Thomson v. Russell Investment Management LLC

Opinion

Paul S. Padda NV Bar No. 10417 PAUL PADDA LAW, PLLC 4560 South Decatur Blvd., Suite 300 Las Vegas, NV 89103 Tel: 702.366.1888 psp@paulpaddalaw.com

Paul J. Lukas, MN Bar No. 22084X* lukas@nka.com Brock J. Specht, MN Bar No. 0388343* bspecht@nka.com Benjamin J. Bauer, MN Bar No. 0398853* bbauer@nka.com NICHOLS KASTER, PLLP 4700 IDS Center 80 S 8th Street Minneapolis, MN 55402 Telephone: (612) 256-3200 Facsimile: (612) 338-4878

*admitted pro hac vice ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFF AND THE PROPOSED CLASS DISTRICT OF NEVADA DANNY WANEK and JUAN DUARTE, as representatives of a class of similarly situated Case No. 2:21-cv-00961-CDS-BNW persons, and on behalf of the Caesars Entertainment Corporation Savings & Retirement Plan, STIPULATION REGARDING BRIEFING SCHEDULES Plaintiffs, (FIRST REQUEST FOR SUBJECT DEADLINES) v.

COMPANY, CAESARS HOLDINGS, INC., and THE 401(K) PLAN COMMITTEE.

Defendants. Plaintiffs Danny Wanek and Juan Duarte (“Plaintiffs”), as representatives of a class of similarly situated persons, and on behalf of the Caesars Entertainment Corporation Savings & Retirement Plan, and Defendants Russell Investments Trust Company, Caesars Holdings, Inc., the Plan Investment Committee, and the 401(k) Plan Committee (“Defendants”) (collectively, the “Parties”), by and through their undersigned counsel, hereby stipulate and agree as follows: WHEREAS, Plaintiffs filed their Motion for Leave to File the Fourth Amended Complaint (ECF No. 131) on October 17, 2023, within the deadline agreed-upon by the parties and ordered by the Court (ECF No. 63); WHEREAS, Plaintiffs filed their Motion for Class Certification (ECF No. 133) on October 17, 2023, within the deadline agreed-upon by the parties and ordered by the Court (ECF No. 63); WHEREAS, Plaintiffs filed a Motion to Seal Documents that Defendants have designated as confidential (ECF No. 135) on October 17, 2023; WHEREAS, pursuant to Ninth Circuit caselaw, the trial court must rule on a pending motion to amend before considering a motion for class certification. See, e.g., Tan v. Quick Box, LLC, 2022 WL 17184568, at *2 (S.D. Cal. Nov. 23, 2022) (noting that “[a]n amended complaint may moot the motion for class certification because an amended complaint supersedes the original complaint so that the original complaint is treated as non-existent”) (citing Ramirez v. Cty. of San Bernardino, 806 F.3d 1002, 1008 (9th Cir. 2015)); Dean v. Colgate-Palmolive Co., 2017 WL 11585683, at *5 (C.D. Cal. May 15, 2017) (explaining that “an amended complaint would moot the Motion for Class Certification”); Burchfield v. Corel Corp., 2013 WL 12120088 (N.D. Cal. Sept. 12, 2013) (finding that class certification motion was “rendered moot” based on amendment of complaint). WHEREAS, Defendants’ opposition to Plaintiffs’ Motion for Leave to File the Fourth Amended Complaint is currently due October 31, 2023, and Plaintiffs’ reply in support of their motion would be due November 7, 2023; WHEREAS, Defendants’ response to the Motion to Seal Documents is currently due October 31, 2023; WHEREAS, the parties aver that there is good cause to reasonably extend the above deadlines for briefing related to the motion to amend and the motion to seal to allow Defendants sufficient time to respond to the issues raised in each motion, and to allow Plaintiffs sufficient time to address the issues raised in Defendants’ responses; WHEREAS, the parties aver that there is good cause to postpone class certification briefing until the Court has ruled on the motion to amend, and that the parties are willing to meet and confer and submit a proposed schedule for briefing Plaintiffs’ motion for class certification within 14 days of the Court’s ruling on the motion to amend; WHEREAS, counsel for the parties have conferred and agreed to the following briefing schedule for the motion to amend and motion to seal: Event Proposed Date Deadline for Defendants to respond to the November 14, 2023 Motion to Seal Documents Deadline for Defendants to oppose Plaintiffs’ November 22, 2023 Motion for Leave to File the Fourth Amended Complaint Deadline for Plaintiffs to file reply in support December 6, 2023 of their motion for Leave to File the Fourth Amended Complaint WHEREAS, this stipulation is not made for purposes of delay; and WHEREAS, this is the first request for an extension of time for the subject deadlines; IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED AND AGREED, subject to the approval of the Court, that (1) the deadline for Defendants to respond to the Motion to Seal Documents shall be November 14, 2023; (2) the deadline for Defendants to oppose Plaintiffs’ Motion for Leave to File the Fourth Amended Complaint shall be November 22, 2023; (3) the deadline for Plaintiffs to file reply in support of their motion for Leave to File the Fourth Amended Complaint shall be December 6, 2023; (4) within 14 days of the Court’s ruling on the motion to amend, the parties will meet and confer and submit a proposed schedule for briefing deadlines on Plaintiffs’ motion for class certification.

/s/ Benjamin J. Bauer /s/ D. Matthew Moscon Paul J. Lukas, Esq. (admitted pro hac vice) D. Matthew Moscon (admitted pro hac vice) Brock J. Specht, Esq. (admitted pro hac vice) 201 South Main Street, Suite 1100 Benjamin J. Bauer, Esq. (admitted pro hac Salt Lake City, UT 84111 vice) Telephone: (801) 907-2703 4700 IDS Center mmoscon@mayerbrown.com 80 S. 8th Street Minneapolis, MN 55402 MAYER BROWN LLP Telephone: (612) 256-3200 Nancy G. Ross (admitted pro hac vice) 71 South Wacker Drive PAUL PADDA LAW, PLLC Chicago, IL 60606 Paul S. Padda, Esq. Telephone: (312) 782-0600 4560 South Decatur Blvd., Suite 300 nross@mayerbrown.com Las Vegas, NV 89103 Telephone: (702) 366-1888 LITTLER MENDELSON P.C. Attorneys for Plaintiff Patrick H. Hicks, Esq. Bar. No. 004632 Diana G. Dickinson, Esq. Bar No. 13477 3960 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 300 Las Vegas, Nevada 89169-5937 Telephone: (702) 862-8800 phicks@littler.com ddickinson@littler.com Attorneys for Defendant Caesars Holdings, Inc., the Plan Investment Committee, and the 401(k) Plan Committee

/s/ Robert C. Hora Sean M. Murphy, Esq. (admitted pro hac vice) Robert C. Hora, Esq. (admitted pro hac vice) Joseph J. Kammerman, Esq. (admitted pro hac vice) Emily E. Werkmann, Esq. (admitted pro hac vice) 55 Hudson Yards New York, NY 10001 Telephone: (212) 530-5000 PARSONS, BEHLE & LATIMER Rew R. Goodenow, Esq. NSBN 3722 Michael R. Kealy, Esq. NSBN 971 50 West Liberty Street, Suite 750 Reno, NV 89501 Attorneys for Defendant Russell Investments Trust Company DATED: _ 10/30/2023 IT IS SO ORDERED. ° Ei pm Lea We barn ITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE □ UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE