Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center et al v. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service et al

Filing 20

ORDER GRANTING STIPULATION EXTENDING DEADLINES 19 . Initial Case Management Conference set for 12/11/2013 10:00 AM in Courtroom A, 15th Floor, San Francisco. Signed by Judge Nathanael Cousins on 10/4/13. (lmh, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 10/4/2013)

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ROBERT G. DREHER
THE HONORABLE NATHANAEL COUSINS
Acting Assistant Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice
Environment & Natural Resources Division
SETH M. BARSKY, Chief
KRISTEN L. GUSTAFSON, Assistant Chief
ETHAN CARSON EDDY, Trial Attorney (Cal. Bar 237214)
Wildlife and Marine Resources Section
P.O. Box 7611, Ben Franklin Station
Washington, D.C. 20044
[phone] (phone)
[phone] (fax)
[e-mail]
Attorneys for Defendants
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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KLAMATH-SISKIYOU WILDLANDS CENTER,
CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY, and
KLAMATH FOREST ALLIANCE,

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Plaintiffs,
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v.
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NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC
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ADMINISTRATION, NATIONAL MARINE
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FISHERIES SERVICE, and UNITED STATES
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FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE,
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Defendants.
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___________________________________________ )

Case No. 3:13-cv-3717-NC
STIPULATION AND [PROPOSED]
ORDER EXTENDING DEADLINES
DUE TO GOVERNMENT
SHUTDOWN

Federal Defendants the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National

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Marine Fisheries Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“Defendants”), and Plaintiffs

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Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, Center for Biological Diversity, and Klamath Forest Alliance

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(“Plaintiffs”) hereby stipulate and respectfully request of the Court an order extending by

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approximately thirty days the upcoming deadline for Defendants’ Answer to Plaintiffs’ Complaint,

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STIPULATION EXTENDING
DEADLINES AND [PROPOSED] ORDER

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Case No. 3:13-cv-3717-NC

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as well as the deadlines in the Court’s Initial Scheduling Order (ECF No. 3); and continuing the
initial Case Management Conference by approximately four weeks. As set forth below and in the
accompanying declaration of Defendants’ counsel, there is good cause for the extension of those
deadlines.
At the end of the day on September 30, 2013, the appropriations act that had been funding
the Department of Justice expired and appropriations to the Department lapsed. See Decl. of Ethan
Eddy (filed concurrently) at ¶ 2. The same is true for most Executive agencies, including the
Defendant agencies in this case. Id. The Department of Justice does not know when funding will
be restored by Congress. Id.
Absent an appropriation, Department of Justice attorneys and many employees of federal
agencies, including agency counsel, are prohibited from working, even on a voluntary basis, except
in very limited circumstances, including “emergencies involving the safety of human life or the
protection of property.” Id. at ¶ 3; see also 31 U.S.C. § 1342.
In most civil litigation matters, the Department of Justice is moving to extend upcoming
deadlines by a length of time commensurate with the length of the government shutdown. Eddy
Decl. at ¶ 4. However, such an approach is not appropriate here because counsel for Defendants
will be out of the office for his wedding and honeymoon for the second half of October. Id.
Depending on the length of the government shutdown, the current deadline for Defendants’ Answer
could shift to become due at a time when counsel for Defendants is unavailable, if the Court were to
extend all deadlines for a length of time equivalent to the length of the shutdown. Id. Additionally,
the parties’ initial meet-and-confer deadline falls during Defendants’ counsel’s absence and cannot
be rescheduled for an earlier date at this time due to the government shutdown.
Accordingly, the parties stipulate to and request an Order from the Court extending current
deadlines as follows, and as set forth in the Proposed Order affixed to the bottom of this stipulation:

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STIPULATION EXTENDING
DEADLINES AND [PROPOSED] ORDER

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Case No. 3:13-cv-3717-NC

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1.

Defendants shall file their Answer on or before November 11, 2013.

2.

The parties shall conduct the meet-and-confer conference required by the Court’s

initial scheduling order (ECF No. 3) no later than November 22, 2013.
3.

The parties shall file ADR Certification forms signed by the parties and counsel no

later than November 22, 2013.
4.

The parties shall file either a stipulation selecting an ADR process, or a Notice of

Need for ADR Phone Conference, no later than November 22, 2013.
5.

The parties’ initial Joint Case Management Statement shall be filed no later than

December 4, 2013.
6.

The initial Case Management Conference in this action, currently set for November

13, 2013, shall be vacated and rescheduled for December 11, 2013, or a date thereafter that is
convenient for the Court.

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The Government greatly regrets any disruption caused to the Court and the other litigants.
Respectfully submitted this 3rd day of October, 2013.

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ROBERT G. DREHER
Acting Assistant Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice
Environment & Natural Resources Division
SETH M. BARSKY, Chief
KRISTEN L. GUSTAFSON, Assistant Chief

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s/ Ethan Carson Eddy
ETHAN CARSON EDDY
Trial Attorney (Cal. Bar 237214)
Wildlife and Marine Resources Section
P.O. Box 7611, Ben Franklin Station
Washington, D.C. 20044
[phone] (Phone); [phone] (Fax)
[e-mail]

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Attorneys for Defendants

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STIPULATION EXTENDING
DEADLINES AND [PROPOSED] ORDER

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Case No. 3:13-cv-3717-NC

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SUSAN JANE BROWN (admitted pro hac vice)
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s/ Susan Jane Brown (as authorized)
Western Environmental Law Center
1216 Lincoln Street
Eugene, OR 97401
[phone]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]

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Attorneys for Plaintiffs

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PAUL KAMPMEIER (admitted pro hac vice)

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s/ Paul Kampmeier (as authorized)
Washington Forest Law Center
615 Second Avenue, Suite 360
Seattle, WA 98104
[phone]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]

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Attorneys for Plaintiffs
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E-FILING ATTESTATION
Pursuant to Civil Local Rule 5.1(i)(3), I attest that Susan Jane Brown and Paul
Kampmeier have concurred in the filing of this document.

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/s/ Ethan Carson Eddy
ETHAN CARSON EDDY
Counsel for Federal Defendants

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[PROPOSED] ORDER
The above STIPULATION to extend the deadlines in the Court’s initial scheduling order

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(ECF No. 3) and for Defendants to file their Answer to Plaintiffs’ complaint is GRANTED. The
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Court’s initial scheduling order (ECF No. 3) is modified as follows:

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STIPULATION EXTENDING
DEADLINES AND [PROPOSED] ORDER

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Case No. 3:13-cv-3717-NC

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1.

Defendants shall file their Answer on or before November 11, 2013.

2.

The parties shall conduct the meet-and-confer conference required by the Court’s

initial scheduling order (ECF No. 3) no later than November 22, 2013.
3.

The parties shall file ADR Certification forms signed by the parties and counsel no

later than November 22, 2013.
4.

The parties shall file either a stipulation selecting an ADR process, or a Notice of

Need for ADR Phone Conference, no later than November 22, 2013.
5.

The parties’ initial Joint Case Management Statement shall be filed no later than

December 4, 2013.
6.

The initial Case Management Conference in this action, currently set for November

13, 2013, is VACATED and rescheduled for December 11, 2013.

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PURSUANT TO STIPULATION, IT IS SO ORDERED.

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S

NATHANAEL COUSINS
United States MagistrateD
Judge

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UNIT
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Dated:________________
October 4, 2013

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STIPULATION EXTENDING
DEADLINES AND [PROPOSED] ORDER

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Case No. 3:13-cv-3717-NC