1

2 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 3 DISTRICT OF NEVADA 4

5 ALEXIS SANCHEZ, Case No. 2:25-cv-00618-ART-NJK 6 Plaintiff, Order 7 v. [Docket No. 27] 8 HOSPITAL CORPORATION OF AMERICA – FAR WEST DIVISION (HCA 9 HEALTHCARE), et al., 10 Defendants. 11 Pending before the Court is a stipulation to extend the answer deadlines for Defendants 12 Kirk Johnson, Monica Strauss, and Christine Poudy by roughly two months. Docket No. 27. 13 Requests to extend deadlines require a showing of good cause. Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(b)(1). 14 With respect to seeking relief as to expired deadlines, a further showing of excusable neglect is 15 required. Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(b)(1)(B).1 16 These defendants have already enjoyed ample time to respond to the complaint. See 17 Docket Nos. 13-15 (waivers of service). Nonetheless, they seek an additional two months to 18 respond to the complaint based on the potential that the case may settle with the existing parties at 19 the early neutral evaluation session scheduled in August. See Docket No. 27 at 2.2 Absent from 20 the rules establishing the early neutral evaluation program are provisions that party obligations are 21 otherwise stalled until the session takes place. See Local Rule 16-6. Moreover, alternative dispute 22 resolution efforts and settlement discussions are generally not good cause to delay case 23 progression. See Williams v. James River Grp. Inc.,

, 1181 (D. Nev. 2022) 24

25 1 Although the stipulation acknowledges that the subject deadline has already expired, see Docket No. 27 at 1 (noting deadline of June 20, 2025), the stipulation does not address excusable 26 neglect. 27 2 The stipulation indicates that the “majority” of discovery can be obtained from the existing parties, such that the extension sought should not “significantly” delay the case’s 28 progression. Docket No. 27 at 2. 1} (collecting cases). The Court is not persuaded that the mere hope of a settlement at the early 2|) neutral evaluation justifies adding another two months to these defendants’ deadlines to respond to the complaint. 4 Accordingly, the stipulation is DENIED. 5 IT IS SO ORDERED. 6 Dated: June 24, 2025 . 7 7 a x. Nancy J. Koppe 8 United States Magistrate Judge 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28