Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-casd-3_09-cv-02377/USCOURTS-casd-3_09-cv-02377-1/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 365
Nature of Suit: Personal Injury - Product Liability
Cause of Action: 28:1332 Diversity-Product Liability

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STIPULATION AND ORDER TO STAY PROCEEDINGS

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ARTURO J. GONZÁLEZ (BAR NO. 121490) 

ERIN M. BOSMAN (BAR NO. 204987) 

WILLIAM F. TARANTINO (BAR NO. 215343) 

ALEXANDRIA A. AMEZCUA (BAR NO. 247507) 

MORRISON & FOERSTER LLP 

425 Market Street 

San Francisco, CA 94105 

Telephone: 415-268-7000 

Facsimile: 415.268.7522 

Attorneys for Defendant(s) 

IOVATE HEALTH SCIENCES INC.; IOVATE HEALTH 

SCIENCES U.S.A., INC.; MUSCLETECH RESEARCH AND 

DEVELOPMENT INC.; VITAMIN SHOPPE INDUSTRIES, 

INC.; and GENERAL NUTRITION CENTERS, INC. 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

ALEJANDRO M. JIMENEZ, an individual; and 

CHRISTOPHER LOPEZ, an individual; on behalf 

of themselves and all others similarly situated, 

Plaintiffs, 

v. 

IOVATE HEALTH SCIENCES, INC., IOVATE 

HEALTH SCIENCES USA, INC., 

MUSCLETECH RESEARCH AND 

DEVELOPMENT, INC.; VITAMIN SHOPPE 

INDUSTRIES, INC., GENERAL NUTRITION 

CENTERS, INC., and DOES 1 through 50, 

inclusive 

Defendants. 

Case No. 09-CV-01473-JAM-KJM 

STIPULATION AND ORDER TO 

STAY PROCEEDINGS PENDING 

MDL CONSIDERATION 

 Judge: Hon. John A. Mendez 

Magistrate: Hon. Kimberly J. 

Mueller 

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Case 3:09-cv-02377-BTM-KSC Document 11 Filed 07/30/09 Page 1 of 4
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STIPULATION AND ORDER TO STAY PROCEEDINGS

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Pursuant to Civil Local Rule 83-143 of this Court, Plaintiffs ALEJANDRO M. JIMENEZ, 

an individual; and CHRISTOPHER LOPEZ, an individual; on behalf of themselves and all others 

similarly situated, and defendants IOVATE HEALTH SCIENCES INC.; IOVATE HEALTH 

SCIENCES U.S.A., INC.; MUSCLETECH RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT INC.; 

VITAMIN SHOPPE INDUSTRIES, INC.; and GENERAL NUTRITION CENTERS, INC. 

(collectively “Defendants”) hereby submit the following Stipulation to Stay Proceedings 

(“Stipulation”) pending a ruling on an MDL application filed by other plaintiffs:

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1. This case is one of at least 17 putative class actions (the “Actions”) pending in 12 

different federal district courts throughout the country against Defendants regarding the 

marketing and sale of certain of Defendants’ Hydroxycut-branded products. Four individual 

actions are also currently pending in federal court, challenging the marketing and sale of 

Hydroxycut-branded products. 

2. On June 26, 2009, plaintiffs in Coleman, et al. v. Iovate Health Sciences, U.S.A., 

Inc., et al., Case No. 3:09-cv-00988-BTM-AJB, pending in the Southern District of California 

before Judge Barry T. Moskowitz, filed with the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (“the 

Panel”) a motion for transfer and consolidation of the Actions to the District Court for the 

Southern District of California pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1407. (A true and correct copy of the 

Panel’s Notice of Filing and Publication of Briefing Schedule is attached as Exhibit 1.) 

Defendants’ response to plaintiffs’ motion for transfer was filed July 16, 2009. The parties have 

requested oral argument and await a hearing date from the Panel. 

3. All the Actions, including this one, have just commenced, and there has been little 

or no activity in the cases. In the present action of Jimenez, et al. v. Iovate Health Sciences, Inc.,

et al., no activity has commenced. 

4. The need for a stay is immediate. Absent a stay, the Court and the parties face 

imminent deadlines for responsive pleadings, pretrial and other case management orders, 

 

1 Defendants appear for purposes of this Stipulation only, and expressly reserve their right 

to contest service and this Court’s jurisdiction. 

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STIPULATION AND ORDER TO STAY PROCEEDINGS

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exchange of initial disclosures, and commencement of discovery in this case, as well as in each of 

the pending cases. The first deadline in this case will be Defendants’ responsive pleading, which 

is due August 3, 2009. The parties’ case management conference will likely come soon 

thereafter. It would not be a prudent use of this Court’s resources to prepare for and participate in 

a case management conference while a ruling on an MDL application concerning this case is still 

pending. 

5. So as to conserve judicial resources, protect from potential prejudice to the 

parties, and avoid the risk of conflicting rulings, and pursuant to Civil Local Rule 83-143 of 

this Court, the parties respectfully request that the Court order a stay of the current 

proceedings until the MDL jurisdictional issue is determined. 

Dated: July 29, 2009 ARTURO J. GONZÁLEZ 

ERIN M. BOSMAN 

WILLIAM F. TARANTINO 

ALEXANDRIA A. AMEZCUA 

MORRISON & FOERSTER LLP 

By: /s/ Alexandria A. Amezcua 

ALEXANDRIA A. AMEZCUA 

Attorneys for Defendant(s) 

IOVATE HEALTH SCIENCES, INC.; 

IOVATE HEALTH SCIENCES 

U.S.A., INC.; MUSCLETECH 

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, 

INC.; VITAMIN SHOPPE 

INDUSTRIES, INC.; and GENERAL 

NUTRITION CENTERS, INC. 

 

Dated: July 29, 2009 JAMES M. LINDSAY 

GENE J. STONEBARGER 

RICHARD D. LAMBERT 

LINSDAY & STONEBARGER 

BY: /s/ Gene J. Stonebarger_______________ 

GENE J. STONEBARGER 

 (as authorized on July 27, 2009) 

 Attorneys for Plaintiffs 

ALEJANDRO M. JIMENEZ and 

CHRISTOPHER LOPEZ, and all others 

similarly situated and the general public 

IT IS SO ORDERED. 

Dated: 7/29/2009 /s/ John A. Mendez____________

 The Honorable John A. Mendez 

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

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Certificate of Service

I hereby certify that on July 29, 2009, I served the foregoing: 

STIPULATION AND ORDER TO STAY PROCEEDINGS PENDING MDL 

CONSIDERATION 

with the Clerk of the court using the CM/ECF system which will send notification of such filing 

to the following: 

Gene J. Stonebarger 

LINDSAY & STONEBARGER 

620 Coolidge Drive, Suite 225 

Folsom, CA 95630 

 /s/Alexandria A. Amezcua___

 Alexandria A. Amezcua 

California Bar No. 247507 

 Attorney for Defendants 

 MORRISON & FOERSTER LLP 

 425 Market Street 

 San Francisco, CA 94105 

 Telephone: (415) 268-6557 

 Fax: (415) 268-7522 

 Email: aamezcua@mofo.com

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