Filed: Dec. 02, 2016
Latest Update: Dec. 02, 2016
Summary: STIPULATION AND ORDER FOR A FIRST EXTENSION OF TIME FOR DEFENDANT TO FILE HER RESPONSIVE BRIEF SHEILA K. OBERTO , Magistrate Judge . IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED by the parties, through their undersigned attorneys, and with the approval of the Court, that Defendant shall have a first extension of time of 60 days to file her responsive brief. Defendant respectfully requests this additional time because he has a very heavy workload, including an upcoming Ninth Circuit merits brief due in the middl
Summary: STIPULATION AND ORDER FOR A FIRST EXTENSION OF TIME FOR DEFENDANT TO FILE HER RESPONSIVE BRIEF SHEILA K. OBERTO , Magistrate Judge . IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED by the parties, through their undersigned attorneys, and with the approval of the Court, that Defendant shall have a first extension of time of 60 days to file her responsive brief. Defendant respectfully requests this additional time because he has a very heavy workload, including an upcoming Ninth Circuit merits brief due in the middle..
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STIPULATION AND ORDER FOR A FIRST EXTENSION OF TIME FOR DEFENDANT TO FILE HER RESPONSIVE BRIEF
SHEILA K. OBERTO, Magistrate Judge.
IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED by the parties, through their undersigned attorneys, and with the approval of the Court, that Defendant shall have a first extension of time of 60 days to file her responsive brief. Defendant respectfully requests this additional time because he has a very heavy workload, including an upcoming Ninth Circuit merits brief due in the middle of December. In addition, the undersigned has a pre-planned holiday of two week at the end of December and in early January.
The new due date for Defendant's responsive brief and opposition to Plaintiff's brief will be Friday, January 20, 2017.
ORDER
On September 29, 2016, the Court ordered Defendant to file a responsive brief no later than November 21, 2016, pursuant to a stipulation of the parties. (Docs. 17 & 18.) The parties filed the above "Stipulation for a First Extension of Time for Defendant to File Her Responsive Brief" on November 29, 2016, eight days after Defendant's responsive brief deadline expired.
The Court may extend time to act after the deadline has expired because of "excusable neglect." Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(b)(1)(B). Here, although the Stipulation demonstrates good cause under to support the request for extension of time (see Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(4)), no such excusable neglect has been articulated — much less shown-to justify the untimeliness of the request. Notwithstanding this deficiency, given the absence of bad faith or prejudice to Plaintiff (as evidenced by the parties' agreement to the extension of time after the deadline), and in view of the liberal construction of Fed. R. Civ. 6(b)(1) to effectuate the general purpose of seeing that cases are tried on the merits, see Ahanchian v. Xenon Pictures, Inc., 624 F.3d 1253, 1258-59 (9th Cir. 2010), the Court GRANTS the parties' stipulated request. The parties are cautioned that future post hoc request for extensions of time will be viewed with disfavor.
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendant shall have an extension of time, to and including January 20, 2017, by which to file her responsive brief. Any reply by Plaintiff shall be due by February 6, 2017.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
