ORDER

MICHAEL E. HEGARTY, Magistrate Judge.

Before the Court is Plaintiffs' Partially Unopposed Motion for Court Appointed Mediation (ECF 222). Plaintiffs ask me to refer this case to a Magistrate Judge for a Court-sponsored settlement conference. Defendant does not oppose except that Dr. Polomsky would seek to appear by telephone rather than traveling to the District for the mediation.

Anyone who practices in this District knows my view on Court-sponsored alternative dispute resolution. I have conducted over 1200 such conferences and view them as extremely valuable in most cases. That said, the jury trial in this matter is set for December 2, 2019, less than three weeks away; this case is now more than three years old, and it is not the first lawsuit involving these parties. The issues are complicated and the history between the litigants has been strident. The District is currently overwhelmed with case loads due in large part to the passing of three judges in the past year, all of whom carried more than their fair share of work. The Thanksgiving holiday is upon us, and any conference in this case would have to be scheduled quickly, with significant time devoted to the effort. This is a perfect storm of circumstances that counsels against the requested relief. I cannot burden one of my colleagues with this endeavor under these circumstances. Finally, this service is available in the legal community, so Plaintiff is not without recourse.

For these reasons, Plaintiffs' Motion (ECF 222) is denied.

SO ORDERED.