, 2012. Further, the parties respectfully request that the date for the next Case Management Conference be extended for approximately 60 days. As the Court has not set other dates for Pretrial or Trial, the parties believe no other dates are affected by this Stipulation.
ORDER
Pursuant to the above Stipulation, the Court finds that good cause exists to modify its Scheduling Order as follows: The parties shall file their Cross-Motions for Judgment or Summary Judgment on February 7, 2012; Opposition papers shall be filed by February 21, 2012; and any Reply by February 28, 2012.
The next Case Management Conference shall by held by telephone on