Smith v. Qwest Communications Company, LLC et al

Filing 10

Stipulation and [Proposed] Order Re (1) Stay of Proceedings Pending Finalization of Settlement; (2) Extension of Defendants' Time to Respond to Complaint; and (3) Continuance of Case Management Conference filed by Level 3 Communications, LLC, Qwest Communications Company, LLC, Sprint Communications Company L.P., Wiltel Communications, LLC & Todd Smith. (Newland, Molly) (Filed on 10/10/2011)

1 SHEPPARD, MULLIN, RICHTER & HAMPTON LLP
A Limited Liability Partnership
2
Including Professional Corporations
JAMES J. MITTERMILLER, Cal. Bar No. 85177
3 [e-mail]
501 West Broadway, 19th Floor
4 San Diego, CA 92101
Telephone:
619-338-6500
5 Facsimile:
619-234-3815
6 SHEPPARD, MULLIN, RICHTER & HAMPTON LLP
A Limited Liability Partnership
7
Including Professional Corporations
MOLLY R. NEWLAND, Cal. Bar No. 244928
8 [e-mail]
Four Embarcadero Center, 17th Floor
9 San Francisco, California 94111
Telephone:
415-434-9100
415-434-3947
10 Facsimile:
11 Attorneys for Defendants
QWEST COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY, LLC;
12 SPRINT COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY L.P.;
LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC; and
13 WILTEL COMMUNICATIONS, LLC
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15

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA – SAN FRANCISCO

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18 TODD SMITH, individually and as
representative of a class of persons similarly
19 situated,
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21

Plaintiff,
v.

22 QWEST COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY,
23 LLC; SPRINT COMMUNICATIONS
COMPANY, L.P.; LEVEL 3
24 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC; and WILTEL
COMMUNICATIONS, LLC,
25
Defendants.
26

Case No. CV-11-02599-TEH
STIPULATION AND [PROPOSED]
ORDER RE (1) STAY OF PROCEEDINGS
PENDING FINALIZATION OF
SETTLEMENT; (2) EXTENSION OF
DEFENDANTS' TIME TO RESPOND TO
COMPLAINT; AND (3) CONTINUANCE
OF CASE MANAGEMENT
CONFERENCE
Courtroom: 12
Judge: Hon. Thelton E. Henderson
[Complaint Filed: May 31, 2011]

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W02-WEST:5MON1\404038176.3

CV-11-02599-TEH

STIPULATION AND [PROPOSED] ORDER RE (1) STAY OF PROCEEDINGS;
(2) EXTENSION OF DEFENDANTS' TIME TO RESPOND TO COMPLAINT; AND
(3) CONTINUANCE OF CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE

1

STIPULATION

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3

IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED by and between Plaintiff Todd Smith ("plaintiff"),

4 on the one hand, and defendants Qwest Communications Company, LLC ("Qwest"), Sprint
5 Communications Company L.P. ("Sprint"), Level 3 Communications, LLC ("Level 3"), and
6 WilTel Communications, LLC ("WilTel") (collectively "defendants"), on the other hand, through
7 counsel, as follows:
8
9

WHEREAS, a number of putative class action lawsuits involving subject matter

10 similar to this lawsuit (together with this action, the "Related Class Actions") are pending in other
11 federal courts against Qwest, Sprint, Level 3, WilTel, and other telecommunications companies.
12 Counsel for the parties to the Related Actions (the "Parties"), with the assistance of the mediator
13 Professor Eric D. Green, have reached agreements on the substantive terms of 46 separate
14 settlements of the claims asserted in the Related Class Actions and in actions to be filed, subject
15 to: (a) finalizing settlement documentation, (b) obtaining final corporate approvals, and
16 (c) implementing the procedural steps necessary to present class action settlements to the multiple
17 courts involved. The Parties have been working diligently to document and finalize settlement
18 agreements in a number of the Related Class Actions, to identify an efficient way to present such a
19 large number of settlements to various courts for approval, and to manage and implement the
20 settlements and related claims processes. Among other things, the Parties have submitted
21 finalized class actions settlements to courts in Idaho, Illinois, Alabama, Arizona, North Dakota,
22 Maine, and Montana, have obtained final approval of the settlements in Idaho and Illinois, and
23 have obtained preliminary approval the settlements in Alabama, North Dakota, and Montana;
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25

WHEREAS, the Parties continue to work towards finalizing all 46 settlements, but

26 cannot reasonably complete all documentation and file all necessary papers simultaneously in
27 courts across the country. Accordingly, the Parties are seeking a stay of this litigation, as they have
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-1W02-WEST:5MON1\404038176.3

CV-11-02599-TEH

STIPULATION AND [PROPOSED] ORDER RE (1) STAY OF PROCEEDINGS;
(2) EXTENSION OF DEFENDANTS' TIME TO RESPOND TO COMPLAINT;
AND (3) CONTINUANCE OF CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE

1 done in other pending lawsuits. The Parties continue to expend all of their time and effort on
2 settlement issues and are not litigating in any of the Related Class Actions;
3
4

WHEREAS, in this action, plaintiff served Requests for Waiver of Service on

5 defendants on August 12, 2011, and each defendant executed a Waiver of Service. Defendants'
6 responses to the Complaint are currently due on October 11, 2011. Defendants have not
7 previously requested any extension of their response deadline;
8
9

WHEREAS, the Court has scheduled an Initial Case Management Conference for

10 October 24, 2011 at 1:30 p.m. (Doc. 9). The Parties' CMC Statement, therefore, is due no later
11 than October 17, 2011;
12
13

WHEREAS, requiring defendants to respond to the Complaint and proceeding with

14 the Initial CMC would not be an efficient use of the Parties' or the Court's time;
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16

NOW THEREFORE, to enable the Parties to continue focusing on settlement,

17 plaintiff and defendants respectfully stipulate to and request that this Court enter an order:
18 (1) staying this litigation pending further order of the Court, and providing that the stay will be
19 lifted automatically upon motion of plaintiff or defendants or upon the filing of a motion for
20 preliminary approval of a settlement agreement by plaintiff and defendants; (2) extending
21 defendants' current deadline of October 11, 2011 to respond to plaintiff's Complaint; and
22 (3) continuing the October 24, 2011 case management conference for three months to January 24,
23 2012 at 1:30 p.m., or any date thereafter convenient to the Court's calendar, with the parties to file
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-2W02-WEST:5MON1\404038176.3

CV-11-02599-TEH

STIPULATION AND [PROPOSED] ORDER RE (1) STAY OF PROCEEDINGS;
(2) EXTENSION OF DEFENDANTS' TIME TO RESPOND TO COMPLAINT;
AND (3) CONTINUANCE OF CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE

1 a joint case management conference statement no later than one week prior to the case
2 management conference.
3
4 Dated: October 10, 2011
5

JEFFREY M. FORSTER

6
7

By

/s Jeffrey M. Forster
JEFFREY M. FORSTER

8

Attorneys for Plaintiff
TODD SMITH

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10
11

Dated: October 10, 2011
SHEPPARD, MULLIN, RICHTER & HAMPTON LLP

12
13

By

/s Molly R. Newland
MOLLY R. NEWLAND

14
15

Attorneys for Defendants
QWEST COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY, LLC;
SPRINT COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY L.P.;
LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC; and WILTEL
COMMUNICATIONS, LLC

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17
18
19

[PROPOSED] ORDER
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21
Based on the stipulation of the parties, and for good cause shown due to the parties'
22
anticipated settlement, it is hereby ordered that:
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24
1.

The action is stayed, pending further order of the Court. The stay will be

25
lifted automatically upon the motion of plaintiff or defendants or upon the filing of a motion for
26
preliminary approval of a settlement agreement by plaintiff and defendants;
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-3W02-WEST:5MON1\404038176.3

CV-11-02599-TEH

STIPULATION AND [PROPOSED] ORDER RE (1) STAY OF PROCEEDINGS;
(2) EXTENSION OF DEFENDANTS' TIME TO RESPOND TO COMPLAINT;
AND (3) CONTINUANCE OF CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE

1

2.

The date for defendants to answer, move, or otherwise respond to the

2 Complaint is extended until 20 days after entry of any order lifting the stay;
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4

3.

The Initial Case Management Conference set for October 24, 2011 shall be

5 continued to _________________, at 1:30 p.m., and the parties shall file a joint case management
6 conference statement no later than one week prior the case management conference.
7
8

IT IS SO ORDERED.

9
10 Dated:
HONORABLE THELTON E. HENDERSON
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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288938280.1

-4W02-WEST:5MON1\404038176.3

CV-11-02599-TEH

STIPULATION AND [PROPOSED] ORDER RE (1) STAY OF PROCEEDINGS;
(2) EXTENSION OF DEFENDANTS' TIME TO RESPOND TO COMPLAINT;
AND (3) CONTINUANCE OF CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE