United States District Court, N.D. California, Oakland Division
LAWYERS’ COMMITTEE FOR RIGHTS OF THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA; CENTER FOR GENDER & REFUGEE STUDIES; COMMUNITY LEGAL SERVICES IN EAST PALO ALTO; AMERICAN IMMIGRATION LAWYERS ASSOCIATION, Plaintiffs,
v.
EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR IMMIGRATION REVIEW; UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Defendants.
BRIAN
STRETCH (CABN 163973) United States Attorney SARA WINSLOW
(DCBN 457643) Chief, Civil Division KIMBERLY FRIDAY (MABN
660544) Deputy Chief, Civil Division Assistant United States
Attorney Attorneys for Defendants
Deborah A. Adler DAVIS WRIGHT TREMAINE LLP Counsel for
Plaintiffs
JOINT REQUEST FOR RELIEF FROM AUTOMATIC REFERRAL TO
ADR MULTI-OPTION PROGRAM; STIPULATION TO RESET DATES FOR
ANSWER AND CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE; [PROPOSED] ORDER
HONORABLE KANDIS A. WESTMORE UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
The
parties, through their undersigned attorneys, have
cooperatively worked towards settlement of this Freedom of
Information Act action and anticipate that it can be resolved
without the need for alternative dispute resolution.
Defendants have made several productions of agency records
and have only two requests for information that remain
outstanding. Defendants are working diligently to complete
their production of agency records in response to these
requests, but the parties need additional time to complete
the production and to ensure that the production is
satisfactory to Plaintiffs.
Accordingly,
the parties hereby stipulate and request (1) relief from the
Court’s ADR program; (2) an extension of the
Government’s deadline to file a responsive pleading;
and (3) a postponement of the Case Management Conference
currently scheduled for August 2, 2016 at 1:30 p.m. (Dkt. No.
11 at 2).
Each of
the undersigned certifies that he or she has read either the
handbook entitled “Dispute Resolution Procedures in
the Northern District of California, ” or the
specified portions of the ADR Internet site,
www.cand.uscourts.gov/adr, discussed the available
dispute resolution options provided by the Court and private
entities; and considered whether this case might benefit from
any of the available dispute resolution options.
The
parties agree that in this instance referral to a formal ADR
process may unnecessarily consume the Court’s time and
resources because the parties are working towards settlement
of this action and anticipate resolving this matter without
the need for further litigation. Accordingly, pursuant to ADR
L.R. 3-3(c), the parties hereby stipulate and jointly request
that the case be removed from the ADR Multi-Option Program
and that they be excused from participating in the ADR phone
conference and any further formal ADR process. If any party
subsequently determines that submission to the formal ADR
process would be beneficial to the efficient resolution of
this matter, that party may request placement in one of the
Court’s ADR programs at that time.
For the
same reason, the parties also stipulate and agree pursuant to
Civ. L.R. 6-2 and 7-2, subject to approval by the Court, to
postpone the August 2, 2016, Case Management Conference and
the deadline for Defendants to file an Answer. The Court has
reset the Case Management Conference and Answer dates on one
occasion (Dkt. No. 11 at 2), and the parties have previously
stipulated to an additional one-month extension of the
Defendants’ Answer date (Dkt. No. 13).
Defendants’ Answer is currently due by July 27, 2016;
the parties propose an additional one-month extension to
August 26, 2016. The parties propose postponing the Case
Management Conference to a date in September or October
convenient to the Court.
A
proposed order is attached.
CERTIFICATION
Pursuant
to Local Rule 5-1(i)(3), the undersigned hereby attests that
I have conferred with Deborah Adler, counsel for plaintiffs,
regarding this filing. Ms. Adler has represented that she
concurs in the filing of this document and that I am
authorized to file it on her behalf.
[PROPOSED]
ORDER
Pursuant
to stipulation and to ADR L.R. 3-3(c), the parties are hereby
removed from the ADR Multi-Option Program and are excused
from participating in the ADR phone conference and any
further formal ADR process. Should any party subsequently
determine that submission to the formal ADR process would be
beneficial to the efficient resolution of this matter, that
party may request placement in one of the Court’s ADR
programs at that time.
Pursuant
to stipulation, it is so ordered that the Case Management
Conference currently set for August 2, 2016, is hereby
continued to October 25 2016 at 1:30 a.m/p.m. ...