STIPULATION AND PROPOSED ORDER TO CONTINUE INITIAL SCHEDULING CONFERENCE AND EXTEND TIME FOR DEFENDANT TO RESPOND TO DISCOVERY; [PROPOSED] ORDER
(Doc. 26)
JENNIFER L. THURSTON, Magistrate Judge.
This Stipulation is made by and between Plaintiffs STEPHEN HALE and O'BRIAN RANGEL ("Plaintiffs") and Defendants ENSIGN UNITED STATES DRILLING (CALIFORNIA), INC., ENSIGN ENERGY SERVICES, INC., and ENSIGN UNITED STATES DRILLING, INC. (collectively "Defendants"), through their attorneys of record in this case, with reference to the following facts:
1. On July 7, 2015, Plaintiffs filed this putative class action alleging violations of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act ("WARN Act"), codified at 29 U.S.C. § 2101 et seq. and California Labor Code § 1400 et seq. ("Cal-WARN Act");
2. Defendants Ensign United States Drilling, Inc. and Ensign United States Drilling (California), Inc. answered the Complaint on September 2, 2015. Defendant Ensign Energy Services, Inc. answered the Complaint on September 10, 2015;
3. Counsel for the Parties participated in conference calls pursuant to Rule 26 on October 1, 2015 and October 7, 2015;
4. On January 14, 2016, Plaintiffs served Defendant Ensign United States Drilling (California), Inc. with Plaintiffs' First Request for Production of Documents, for which responses were due to be served to Plaintiffs on February 16, 2016;
5. On January 19, 2016, Counsel for the Parties participated in a third conference call to discuss the Parties' discovery plan and other matters to be covered in the joint status report;
6. On February 3, 2016, Plaintiffs provided Defendants with a draft Joint Status Report and the Parties participated in an additional conference call regarding a discovery plan and motions designed to identify significant issues in the case, as well as the possibility of dismissing Ensign Energy Services, Inc. from the Complaint;
7. On February 11, 2016, the Parties filed a Stipulation pursuant to Local Rule 6-144(a) of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California to extend Ensign's time for responding to the Requests for Production until March 16, 2016 (Dkt. No. 22.);
8. On March 2, 2016, the Court set the Initial Scheduling Conference for March 30, 2016 at 8:30 a.m. at 510 19th Street, Bakersfield, CA 93301 before Magistrate Judge Jennifer L. Thurston (Dkt. No. 25.);
9. On March 8, 2016, Defendants provided Plaintiffs with a revised draft Joint Status Report, which included a detailed summary of Defendants' proposed discovery plan and a spreadsheet setting forth a proposed, tiered schedule for producing currently identified documents responsive to Plaintiffs' Request for Production of Documents;
10. On March 9, 2016, the Parties met and conferred regarding (a) Defendants' revisions to Plaintiffs' draft Joint Status Report, which set forth Defendants' proposal to initially prioritize discovery to address issues raised in Defendants' anticipated Motion for Summary Judgment against each of the two named plaintiffs and Plaintiffs' anticipated certification motion; (b) the possibility of dismissing Ensign Energy Services, Inc. without prejudice; and (c) Ensign United States Drilling (California), Inc.'s responses to Plaintiffs' Request for Production of Documents;
11. Defendants have agreed to provide Plaintiffs a copy of the draft Motion for Summary Judgment by March 16, 2016 so that the Parties can, if possible, negotiate a stipulated hearing schedule that permits sufficient time for Plaintiffs to conduct discovery concerning the relevant issues in the case;
12. The Parties have agreed to enter a stipulation dismissing Ensign Energy Services, Inc. from this action without prejudice subject to a tolling agreement and Plaintiffs' continued ability to conduct discovery related to this Defendant;
13. The Parties have agreed that they are making progress in narrowing the scope of differences between the Parties' respective positions related to discovery and would benefit from additional time to finalize the Joint Status Report and Proposed Discovery Plan;
14. No previous continuances or extensions of time to file a Joint Status Report have been sought by the Parties;
NOW THEREFORE, the Parties stipulate and jointly request that the Court continue the Initial Scheduling Conference until April 20, 2016, or as soon thereafter as the Court's calendar permits, and extend Ensign United States Drilling (California), Inc.'s deadline for responding to Requests for Production of Documents to the dates set forth in the Parties' Proposed Discovery Plan, if the Parties are able to agree upon a discovery schedule, or otherwise until April 29, 2016 or such other date as set by the Court at the Initial Scheduling Conference.
IT IS SO STIPULATED.
ORDER
Based on the Stipulation to Continue the Initial Scheduling Conference and Extend time for Defendant to Respond to Discovery submitted by the parties, and good cause appearing, the Court hereby orders that:
1. The March 30, 2016 Initial Scheduling Conference, and all deadlines related thereto, are vacated.
2. The Initial Scheduling Conference is continued to April 20, 2016 at 9:30 a.m.
3. The parties shall file a Joint Scheduling Report at least 15 days before the Initial Status Conference.
4. Ensign United States Drilling (California), Inc.'s deadline for responding to Request for Production of Documents is extended and will be determined in accordance with the Parties' discovery plan, or otherwise, as set by the Court at the Initial Scheduling Conference.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
