STIPULATION AND PROPOSED ORDER TO MODIFY SCHEDULING ORDER TO EXTEND DISPOSITIVE MOTION DEADLINE BY TWENTY-ONE DAYS

CAROLYN K. DELANEY, Magistrate Judge.

Under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 16(b)(4) and Local Rule 143, the parties, through their counsel of record, agree to and request a modification of the March 26, 2018 Scheduling Oder (ECF No. 53) to extend the dispositive-motion deadline by twenty-one days. Good cause exists to grant this stipulated request because the parties require more time to meet and confer about the motion Defendants intend to file and to file the proposed motion.

A scheduling order may be modified only upon a showing of good cause and by leave of Court. Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(b)(1)(A), 16(b)(4); see, e.g., Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604, 609 (describing the factors a court should consider in ruling on such a motion). In considering whether a party moving for a schedule modification has good cause, the Court primarily focuses on the diligence of the party seeking the modification. Johnson, 975 F.2d at 609 (citing Fed. R. Civ. P. 16 advisory committee's notes of 1983 amendment). "The district court may modify the pretrial schedule `if it cannot reasonably be met despite the diligence of the party seeking the amendment.'" Id. (quoting Fed. R. Civ. P. 16 advisory committee notes of 1983 amendment).

On March 26, 2018, the Court issued a Scheduling Order requiring, as relevant here, that dispositive motions be filed no later than April 3, 2019, and be set for hearing no later than May 1, 2019. (ECF No. 53.) The parties request an extension of the dispositive-motion deadlines because they require additional time to meet and confer about the intended motion to ascertain if they can agree on a statement of undisputed facts and which issues and facts are truly disputed. Defendants also require more time to file the motion once the parties' information discussions are completed.

The parties have timely completed fact and expert discovery. Although the attorney for Defendants has started the statement of undisputed facts in support of Defendants' intended motion, she will not be able to complete it and provide it to Plaintiff's attorney to review until the first week of April 2019. Defense counsel has had several pressing deadlines that prevented her from completing the draft statement for Plaintiff's review sooner. These deadlines included but are not limited to: objections to findings and recommendation filed in Herrera v. Redding (E.D. Cal. No. 1:14-cv-0164 LJO-BAM), Joint Scheduling Report in J.A.J. v. Jimenez (E.D. Cal. No. 1:18-cv-1138 DAD-SKO), expert disclosures in Lopez v. McPeek (Tehama County Superior Court No. 72161), and settlement conference statement and preparations in Chaudhry v. Smith (E.D. Cal. No. 1:16-cv-1243 SAB). In addition, defense counsel has a settlement conference in Chaudhry in Fresno on April 3, which is expected to last most of the day; she has an all-day training on April 5 in San Francisco; and April 1 is a state holiday. These events will limit defense counsel's availability during the first week of April to discuss and complete the motion. For these reasons, the parties will be unable to meet and confer about, and Defendants will be unable to complete and file, the proposed summary-judgment motion by the current deadlines. Allowing the parties to meet and confer before the motion is filed may narrow the issues and factual disputes that the Court needs to decides, and thereby simplifying the motion.

There are no other deadlines pending in this matter other than ones related to dispositive motions. And the extension will not substantial delay the resolution of this matter. Good cause therefore exists to the grant the requested fourteen-day extension.

IT IS SO STIPULATED.

[Proposed] ORDER

Good cause appearing, the parties' stipulated request to modify the dispositive-motion deadlines is GRANTED. The March 26, 2018 Scheduling Order (ECF No. 53) is modified as follows:

The law and motion cut off date shall now be May 22, 2019. Any notices of motion and accompanying motion shall be filed on or before April 24, 2019, with the hearing noticed for no later than May 22, 2019.

In all other respects, the March 26, 2018 Scheduling Order remains in full force and effect.

IT IS SO ORDERED.