STIPULATION TO ENLARGE TIME TO RESPOND TO DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR JUDGMENT ON THE PLEADINGS AND PROPOSED SCHEDULING ORDER

VINCE CHHABRIA, District Judge.

STIPULATION TO ENLARGE TIME

Pursuant to Civil L.R. 6-2, the Parties respectfully request the Court extend the deadline for Plaintiffs' response to Federal Defendants' motion for judgment on the pleadings, ECF No. 145, and to enter a briefing schedule for the parties' remaining responses, including Plaintiffs' response (including a cross-motion), Defendants' reply and opposition to a cross-motion, and Plaintiffs' final reply.

1. On August 27, 2018, Federal Defendants made their final production of documents pursuant to the Court's January 10 Order. In accordance with the Amended Protective Order, ECF No. 140, Federal Defendants provided most documents unredacted, holding any claims of deliberative process privilege to be determined once Plaintiffs identify which documents they intend to use in summary judgment briefing. However, Federal Defendants withheld under claims of deliberative process privilege thirty-two unique interagency documents, and are currently in the process of reaching out to those agencies to determine whether they will agree to the production of those documents in unredacted form pursuant to the Amended Protective Order. Plaintiffs have yet to receive those documents, but Federal Defendants estimate they will be produced by the end of this week, or October 5.

2. On August 30, 2018, Federal Defendants moved for judgment on the pleadings as to four of Plaintiffs' claims, ECF No. 145. On the same day, the parties moved jointly for an extension of time for Plaintiffs to respond, as had been negotiated by the parties prior to the filing of the motion. ECF No. 146. The parties requested, and the Court granted, an extension for Plaintiffs' response until October 5, with Defendants' reply due October 22. ECF No. 149.

3. On September 13, 2018, Magistrate Corley held a status conference regarding the administrative record, holding the deadline for the filing of the final administrative record in abeyance pending the resolution of the deliberative process privilege issues. ECF No. 152. On September 27, 2018 the parties again appeared before Magistrate Corley to discuss the remaining issues for completing the record. Federal Defendants are still working to resolve the interagency confidential document processes and produce documents to Plaintiffs, to complete their production of the administrative record.

4. Plaintiffs are currently working to review the documents produced at the end of August, and are waiting to review the several withheld interagency documents once they are produced. Pursuant to the Amended Protective Order, Plaintiffs must identify for Defendants certain documents designated as Confidential Information they wish to rely upon in their briefing, and provide fourteen days notice in advance of the intended use. ECF No. 140 at ¶ 14. Accordingly, Plaintiffs seek to build in time to both finish reviewing the record documents and to provide for the fourteen days notice to Defendants of any intended use of documents designated as Confidential, pursuant to the Protective Order.

5. In conjunction with their opposition to Federal Defendants' motion for judgment on the pleadings, Plaintiffs intend to file a cross-motion.

6. The parties have met and conferred regarding a schedule for the remaining briefing on the pending motion for judgment on the pleadings and accordingly propose the following deadlines to complete briefing on the pending motion:

7. Plaintiffs are still completing review of the administrative record at the same time as the Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings briefing. Accordingly Plaintiffs will be filing a cross-motion, but based on their review of the record, and the privileged document processes described above, are unsure at this time whether that motion will be a cross-motion for judgment on the pleadings or a cross-motion for summary judgment on the specific claims at issue. In the event Plaintiffs file a cross-motion for summary judgment instead on those claims, the Parties agree to re-consider the above schedule and submit a new scheduling proposal to the Court.

ATTESTATION

Pursuant to Local Rule 5-1(i)(3), I attest that I am the ECF user whose user ID and password are being used in the electronic filing of this document.

[PROPOSED] ORDER

In consideration of the foregoing stipulation, the schedule for completing briefing on Defendants' pending Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings (ECF No. 145) and any cross-motion by Plaintiffs is ordered as follows:

IT IS SO ORDERED.