STIPULATED REQUEST AND ORDER TO MODIFY SCHEDULING ORDER

WILLIAM B. SHUBB, District Judge.

Pursuant to Local Rule 144, the undersigned parties submit this stipulated request to modify the scheduling order, Dkt. No. [73], as modified on May 3, 2018, Dkt. No. [171], July 24, 2018, Dkt. No. [218], and October 16, 2018, Dkt. No. [246]. The parties1 request that all deadlines be extended by 90 days. In support of their request, the parties state as follows:

1. This Court entered a Scheduling Order on July 18, 2017 ("Initial Scheduling Order"), which set the discovery deadline for April 13, 2018, the non-dispositive and dispositive motion filing deadlines for July 23, 2018, the pretrial conference on October 9, 2018, and the trial date for December 11, 2018. Dkt. No. [73].

2. On May 3, 2018, Judge Brennan entered an order granting Plaintiff's request to extend the discovery deadline to July 16, 2018. Dkt. No. [171]. Judge Brennan denied Plaintiff's request to extend the dispositive motions filing deadline, and all other deadlines remained in place. Id.

3. On July 24, 2018, this Court entered an order granting the parties' stipulated request to modify the scheduling order. Dkt. No. [218]. The discovery deadline was extended to October 16, 2018, and the deadline for filing a motion for class certification was extended to October 30, 2018. Id. The deadline for filing dispositive motions was extended until 30 days following the Court's ruling on any motion for class certification. Id. The pretrial conference was set for April 9, 2019, and trial was set for July 11, 2019. Id.

4. On October 16, 2018, this Court entered an order granting another stipulated request from Plaintiff and Defendants Equifax, Robert McGinley, and John McGinley to modify the scheduling order.2 Dkt. No. [246]. The discovery deadline was extended to December 17, 2018, and the deadline for filing a motion for class certification was extended to January 14, 2019. The pretrial conference and trial dates were not changed.

5. The parties have diligently pursued discovery in this case. However, despite their diligent efforts, the parties cannot complete the necessary discovery by the December 17, 2018 deadline.

6. Equifax needs additional time to depose four witnesses: Defendant Mark Hassan, Defendant Kamies Elhouty, non-party John Schwartz, and a representative of non-party Hanlees Nissan. These witnesses have recently provided or may provide (in the case of Hanlees Nissan) declarations to Plaintiff.

7. Equifax has been diligently working to take these depositions over the last two months, but has been unable to do so because of the unavailability of the witnesses. Most notably, Equifax's counsel traveled from Atlanta, Georgia to Los Angeles, California to take the noticed deposition of Mark Hassan at the agreed date, time, and location, but Mr. Hassan failed to appear.

8. Equifax understands that all four witnesses, including Mr. Hassan, will voluntarily appear in early 2019 and Equifax is actively working to confirm dates for those depositions.

9. Plaintiff also needs additional time to complete discovery. On December 5, 2018, Plaintiff served 19 third-party subpoenas for documents, and may require additional time to obtain the documents requested.

10. Plaintiff has also requested a 90-day discovery extension to allow Plaintiff to discover the administrator, executor, or distribute(s) of Robert McGinley's estate. See Dkt. No. [265].

11. While completing the outstanding discovery, Equifax and Plaintiff have agreed to discuss a possible resolution of this matter. Additional time would facilitate those discussions before Plaintiff moves for class certification or Equifax moves for summary judgment.

12. Further, Defendants Kamies Elhouty and Geneva Motors, Inc. require additional time to complete discovery, as they have only recently appeared in this case, and their Answer was filed on December 10, 2018. See Dkt. No. [266].

13. In light of the foregoing, the parties agree and stipulate to further modifications to the Court's scheduling order as follows:

14. The parties agree and stipulate that the deadline for filing dispositive motions shall remain 30 days following the Court's ruling on any motion for class certification.

15. By entering into this stipulation, the parties do not waive any objections to pending or future discovery requests that are unrelated to the discovery deadline.

16. Nothing shall restrict any party from filing a dispositive motion prior to the deadline set forth above.

ORDER

IT IS SO ORDERED:

1. The Court modifies the Scheduling Order as follows: