STIPULATION AND ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFFS LEAVE TO FILE FIRST Plaintiffs, AMENDED COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF

CLAUDIA WILKEN, District Judge.

WHEREAS, Plaintiffs filed this action as a putative class on April 13, 2010, alleging constitutional claims on behalf of three gay and lesbian couples, all three of whom were married in 2008, and two of whom were registered as domestic partners;

WHEREAS, following extensions granted by the Plaintiffs, the defendants Board of Stipulation and Proposed Order Re: First Amended Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief 1 Administration of CalPERS and Anne Stausboll ("the state defendants") answered the complaint on July 2, 2010;

WHEREAS, following an extension granted by the Plaintiffs, the defendants United States Department of the Treasury, Timothy Geithner, the Internal Revenue Service, and Douglas Shulman ("the federal defendants") filed a motion to dismiss on July 2, 2010;

WHEREAS, the Plaintiffs opposed the motion to dismiss on August 12, 2010, and the federal defendants filed their reply on August 26, 2010;

WHEREAS, on September 2, 2010, the parties filed their first joint Case Management Conference statement, and the Plaintiffs disclosed their intention to file a motion to amend the complaint by December 15, 2010 to add plaintiffs, see Joint Case Management Conference Statement, page 7;

WHEREAS, the hearing on the motion to dismiss in this matter was held on October 14, 2010, as was the first case management conference;

WHEREAS, on October 14, 2010, Plaintiffs' counsel stated during the case management conference that Plaintiffs were no longer planning to file a motion to amend the complaint by December 15, 2010, but that things might change;

WHEREAS, on December 12, 2010, Plaintiffs' counsel emailed counsel for the state defendants and for the federal defendants, disclosing: "Since the hearing, things have changed. We now intend to file the motion to add plaintiffs. Specifically, we will ask the court to allow us to amend the complaint to add two plaintiffs who are registered domestic partners, but who are not married. (Alternatively, the parties could stipulate to such a filing.)."

WHEREAS, on January 18, 2011, the Court issued an order denying the federal defendants' motion to dismiss;

WHEREAS, on January 18, 2011, and on January 21, 2011, plaintiffs' counsel shared with all opposing counsel drafts of their First Amended Complaint, including the addition of two plaintiffs who are registered as domestic partners but who are not married (Joanne Schmidt and Reide Garnett);

WHEREAS, on January 26, 2011, the federal defendants filed a motion for clarification as to whether this Court's Order intended to hold that Plaintiffs have stated a constitutional claim regarding the exclusion of registered domestic partners from section 7702B(f)(2)(C)(iii) of the Internal Revenue Code, noting that "Plaintiffs have requested Federal Defendants' position regarding their plan to amend the Complaint to add plaintiffs who are not married but are registered domestic partners under California law.";

WHEREAS, on February 9, 2011, the Court issued an order stating that, "The Court clarifies that, because Plaintiffs are legally married, it was not necessary to rule on whether Plaintiffs have stated a claim that I.R.C. § 7702B(f), separate and apart from 1 U.S.C. § 7 (section three of the Defense of Marriage Act), is unconstitutional.";

WHEREAS, on February 22, 2011, plaintiffs' counsel shared with all opposing counsel a revised draft of their First Amended Complaint, including the addition of a plaintiff couple who are registered as domestic partners but who are not married (Joanne Schmidt and Reide Garnett), as well as a plaintiff couple who are registered as domestic partners and who are married (Charles Cole and David Beers);

THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED AND AGREED THAT:

Plaintiffs shall be granted leave to file their First Amended Complaint, adding Plaintiffs Joanne Schmidt, Reide Garnett, Charles Cole, and David Beers, attached as Exhibit A to the supporting declaration of Claudia Center; and

The state defendants' answer to the original complaint shall be deemed their answer to the amended complaint. The federal defendants shall have 60 days to answer or to file a motion to dismiss.

ORDER

IT IS SO ORDERED.