Opinion
Anne L. Keck, KECK LAW OFFICES, Santa Rosa, California, Attorneys for Defendants the COUNTY OF TEHAMA and former Sheriff's Deputy ED McCULLOUGH.
BERG & ASSOCIATES Catherine Burns, Attorneys for Plaintiff Drew Gardner.
SECOND STIPULATION TO PROVIDE COUNTY DEFENDANTS AN EXTENSION OF TIME TO RESPOND TO THE COMPLAINT; ORDER
JOHN A. MENDEZ, District Judge.
This joint stipulation and request for entry of order is entered into by and between Plaintiff Drew Gardner ("Plaintiff") and Defendants the County of Tehama, including its administrative subdivision the Tehama County Sheriff's Department, and Ed McCullough, formerly a Tehama County Sheriff's Deputy (collectively, the "County Defendants"), for the purpose of extending the time in which the County Defendants may respond to the Complaint filed herein. Specifically, the parties request the Court to enter an order extending the time in which County Defendants may respond to the Complaint (and any amended complaint) through and including April 30, 2015, or 30 days after filing and service of the amended complaint, whichever is longer. The parties submit that good cause supports this stipulation and request for entry of an order, as set out below.
RECITALS
A. Plaintiff initially filed the Complaint in this action in the Tehama County Superior Court on October 17, 2014. This action was removed to this Court through a Notice of Removal filed by Defendants the California Highway Patrol and CHP Officer Newman (the "CHP Defendants") on November 19, 2014.
B. The parties agree that all of the County Defendants were effectively served with the Summons and Complaint in this matter as of January 22, 2015. Thereafter, the parties entered an initial stipulation to extend the time for County Defendants to respond to the Complaint through March 5, 2015, pursuant to Local Civil Rule 144. (Dkt. No. 17.) Under the terms of such stipulation, the parties agreed that they would seek a Court order for a further extension of time if Plaintiff had not filed an amended complaint by that date. Pursuant to a stipulation with the CHP Defendants, Plaintiff has agreed to file an amended complaint within 30 days after the Court's resolution of Defendant Miller's motion to dismiss, which makes Plaintiffs' amended complaint due on or before March 16, 2015. (See Dkt. No. 13.) Plaintiff has not yet filed his amended complaint.
C. The County Defendants have informed Plaintiff that they intend to file a motion to dismiss in response to the Complaint. These parties have been engaged in a meet and confer process regarding the legal and factual issues relative to such motion, and County Defendants have provided an outline and analysis of the issues with authorities for Plaintiff to review. However, the parties have not yet completed their meet and confer process on the issues.
D. Under these circumstances, the parties to this stipulation agree that it would serve the interests of justice to allow the County Defendants to dispense with their obligation to file a motion to dismiss in response to the current Complaint on file herein, and instead allow them to respond to Plaintiff's anticipated first amended complaint.
E. In addition, counsel for County Defendants, Anne Keck, has filed a Notice of Unavailability and has notified Plaintiff's counsel that she will not be available during the period March 10-27, 2015, and thus will require additional time to review the amended complaint and complete the meet and confer process prior to preparing and filing the motion to dismiss herein. Plaintiff is amenable to providing County Defendants with additional time to address these issues and accommodate Ms. Keck's schedule.
WHEREFORE, the parties to this stipulation hereby agree as follows:
STIPULATION
1. The parties request the Court to enter an order providing County Defendants with an extension of time in which to respond to the initial Complaint and any amended complaint filed herein through and including April 30, 2015, or 30 days after the filing and service of the amended complaint, whichever is longer.
2. Nothing in this Stipulation and request for order is intended to modify the other matters addressed in any Court order unless expressly identified herein, nor does it preclude the parties from seeking additional relief from this Court, to amend this stipulation and order or otherwise.
ORDER
Pursuant to and in accordance with the foregoing Stipulation, and with good cause appearing,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that County Defendants shall be provided with an extension of time in which to respond to the initial Complaint and any amended complaint filed herein through and including April 30, 2015, or 30 days after the filing and service of the amended complaint, whichever is longer.
IT IS SO ORDERED.