MORRISON C. ENGLAND, Jr., Chief District Judge.
Defendant United States and Plaintiffs Robyn Holloway and Sterling Holloway, by and through their respective counsel, stipulate and respectfully request the below modifications to the Court's Pretrial Scheduling Order (Dkt 21) for good cause.
1. The parties have been cooperative in the discovery and case management process.
2. The parties respectfully request extending currently scheduled dates to permit the parties to complete fact discovery, conduct independent medical examinations, and complete expert discovery.
3. The independent medical examination ("IME") of Plaintiff Sterling Holloway began on October 18, 2013, but was not completed due to Plaintiff's schedule and transportation issues. The parties were required to re-schedule Plaintiff Sterling Holloway's IME.
4. Defendant's medical expert, Dr. Robert Asarnow, had to undergo an unanticipated surgery in November 2013, which required the parties to re-schedule the IMEs for both Plaintiffs and provide sufficient time for Dr. Asarnow to undergo and recuperate from surgery.
5. The parties have recently re-scheduled Plaintiff Sterling Holloway's IME and are in the process of re-scheduling Plaintiff Robyn Holloway's IME.
6. A defense witness whom Plaintiffs have noticed for deposition, Lyn Phillips, is currently on medical leave and not available.
7. Due to a family member's death, Plaintiff's counsel was unavailable and will not be available for a portion of January 2014.
8. The parties have contacted the Court's courtroom deputy to identify possible trial dates to assist with modifying the schedule as efficiently as possible. As a claim under the Federal Tort Claims Act, this matter will be tried to the Court and the anticipated length of trial is five days.
9. The Court previously granted the parties' stipulated request to modify the scheduling order. [Dkt 15] The parties have not previously requested continuing the trial date.
The parties' stipulated request to modify the scheduling order is GRANTED. The current dates are VACATED, and a new pretrial scheduling order will issue in due course.