JOINT STIPULATION TO REVISE CURRENT CASE SCHEDULE AND ORDER THEREON

TROY L. NUNLEY, District Judge.

Defendants SYNTHES, INC., DEPUY SYNTHES SALES, INC., JOHNSON & JOHNSON SERVICES, INC. and SYNTHES USA SALES, LLC ("Defendants") and Plaintiffs EDWIN HOUSTON HAYES and GREG KNAPP ("Plaintiffs"), (collectively referred to herein as "the Parties") by and through their undersigned counsel of record, hereby jointly stipulate and respectfully request that the Court extend the fact discovery, expert disclosure, dispositive motion deadlines and trial date for this litigation. In support of this stipulation, the Parties state as follows:

WHEREAS, this Court entered its initial Pretrial Scheduling Order ("Scheduling Order") on November 13, 2015 (Docket number 12);

WHEREAS, the Parties have requested in good faith and received three previous extensions to the fact discovery deadlines in this case (Docket numbers 15, 20 and 27) based primarily on the availability of witnesses and attorneys for deposition and the ongoing settlement discussions between the parties;

WHEREAS, Plaintiffs' counsel plan to file an Amended Complaint in this action by weeks' end, to add a new Plaintiff, Mark Panozzo ("Panozzo");

WHEREAS, Defendants stipulate to allow Plaintiffs to file an Amended Complaint to add Panozzo, but expressly reserve all rights related to the Amended Complaint, including but not limited to the right to challenge the viability of Panozzo's claims;

WHEREAS, the Parties agree that the current Scheduling Order does not allow the Parties sufficient time to continue their good faith settlement discussions and complete fact discovery, including but not limited to discovery related to the newly added Plaintiff, Panozzo, by the December 5, 2016 deadline;

WHEREAS, based on the progress of the case, the settlement discussions between the Parties, and the newly added Plaintiff, an extension of the deadline for completing fact discovery (and a corresponding extension of other deadlines) and trial will allow the Parties to continue to engage in meaningful settlement discussions and to adequately prepare for trial if those negotiations prove unsuccessful;

WHEREAS, good cause exists for the proposed stipulated extension because it will serve the interests of judicial economy by allowing the Parties to fully explore the possibility settlement without incurring the costs of further depositions or expert discovery and will not delay or prejudice a timely resolution of this case;

THEREFORE, THE PARTIES HEREBY STIPULATE to, and seek an order from this Court, continuing the deadlines and trial date contained in the Scheduling Order as follows:

IT IS SO ORDERED.