STIPULATION AND ORDER TO STAY DISCOVERY PENDING EARLY MEDIATION

LAWRENCE K. KARLTON, District Judge.

The parties to this action, Dollar Tree Distribution, Inc. ("Dollar Tree"), Sandra M. Barnes, and Plaintiff Charlotte Phillips ("Plaintiff"), by their respective counsel, hereby stipulate and agree, and further request that the Court enter an Order staying further proceedings in this matter, as follows:

WHEREAS, beginning on December 5, 2012, the parties began settlement negotiations and continued such negotiations until the end of the month when the parties reached a stalemate.

WHEREAS, on February 11, 2013, the parties meet and conferred as required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(f). The parties discussed the Eastern District of California's Voluntarily Dispute Resolution Program ("VDRP") and private mediation. By the end of the week, the parties had agreed to privately mediate the dispute before Jeff Ross, Esq. During that initial discussion, it did not appear necessary that the parties would need to request an alternative discovery schedule.

WHEREAS, after the parties filed their Joint Rule 26 statement on February 15, 2013, they learned that Jeff Ross, Esq. was not availability until early June 2013. The parties have, therefore, agreed to use Daniel Quinn, Esq. as a private mediator, and are presently confirmed for April 11, 2013 at Mr. Quinn's office in Stockton, CA.

WHEREAS, the parties agree that their time and resources are better spent focusing on settlement rather than engaging in extensive discovery including initial disclosures, preparing for and taking multiple depositions, preparing and responding to written discovery and until such time as the dispute can be mediated, the parties have agreed to stay all discovery until June 1, 2013.

WHEREAS, the parties do not anticipate any other changes to the proposed schedule in its joint case management order filed on February 15, 2013.

I HEREBY ATTEST THAT THE CONTENT OF THIS DOCUMENT IS ACCEPTABLE TO ALL PERSONS REQUIRED TO SIGN IT.

ORDER

To accommodate the parties' agreement to early mediation, in lieu of engaging in extensive discovery including initial disclosures, preparing for and taking multiple depositions, preparing and responding to written discovery and until such time as the dispute can be mediated, discovery in this action is stayed to and including June 28, 2013. The initial scheduling conference, currently scheduled for March 4, 2013 at 11:00 a.m., is rescheduled to July 15, 2013 at 1:30 p.m. The parties are reminded of their obligation to file status reports 14 days preceding the status conference.

IT IS SO ORDERED.