STIPULATION AND ORDER CONTINUING CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE TO HEARING DATE ON DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO DISMISS.

WILLIAM H. ORRICK, District Judge.

Plaintiff John F. Kirk and Defendant Lockheed Martin Group Benefits Plan, by and through their counsel of record, jointly and respectfully request that the Court continue the scheduled Case Management Conference ("CMC") from July 16, 2015, to August 5, 2015, the date on which Defendant's Motion to Dismiss is set to be heard. All parties have been served. The parties previously requested a continuance of the CMC when Defendant was served shortly before the originally scheduled CMC set for June 2, 2015; the Court rescheduled the CMC to July 16th.

Good cause exists for the requested continuance. Plaintiff filed this action under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA"), 29 U.S.C. §§1001 et seq. On June 29, 2015, Defendant filed a Motion to Dismiss based on lack of subject matter jurisdiction due to payment of benefits and failure to exhaust administrative remedies. Plaintiff's Opposition is due on July 13th. The CMC is currently scheduled for Thursday, July 16th at 1:00 p.m., which is before Defendant's July 20th deadline for filing a Reply Brief in support of its Motion to Dismiss, and the Motion hearing on August 5th.

The parties believe that it would be a more effective use of time and resources for the scheduling issues to be addressed with the Court, as necessary, after the Court hears Defendant's Motion on August 5th. The outcome of the Motion may either (a) dispense with the need for setting dates, or (b) help guide the parties and Court as to further scheduling matters. The parties will likewise be in a better position to address the Court's inquiries about the case after the Motion hearing. The parties have already filed a Stipulation selecting mediation before the ADR panel, which the Court has approved.

Accordingly, the parties respectfully request that the Court continue the CMC scheduled for July 16, at 1:00 p.m. to August 5, 2015, at 2:00 p.m., when Defendant's Motion to Dismiss is set to be heard. The parties likewise request a continuance of the deadline for filing the Joint CMC Statement to one week before any rescheduled Conference. A proposed ORDER is set forth below for the Court's review and approval.

IT IS SO STIPULATED.

ORDER

The parties having stipulated as set forth above, IT IS ORDERED that the Case Management Conference in this action is hereby continued from July 16, 2015 to August 5, 2015, at 2:00 p.m. The parties shall file their Joint Case Management Conference Statement one week in advance of the rescheduled Conference.