STIPULATION FURTHER EXTENDING DEADLINE FOR DEFENDANTS TO FILE RESPONSIVE PLEADINGS; REQUEST FOR CONTINUANCE OF SCHEDULING CONFERENCE;

ORDER (Doc. 14)

SHEILA K. OBERTO, Magistrate Judge.

The parties to this action, by and through their attorneys of record, hereby stipulate, agree, and request as follows:

1. The initial deadline for Defendants Visalia Unified School District, Irene Davis (erroneously sued as Irene DelCid), Jathor See, Shannon Taylor, and Dedi Somavia (erroneously sued as Dede Somavia) (hereinafter collectively "Defendants") to respond to Plaintiffs' Complaint was May 29, 2018. Counsel for Plaintiffs and Counsel for Defendants initially agreed to extend Defendants' deadline to respond to Plaintiffs' Complaint to June 22, 2018. A stipulation reflecting this agreement was filed with this Court on May 25, 2018 [Document #12].

2. Counsel for Defendants has informed Counsel for Plaintiffs of their intent to file a Special Motion to Strike (anti-SLAPP) concerning several of Plaintiffs' claims and a Motion to Dismiss all of Plaintiffs' claims. This matter involves numerous complex legal issues that require extensive meet and confer efforts to comply with Judge Dale A. Drozd's Standing Order, requiring that counsel "discuss thoroughly the substance of the contemplated motion and any potential resolution."

3. Counsel are continuing to meet and confer on the motions in an attempt to narrow the issues involved and/or avoid the need for the motions. Counsel have exchanged lengthy initial correspondence discussing their respective positions regarding the numerous issues related to the contemplated motions. Additional time is needed for the parties to consider and respond to the initial correspondence, to conduct further research, and to discuss the issues telephonically to determine whether and to what extent any of the issues can be resolved or narrowed.

4. The parties agree that Defendants should have an additional six (6) weeks, or until August 3, 2018, to respond to Plaintiffs' Complaint, including through the filing of the above mentioned motions, or otherwise.

5. The parties further stipulate and agree that the Scheduling Conference currently scheduled for July 5, 2018 at 9:00 a.m. in Courtroom 7 should be continued to October 16, 2018 at 10:15 a.m. in Courtroom 7 to allow time for the issues to be discussed and resolved, if possible, as stated above, and for any motions ultimately filed to be heard and decided.

IT IS SO STIPULATED.

ORDER

In accordance with the parties' "Stipulation Further Extending Deadline for Defendants to File Responsive Pleadings and Request for Continuance of Scheduling Conference" (Doc. 14), and good cause appearing (see Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b)), the Court hereby ORDERS as follows:

1) The deadline for Defendants to respond to Plaintiffs' Complaint SHALL be extended to August 3, 2018.

2) Defendants may file any response to the Complaint, including but not limited to a Motion to Dismiss and/or Special Motion to Strike (anti-SLAPP), and Plaintiffs may oppose or otherwise respond to Defendants' responsive pleadings; and,

3) The Mandatory Scheduling Conference currently set in this matter for July 5, 2018 at 9:00 a.m. (see Doc. 5) is CONTINUED to October 16, 2018 at 10:15 a.m. in Courtroom 7 before Magistrate Judge Sheila K. Oberto. The parties shall file their Joint Scheduling Report by no later than October 9, 2018.

IT IS SO ORDERED.