Opinion
1:21-CV-631
10-12-2021
DEREK J. TOWNSEND, Plaintiff, v. GLOBAL CREDIT & COLLECTION CORPORATION, Defendant.
ORDER
Joi Elizabeth Peake United States Magistrate Judge
This matter is before the Court on the parties' Joint Rule 26(f) Report [Doc. #14]. The Court has reviewed the Joint Report and will defer ruling on the Joint Report and will continue the Initial Pretrial Conference until November 18, 2021. Any Motion to Compel Arbitration must be filed by November 4, 2021. On or before November 11, 2021, the Parties must meet and confer again, and must file a Supplemental Joint Rule 26(f) Report with regard to any proposal for discovery regarding the arbitration issue and a schedule for completing the briefing. In addition, the deadline for filing a Motion for Class Certification under Local Rule 23.1(b) is stayed, and the Parties may also address that schedule in the Supplemental Report. Finally, the Court is inclined to require mediation even if discovery is otherwise stayed while a Motion to Compel Arbitration is pending, but the Parties may also address that in the Supplemental Report.
Counsel for Defendant filed a Motion for Leave to Appear at the Initial Conference by Telephone [Doc. #15], which will be denied as moot in light of this Order. If disputes remain in the Supplemental Report and an Initial Pretrial Conference is necessary on November 18, 2021, the Court anticipates conducting the conference by telephone and will provide directions after reviewing the Supplemental Report.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the Initial Pretrial Conference is CONTINUED to November 18, 2021, and the Court will defer ruling on the Parties' Joint Rule 26(f) Report [Doc. #14]; any Motion to Compel Arbitration must be filed by November 4, 2021; and on or before November 11, 2021, the Parties must meet and confer and must file a Supplemental Joint Rule 26(f) Report as outlined herein. Defendant's Motion for Leave to Appear [Doc. #15] is moot.