Howard v. Southwest Gas Corporation

Filing 17

ORDER Granting 16 Motion to Stay Case re 1 Complaint. Signed by Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey on 8/20/2018. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - MR)

Case 2:18-cv-01035-JAD-VCF Document 16 Filed 08/03/18 Page 1 of 4

1 WOLF, RIFKIN, SHAPIRO, SCHULMAN & RABKIN, LLP
Don Springmeyer
2 Nevada Bar No. 1021
Bradley S. Schrager
3 Nevada Bar No. 10217
3556 E. Russell Road, Second Floor
4 Las Vegas, Nevada 89120
[phone]/Fax: [phone]
5 [e-mail]
[e-mail]
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Jason T. Brown (Pro Hac Vice to be submitted)
7 Nicholas Conlon, Admitted Pro Hac Vice
JTB LAW GROUP, LLC
8 155 2nd Street, Suite 4
Jersey City, NJ 07302
9 Phone: [phone]
[e-mail]
10 [e-mail]
Lead Counsel for Plaintiff
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Counsel for Plaintiffs
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JACKSON LEWIS P.C.
13 Eric Magnus, Admitted Pro Hac Vice
Georgia Bar No. 801405
14 Deverie J. Christensen
Nevada Bar No. 6596
15 3800 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 600
Las Vegas, Nevada 89169
16 [phone]/Fax: [phone]
[e-mail]
17 Counsel for Defendant
Southwest Gas Corporation
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF NEVADA
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Case No: 2:18-cv-01035-JAD-VCF

20 EBONY HOWARD, individually, and on
behalf of all others similarly situated,
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Plaintiff,
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vs.
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SOUTHWEST GAS CORPORATION,
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Defendant.
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STIPULATION AND ORDER TO:
(1) STAY ENTIRE CASE PENDING
MEDIATION BY THE PARTIES;
(2) STAY ALL PENDING
DEADLINES, INCLUDING
DEFENDANT’S DEADLINE TO
ANSWER THE COMPLAINT; and,
(3) TOLL FLSA LIMITATIONS
PERIOD

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(Second Request)

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Complaint Filed: June 7, 2018

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ECF No. 16

STIPULATION AND ORDER

Case 2:18-cv-01035-JAD-VCF Document 16 Filed 08/03/18 Page 2 of 4

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Defendant Southwest Gas Corporation (“Defendant”), and Plaintiff, Ebony Howard,
individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated (“Plaintiff”), by and through their
respective undersigned counsel, agree and stipulate to entry of an Order staying the present
litigation pending the outcome of mediation, staying all pending deadlines, including the deadline
for Defendant to respond to Plaintiff’s complaint, and tolling the FLSA limitations period for
putative collective action members who have not already filed consents to join the case. In support
of this stipulation, Plaintiff and Defendant state the following:
RECITALS

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1.

On June 7, 2018, Plaintiff EBONY HOWARD (“Plaintiff”) filed a putative class

11 and collective action complaint in the United States District Court, District of Nevada (the
12 “Complaint”). The Complaint names SOUTHWEST GAS CORPORATION (“Defendant” or
13 “SGC”) as the sole Defendant and asserts the following three causes of action: (1) Failure to Pay
14 Overtime in Violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”); (2) Failure to Pay For Each Hour
15 Worked pursuant to Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 608.016; and (3) Failure to Pay Overtime in Violation
16 pursuant to Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 608.018 (the “Complaint”).
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2.

Defendant was served with a summons on June 8, 2018. Pursuant to the Federal

18 Rules of Civil Procedure and Nevada Local Rules, SGC’s deadline to file a responsive pleading
19 was June 29, 2018.
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3.

On June 22, 2018, the parties filed a stipulation requesting the Court enter an order

21 staying the proceedings for thirty (30) days to allow for the exchange of information and
22 documents bearing on the claims and defenses at issue herein to avoid potentially unnecessary
23 motion practice and further expenditure of resources; extending the time for SGC to file a
24 responsive pleading to the Complaint to seven (7) days after the expiration of the stay; and tolling
25 the statute of limitations for putative collective and class action members for thirty (30) days.
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STIPULATION AND ORDER

Case 2:18-cv-01035-JAD-VCF Document 16 Filed 08/03/18 Page 3 of 4

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4.

The Court granted the parties stipulation and entered an Order on June 29, 2018.

2 The original stay expired on July 30, 2018, and SCG’s response to the Complaint is currently due
3 on August 6, 2018.
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5.

The Parties have conferred in good faith regarding the scope of the case and how

5 to attempt to efficiently resolve it. As a result of these discussions, and in an effort to avoid
6 unnecessary expense and resources, the Parties have agreed to attempt mediation of this case
7 before proceeding further in litigation.
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6.

To afford the Parties time to effectively prepare for mediation, the Parties agree to

9 a stay of all discovery and all other deadlines, including SGC’s deadline to respond to the
10 Complaint.

However, the Parties agree to the exchange of reasonable informal discovery

11 necessary for mediation. The Parties will promptly meet and confer on what reasonable data is
12 necessary to produce in order for the Parties to effectively calculate and extrapolate damages for
13 all putative class members.
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7.

The Parties agree to toll the FLSA statute of limitations for the period of the stay

15 for putative collective action members who have not already filed consents to join this case. The
16 Parties have already entered into an Amendment to Tolling Agreement, amending their prior
17 Tolling Agreement to toll the FLSA statute of limitations to putative collective action members
18 who have not already filed consents to join this case.
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8.

Within 7 days of the completion of mediation, the Parties will either notify the

20 Court of a resolution, or, if the case is not resolved, request a status conference to set further
21 deadlines, including deadlines for Defendant to respond to the Complaint and for discovery. Upon
22 the Parties notification to the Court that the case has not resolved, the FLSA tolling period will
23 end.
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9.

This Stipulation is not made for the purposes of delay and is made in good faith by

25 the Parties in an effort to efficiently handle this action.
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STIPULATION
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED AND AGREED, by and between

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STIPULATION AND ORDER

Case 2:18-cv-01035-JAD-VCF Document 16 Filed 08/03/18 Page 4 of 4

1 Plaintiffs and Defendant, through their respective undersigned counsel of record, as follows:
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1. This action is stayed in its entirety pending mediation; and

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2. The limitations period for the claims under the FLSA of putative collective and

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class action members who have not already filed consents to join this case shall be

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tolled until such time as the Parties inform the Court that mediation has failed.

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IT IS SO STIPULATED.

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DATED: August 3, 2018

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/s/ Don Springmeyer
On behalf of Plaintiffs and Plaintiffs’ Attorneys

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PLAINTIFFS’ ATTORNEYS
WOLF, RIFKIN, SHAPIRO, SCHULMAN
& RABKIN, LLP

DATED: August 3, 2018

DEFENDANT’S ATTORNEYS
JACKSON LEWIS P.C.
/s/ Deverie J. Christensen
On behalf of Defendant and Defendant’s
Attorneys
ORDER

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IT IS HEREBY ORDERED,:this ______ day of August, 2018:
1. This action is stayed in its entirety pending mediation; and
2. The limitations period for the claims under the FLSA of putative collective and class
action members who have not already filed consents to join this case shall be tolled
until such time as the Parties inform the Court that mediation has failed.
_________________________________
______________
_ _________
___
U.S. District Judge Jennifer A Dorsey
t Judge Jennifer A.
udg
ni r
___________________________________________
Dated: August District/Magistrate Judge
20, 2018
U.S.

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STIPULATION AND ORDER