Opinion
Case No. 5:11-cv-204-34TBS.
August 12, 2011
ORDER
Pending before the Court is Plaintiffs' Motion to Postpone the Deadline for Filing Case Management Report. (Doc. 45.) Defendant has filed a response in opposition. (Doc. 50.)
Plaintiffs move the Court to postpone the deadline for filing the case management report until after the Court rules on Plaintiffs' Motion for 216(b) Conditional Class Certification and Court-Authorized Notice ("collective action motion") (Doc. 22) which currently is under advisement. Plaintiffs argue that the Court's ruling on the collective action motion could significantly impact the size and complexity of the case. Defendant objects and argues that a postponement is not necessary because although the volume of discovery might change, the type of discovery the parties will pursue will remain the same.
While the Local Rules do not contemplate such a postponement, the Court finds that a postponement is warranted in this case.See Austin v. Global Connection, 303 Fed.Appx. 750, 753 (11th Cir. 2008) ("District courts have the power to manage their own dockets."). The Court is persuaded that the parties will be in a better position to confer and propose an efficient discovery and trial plan tailored to the size and complexity of the case after obtaining a ruling from the Court on the collective action motion.
See Local Rule 3.05(c)(2)(B) (providing that in a Track Two Case the parties shall meet within 60 days after service of the complaint "regardless of the pendency of any undecided motions, for the purpose of preparing and filing a Case Management Report . . .").
Accordingly, Plaintiffs' Motion to Postpone the Deadline for Filing Case Management Report (Doc. 45) is GRANTED. The parties shall conduct a case management conference: (1) within fifteen (15) days after the deadline for filing consent to join forms if collective action notice is authorized; or (2) within five (5) days after the Court rules on the Plaintiffs' collective action motion if the motion is denied. The parties shall file a joint case management report within fourteen (14) days after their meeting. See Local rule 3.05(c)(2)(B).
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DONE AND ORDERED in Ocala, Florida.