Free Motion to Continue - District Court of Arizona - Arizona

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James L. Blair, #016125 Charles S. Hover, #010007 RENAUD COOK DRURY MESAROS, PA Phelps Dodge Tower One North Central, Suite 900 Phoenix, Arizona 85004-4417 Phn: (602) 307-9900 Fax: (602) 307-5853 Attorneys for Defendant IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

7 FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA 8 9 10 11 12 13 Intervening Plaintiffs, 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
LAW OFFICES

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Plaintiff, and Janis Hagy, Carolyn Johnson and Arlene Warren, vs. HealthHelp, Inc., a foreign corporation, Defendant.

CV 2003-1204 PHX RGS
(Consolidated with CV 2003-1216 PHX RGS)

MOTION TO CONTINUE TRIAL DATES TO PERMIT SETTLEMENT NEGOTIATIONS

HealthHelp, Inc., through counsel, requests a short continuance of the trial of this litigation matter to permit the parties an opportunity to negotiate a settlement. Although Magistrate Sitver has been assigned to conduct a settlement conference, that conference is set for February 8, 2006, leaving insufficient time to comply with the Court's pretrial order and prepare for trial, set for March 7, 2006, if the settlement process is unsuccessful. HealthHelp's memorandum supporting this motion is attached and incorporated by this reference. ... ... ...

RENAUD COOK DRURY MESAROS
ONE NORTH CENTRAL SUITE 900 PHOENIX, AZ 85004 TELEPHONE 602-307-9900 FACSIMILE 602-307-5853

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RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED this 20th day of January, 2006. RENAUD COOK DRURY MESAROS, PA /s/ James L. Blair James L. Blair, Esq. Charles S. Hover, Esq. Phelps Dodge Tower One North Central, Suite 900 Phoenix, AZ 85004-4417 Attorneys for Defendant By:

RENAUD COOK DRURY MESAROS
ONE NORTH CENTRAL SUITE 900 PHOENIX, AZ 85004 TELEPHONE 602-307-9900 FACSIMILE 602-307-5853

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MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES I. BACKGROUND. On November 21, 2005, all of the parties to this employment litigation matter jointly requested an order assigning this matter to a magistrate judge for a settlement conference "at its earliest convenience." The Court granted that request by November 29, 2005 order, assigning Magistrate Sitver to conduct the settlement conference, resetting the pretrial conference for February 13, 2006, and resetting the trial to begin March 7, 2006. On December 16, 2005, Magistrate Judge Sitver issued his settlement conference order, scheduling the conference for February 8, 2006. That date is two days after the parties' final pretrial memo is due in this court and just five days before the final pretrial conference. Recognizing the obvious inefficiencies of attempting to settle at the same time trial preparation activities are in full swing, HealthHelp's attorney, the undersigned, contacted Magistrate Sitver's office to see if an earlier date was available for a settlement conference. Judge Sitver was available on January 19, 2006, but, after a series of phone conferences between the parties, intervenors' counsel disclosed one of the intervenors, Carolyn Johnson, could not be available that date. Further, according to her attorney, Ms. Johnson is out of the country until February 5th and, therefore, is not available for any settlement negotiations until the date set by Judge Sitver, i.e., February 8, 2006. II. HEATH HELP REQUESTS A 30-60 DAY CONTINUANCE OF THE TRIAL DATE AND ALL OTHER PRETRIAL DATES . Accordingly, despite the parties' request for a settlement conference at the "earliest convenience," and despite this Court's willingness to order a settlement conference, the parties cannot appear before Magistrate Sitver until February 8. Unless a short trial continuance is ordered, the parties will be preparing for trial, e.g., meeting with witnesses, preparing the joint pretrial statement, and complying with the Court's trial order, while at the same time preparing for the settlement conference before Magistrate Sitver. HealthHelp has

RENAUD COOK DRURY MESAROS
ONE NORTH CENTRAL SUITE 900 PHOENIX, AZ 85004 TELEPHONE 602-307-9900 FACSIMILE 602-307-5853

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trial witnesses in Texas, Nevada, and Oregon, and will be incurring substantial costs and fees in trial preparation, and those costs and fees would be much better spent attempting to settle this case. For that reason, HealthHelp requests a short extension of the trial date, until a date in mid-April 2006, and that all of the other pretrial dates be adjusted accordingly. EEOC's attorney has advised she does not approve this request because she has calendar conflicts in April. III. HEALTHHELP ASKS FOR EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION OF ITS M OTION. Because all of the dates referenced in its motion are fast approaching, HealthHelp respectfully requests that the parties promptly make their positions known with the Court. If the EEOC and intervenors file their response within 5 business days of this motion, HealthHelp will reply within 2 business days after the response. HealthHelp will be available on very short notice to address these issues if the Court so instructs. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED this 20th day of January, 2006. RENAUD COOK DRURY MESAROS, PA By: /s/ James L. Blair James L. Blair, Esq. Charles S. Hover, Esq. Phelps Dodge Tower One North Central, Suite 900 Phoenix, AZ 85004-4417 Attorneys for Defendant

Filed electronically this 20th day of January, 2006.

RENAUD COOK DRURY MESAROS
ONE NORTH CENTRAL SUITE 900 PHOENIX, AZ 85004 TELEPHONE 602-307-9900 FACSIMILE 602-307-5853

COPY of the foregoing e-served
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this 20th day of January, 2006, to: Mary Jo O'Neill, Esq. C. Emanuel Smith, Esq. Sally C. Shanley, Esq. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION Phoenix District Office 3300 North Central, Suite 690 Phoenix, AZ 85012 Attorneys for EEOC David J. Catanese, Esq. RAKE & CATANESE 2701 E. Camelback Road, Ste. 160 Phoenix, AZ 85016 Attorneys for Intervenors/Plaintiffs

RENAUD COOK DRURY MESAROS
ONE NORTH CENTRAL SUITE 900 PHOENIX, AZ 85004 TELEPHONE 602-307-9900 FACSIMILE 602-307-5853

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