Opinion
CASE NO. 2:11-CV-01155-PMP-GWF
03-18-2013
STEVEN and SYLVIA STAUFFER, on behalf of herself and all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. CHASE HOME FINANCE, LLC; CHASE MANHATTAN MORTGAGE CORP., COOPER CASTLE LAW FIRM; and FEDERAL HOME LOAN MORTGAGE CORP., Defendants.
Kent F. Larsen, Esq. Nevada Bar No. 3463 Katie M. Weber, Esq. Nevada Bar No. 11736 SMITH LARSEN & WIXOM Ben Suter, Esq. ( pro hac vice ) David D. Piper, Esq. ( pro hac vice ) James F. Kuhne, Jr., Esq. (pro hac vice ) KEESAL, YOUNG & LOGAN Attorneys for Defendant JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as successor by merger to Chase Home Finance LLC, as successor by merger to Chase Manhattan Mortgage Corp. and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation
Kent F. Larsen, Esq.
Nevada Bar No. 3463
Katie M. Weber, Esq.
Nevada Bar No. 11736
SMITH LARSEN & WIXOM
Ben Suter, Esq. (pro hac vice)
David D. Piper, Esq. (pro hac vice)
James F. Kuhne, Jr., Esq. (pro hac vice)
KEESAL, YOUNG & LOGAN
Attorneys for Defendant
JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as successor
by merger to Chase Home Finance LLC, as
successor by merger to Chase Manhattan
Mortgage Corp. and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation
PARTIE'S JOINT STATUS REPORT
AND STIPULATION AND
[PROPOSED] ORDER TO STAY ALL
LITIGATION AND DISCOVERY
PROCEEDINGS FOR 45 DAYS
PENDING SETTLEMENT
NEGOTIATIONS
Defendants JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as successor by merger to Chase Home Finance LLC, as successor by merger to Chase Manhattan Mortgage Corp, ("Chase"), Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation ("Freddie Mac"), and The Cooper Castle Law Firm ("Cooper Castle") (collectively, "Defendants"), and Plaintiffs Steven Stauffer and Sylvia Stauffer ("Plaintiffs") (Defendants and Plaintiffs collectively referred to as "the Parties"), hereby submit this Joint Status Report to provide the Court with an update regarding the status of these proceedings and, in particular, the Parties' efforts toward achieving a settlement of the claims at issue therein. Further, in light of the ongoing good faith settlement discussions, the Parties hereby stipulate to and respectfully request that this Court grant a forty-five (45) day stay of all litigation and discovery proceedings herein so that the Parties may continue to focus their efforts on achieving a resolution of this matter outside of litigation. As grounds for this stipulated stay of proceedings, the Parties submit the following:
1. This Court entered its Scheduling Order on May 15, 2012 (the "Order"), setting a discovery cut-off deadline of December 31, 2012.
2. Since that time, the Parties have each served their initial disclosures pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1), and Plaintiffs have propounded interrogatories and requests for production of documents upon each of the Defendants.
3. The Parties have and continue to work in good faith to make reasonable accommodations to their respective obligations under the Order. However, the Parties are currently engaged in good faith settlement negotiations which may result in dismissal of all claims asserted herein. Accordingly, on October 16, 2012, the Parties met and conferred regarding the timing of their respective obligations under the Order and agreed to extend the deadlines to respond to their written discovery requests and seek a forty-five (45) day stay of all pre-trial dates and deadlines while settlement discussions continue.
4. Pursuant to the Court's February 25, 2013 Order, the parties report that they are finalizing settlement documentation and the case should not be closed. A 45 day extension is requested to allow finalization of the documents.
5. In light of the ongoing settlement negotiations, the Parties believe that good cause exists to grant a forty-five (45) day stay of all proceedings herein. This request is not made for the purposes of delay. Instead, the Parties agree and acknowledge that a temporary stay of all proceedings herein will serve the interests of judicial economy and may allow the Parties to resolve this lawsuit without incurring unnecessary additional fees and costs. See, e.g., Mediterranean Enterprises, Inc. v. Ssangyong Corp., 708 F.2d 1458, 1465 (9th Cir. 1983) (temporary stay of proceedings applicable to preserve judicial efficiency and fairness).
6. Accordingly, the Parties respectfully request that this Court grant the Parties a stay of litigation and discovery proceedings in this action for forty-five (45) days from the date the Court enters its order approving this stipulation. SMITH LARSEN & WIXOM _______________
Kent F. Larsen, Esq.
Nevada Bar No. 3463
Katie M. Weber, Esq.
Nevada Bar No. 11736
1935 Village Center Circle
Las Vegas, Nevada 89134
and
Ben Suter, Esq. (pro hac vice)
David D. Piper, Esq. (pro hac vice)
James F. Kuhne, Jr., Esq, (pro hac vice)
KEESAL, YOUNG & LOGAN
400 Oceangate
Long Beach, California 90801-1730
Attorneys for Defendants
JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as successor
by merger to Chase Home Finance LLC, as
successor by merger to Chase Manhattan
Mortgage Corp., and Federal National
Mortgage Corporation
_______________
Benjamin B. Childs, Esq.
Nevada Bar No. 3946
318 S. Maryland Pkwy.
Las Vegas, NV 89101
and
Paul Grobman, Esq. (pro hac vice)
555 5th Ave., 17th Floor
New York, NY 10017
Attorneys for Plaintiffs
LEWIS BRISBOIS BISGAARD & SMITH
LLP
_______________
Josh Cole Aicklen, Esq.
Nevada Bar No. 7254
Timothy Elson, Esq.
Nevada Bar No. 11559
6385 S. Rainbow Blvd., Suite 600
Las Vegas, NV 89118
Attorneys for Defendant
The Cooper Castle Law Firm
IT IS SO ORDERED:
______________________________
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE