STIPULATION TO CONTINUE CASE DEADLINES AND TRIAL DATE

JOHN A. MENDEZ, District Judge.

Plaintiffs ELIZABETH KOWAL and CONSTANTINE PHILIPIDES ("Plaintiffs") and Defendant ACTION WATERSPORTS OF INCLINE VILLAGE, LLC ("Defendant"), (collectively, "the Parties") jointly stipulate and respectfully request the Court to continue the case deadlines and trial date set through the Status (Pre-Trial Scheduling) Order of February 2, 2018, for the following reasons.

1. Plaintiffs filed the present action on July 14, 2017.

2. Defendant filed its Answer to the Complaint on November 1, 2017.

3. On February 2, 2018, the Court issued its Status (Pre-Trial Scheduling) Order setting forth, inter alia, the dates for completion of discovery, motion practice and trial of the instant matter. (Doc. 8).

4. The Parties now stipulate and respectfully request that these deadlines, including the trial date, be modified as follows:

5. Good cause exists for the Court to grant the requested relief because despite the Parties' diligent efforts to adhere to the case schedule as initially ordered, unforeseen developments outside the Parties' control are expected to interfere with the existing litigation deadlines. The Parties are working together resolve the matter through mediation, and contacted a mutually acceptable neutral, Chris Lavdiotis, to schedule a mediation session in early 2019. Given the underlying legal and factual issues of this case and the amount of Plaintiffs' claimed damages, the Parties agree that a full-day mediation is necessary in order to meaningfully discuss these matters and hopefully resolve their differences. Nevertheless, on or around December 12, 2018, the Parties were informed that Mr. Lavdiotis has no availability for a full day mediation before March 2019. Accordingly, the Parties are in the process of scheduling the mediation for March 6, 2019. The deadlines to complete expert disclosures precede this mediation date, and the deadline to complete discovery is less than ten days thereafter.

6. The requested new deadlines and trial date will give the Parties the opportunity to focus on resolving their differences through the March mediation before incurring the time and expense of engaging and disclosing expert witnesses, and will further give them sufficient time to complete fact and expert discovery and resolve discovery disputes, if any, should the matter not settle in March.

7. In view of this requested continuance of the deadlines to complete discovery, the Parties respectfully request that the Court also continue the deadlines to file and hear case dispositive motions, as the dates currently set for such motions precede the proposed new dates for close of discovery.

8. Given that this case is an admiralty and maritime matter, the proposed continued trial and pre-trial dates will also allow the Parties sufficient time to meet and confer prior to filing any motions on the issue of limitation of Defendant's liability and the potential bifurcation of liability from limitation issues and/or alteration of normal trial procedures. The new case schedule will provide the Parties with further opportunity to engage in settlement discussions before incurring the expense of such anticipated pre-trial motions and cost of a potentially phased trial.

9. Good cause further exists for the requested relief because lead trial counsel for Defendant, Marker Lovell, Jr., will be unavailable in the weeks leading up to the current trial date of August 5, 2019, due to a pro bono engagement. Mr. Lovell has been appointed President of the Orinda-Moraga Pools Association (OMPA), a local non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of Contra Costa County's recreational swimming teams. In his capacity as OMPA President, Mr. Lovell is responsible for organizing and overseeing the 2019 OMPA Championship Meet, which is scheduled to take place on August 2-4, 2019. Such responsibilities are expected to interfere with lead trial counsel's ability to effectively participate in trial preparation of this matter, including drafting and arguing pre-trial motions, as well as his ability to appear before the Court on the current trial start date of August 5, 2019.

10. This is the first request for continuance submitted by the Parties in this case.

NOW, THEREFORE, for the foregoing reasons, the Parties respectfully request that the Court grant this Stipulation and continue the case deadlines and trial date previously set by the Court's Scheduling Order (Doc. 8) as herein set forth.

Undersigned counsel for Defendant, Marker E. Lovell, Jr., certifies that all electronic signatures below have been duly authorized by signatory counsel per Local Rule 131(e).

ORDER (AS MODIFIED BY THE COURT)

Having reviewed the stipulation above of Plaintiffs ELIZABETH KOWAL and CONSTANTINE PHILIPIDES and Defendant ACTION WATERSPORTS OF INCLINE VILLAGE, LLC, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED:

The case deadlines listed in the Status (Pre-Trial Scheduling) Order dated February 2, 2018, (Doc. 8) shall be amended as follows:

IT IS SO ORDERED.