JOINT STIPULATION TO CONTINUE INITIAL MANDATORY SCHEDULING CONFERENCE; [PROPOSED] ORDER

(Doc. 11)

JENNIFER L. THURSTON, Magistrate Judge.

A scheduling conference in this case is currently set for August 19, 2019. (ECF No. 4.) Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b)(4) and Local Rule 143, the parties, through their counsel of record, agree to and request a continuance of the scheduling conference to Monday, September 23, 2019, or a similar date convenient for the Court.

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); Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604, 609 (1992). 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.

Here, the instant stipulation is necessitated on several grounds:

1. Defense counsel was assigned to this case on June 4, 2019. Based on the method and manner of service, Defendant Venable's deadline to file a responsive pleading was only approximately one week away. Furthermore, upon review of the original Complaint, there were several pleading issues that warranted an informal meet-and-confer with opposing counsel.

2. Defense counsel attempted to contact the attorney listed on the pleading to obtain an extension of time, but it was later learned that the attorney was no longer with the law firm. Plaintiff's current counsel of record was able to contact defense counsel on June 12, 2019, and the parties informally stipulated to extending Defendant Venable's time to file a responsive pleading to July 15, 2019.

3. Between June 12 and July 17, 2019, the parties informally conferred about several pleading issues with the original Complaint. As a result of these efforts, the parties stipulated to using the current operative pleading, the First Amended Complaint. (See ECF No. 8.)

4. The Court granted the parties' stipulation on July 31, 2019, allowing the parties to use the First Amended Complaint, as well as giving Defendant Venable fourteen-days (or August 14, 2019) to file a responsive pleading. (ECF No. 9.)

5. Before and after the Court's granting of the parties' stipulation, Defendant Venable has been preparing his Answer to the First Amended Complaint. Also, since June 12, 2019, the parties have been occupied with several other matters, such as attending court hearings, preparing and responding to discovery, attending depositions, and preparing for trial on several matters. Additionally, defense counsel was out of the office between July 29 to August 5, 2019, on a pre-arranged vacation out-of-state.

6. According to the Court's May 23, 2019 Order Setting Mandatory Scheduling Conference, the parties' joint status report is due Monday, August 12, 2019. (ECF No. 4 at 2.) Given the parties' diligent efforts in preparing the First Amended Complaint and Defendant Venable's preparation of his Answer, the parties have been unable to meet-and-confer about the subject matters required to be discussed by the Court's May 23, 2019 Order.

7. Based on the foregoing, the parties stipulate as follows: the scheduling conference currently set for August 19, 2019, is continued to September 23, 2019, or a similar date convenient for the Court. (Defense counsel is out of town for a mandatory training conference set for September 24 through 25, 2019.) All other deadlines and requirements set forth in the Court's May 23, 2019, Order shall remain intact.

IT IS SO STIPULATED.

ORDER

Good cause appearing, the parties' stipulation to continue the initial scheduling conference is GRANTED. The scheduling conference currently set for August 19, 2019, is continued to September 23, 2019 at 8:30 a.m. All other deadlines and requirements set forth in the Court's May 23, 2019 Order Setting Mandatory Scheduling Conference remain in effect.

IT IS SO ORDERED.