UPDATED JOINT CASE MANAGEMENT STATEMENT

JOSEPH C. SPERO, Magistrate Judge.

The parties to the above-entitled action jointly submit this UPDATED JOINT CASE MANAGEMENT STATEMENT, in advance of the Case Management Hearing scheduled to occur on December 12, 2015 in the above-captioned matter.

PRELIMINARY STATEMENT

Pursuant to this Court's prior case management order, the Parties participated in a hybrid alternative dispute resolution session consisting of an early neutral evaluation session and a mediation session. Roderick Thompson, the court-appointed evaluator and neutral, submitted his Certification of ENE Session to the Court on November 24th. The parties did not resolve the case during the first meeting, but have agreed to continue to seek a non-judicial resolution to their dispute. Mr. Thompson has agreed to assist the parties in the ongoing discussion, and if necessary to reconvene the ENE/mediation process approximately 45 days after the date of the first session. To facilitate the ongoing discussion, the parties have agreed to a general stay of litigation activity pending the outcome of the negotiations. A general stay is appropriate and practical in this instance, because the negotiations will not focus on proving the truth of the allegations in the various pleadings. Instead, the parties will explore business solutions. A stay will reduce the cost to the parties during the negotiation, allow the parties to focus solely on resolution, avoid placing the parties in adversarial positions at the same time that they attempt to find mutually beneficial solutions, and generally provide an environment more conducive to ADR.

CASE MANAGEMENT STATEMENT

1. Facts

An interview with Defendant's principal, Brennan O'Dowd, led Plaintiff to a new understanding of the facts of this matter. Plaintiff provided a revised statement of fact and claims to Defendant in advance of the ENE/mediation session, and the session was conducted in relation to the revised statement of claims. Defendant maintains its position that Plaintiff's claims are not supported by the facts, and that the legal theories have no merit. Because the parties have asked for a general stay, a full statement of the claims and defenses is unlikely to benefit the Court at this point, and will lead to significant investment of attorney time to prepare this case management statement. If the continuing ADR session fails to resolve the action, Plaintiff will seek leave of the Court to file a second amended complaint based on the revised statement of claims Plaintiff provided to Defendant, and incorporating Plaintiff's current understanding of the history of the interactions between the parties, the facts that gave rise to this lawsuit, and the legal basis for Plaintiff's requested remedies.

2. Discovery

Other than initial disclosures, no formal discovery has taken place. The parties have exchanged a small number of documents informally. Additionally, as directed by the Court, Defendant made its principal, Brennan O'Dowd, available for an in-person, informal interview in Portland, Oregon, which interview was completed by counsel for Plaintiff. To the extent that information exchange will facilitate the current negotiations, the parties will handle the exchange informally.

3. Hybrid ENE/Mediation

As noted above, the parties began the hybrid ENE/mediation session on November 20, 2015, at the offices of Roderick M. Thompson of Farella Braun Martel, LLP. The parties and Mr. Thompson have agreed to continue the ADR process for approximately 45 additional days. The parties request that the termination date for court-ordered alternative dispute resolution be extended to January 15, 2016.

4. OTHER:

At the present time, the parties request the Court to order a general stay of litigation activity. A trial date has not been set in this action, so there are no impending deadlines to toll. The parties suggest a further case management conference be set 60 to 90 days from the date of this conference.

CASE MANAGEMENT ORDER

The above JOINT CASE MANAGEMENT STATEMENT & PROPOSED ORDER is approved as the Case Management Order for this case and all parties shall comply with its provisions. The deadline to complete alternative dispute resolution in this matter is extended to January 15, 2016. The case is STAYED. The further case management conference is continued to 3/11/16 at 2:00 PM. IT IS SO ORDERED. Updated joint case management conference statement due by 3/4/16.

IT IS SO ORDERED AS MODIFIED.