STIPULATION AND ORDER FOR AN EXTENSION OF 45 DAYS FOR DEFENDANT TO RESPOND TO PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

DALE A. DROZD, Magistrate Judge.

IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED, by and between the parties, through their respective counsel of record, that Defendant shall have an extension of time of an additional 45 days to respond to Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment. This is the first continuance sought by Defendant. Defendant's counsel requests additional time due to the lapse in appropriations that occurred at the end of the day on September 30, 2013. On that day, the appropriation that had been funding the Department of Justice expired and the appropriations to the Department lapsed. The same was true for most Executive agencies, including the Social Security Administration. Defendant requested a stay of proceedings for this case, and the Court granted a stay on October 3, 2013.

Effective October 17, 2013, funds were appropriated for the Department of Justice and the Social Security Administration, and attorneys in both offices are resuming their usual civil litigation functions. Notwithstanding the return of all attorneys, the Office of the General Counsel for the Social Security Administration has a substantial backlog of work as a result of this lapse in appropriations. The Office of the General Counsel is working diligently to prioritize and work through this backlog as efficiently as possible. As such, the Acting Commissioner requests a 45-day extension of time for filing the Commissioner's response to Plaintiff's motion for summary judgment.

After the lifting of the stay, the current due date is October 28, 2013. The new due date will be December 12, 2013. The parties further stipulate that the Court's Scheduling Order shall be modified accordingly.

Respectfully submitted,

ORDER

Pursuant to the parties' stipulation, IT IS SO ORDERED.1