Opinion
Civil Action No. 11-cv-02031-MSK-BNB
04-20-2012
HILDA SOLIS, Secretary of Labor, United States Department of Labor, Plaintiff, v. GOLDEN ORCHARD, INC., a corporation d/b/a Golden Orchard Assisted Living, JIM JOHNSTON, individually, and FEROL JOHNSTON, individually, Defendants.
Magistrate Judge Boyd N. Boland
ORDER
This matter arises on the Joint Motion to Stay, Or In the Alternative, to Extend Deadlines for Mediation [Doc. # 42, filed 4/18/2012] (the "Motion"), which is DENIED.
The parties request an order extending all pretrial deadlines, including the dispositive motion deadline and the deadline by which the parties must respond to outstanding discovery, by 90 days to allow the parties to participate in a private mediation scheduled for June 28, 2012. The parties assert in the Motion that "the District of Colorado has a policy favoring the entry of stays to facilitate settlement or other means of alternative dispute resolution," Motion [Doc. # 42] at ¶5, citing D.C.COLO.LCivR16.6. I do not agree. To the contrary, although the local rule allows the district judge to stay the case "[t]o facilitate settlement or resolution," it does not express a policy in favor of such a stay. In my experience of more than 12 years overseeing discovery and settlement discussions, the policy of this court is to require the parties to conduct discovery and settlement negotiations concurrently to avoid unnecessary delay in the preparation of the case for trial. In addition, the Scheduling Order [Doc. # 16] provides that "[a]t the direction of the district judge, any request to extend the dispositive motion deadline more than 30 days beyond the deadline originally set in this Scheduling Order must show exceptional circumstances warranting the extension." Id. at pp. 8, 12. The conduct of settlement negotiations, even through a private mediation, does not constitute an exceptional circumstance. IT IS ORDERED that the Motion [Doc. # 42] is DENIED.
BY THE COURT:
Boyd N. Boland
United States Magistrate Judge