A magistrate judge on Thursday granted Brookdale Senior Living CEO Bill Sheriff’s motion to quash a subpoena seeking his deposition today in a breach-of-contract dispute — at least temporarily.

In an order following a conference call, U.S. Magistrate Judge Juliet Griffin said Sheriff did not need to appear for a deposition today in the case between real estate investment trust HCP and Sunrise Senior Living Management, given the late notice during the company’s quarterly earnings report preparations.

However, another teleconference is scheduled for Feb. 18 between attorneys for Sheriff and Sunrise to “address the defendant’s basis for believing that Mr. Sheriff and Mr. Flaherty, the CEO of third-party defendant HCP Inc., had discussions about Brookdale Senior Living taking over management of assisted living facilities.”

The case in question is a suit HCP affiliates filed over the summer, accusing Sunrise of breaching a contract related to more than 60 properties. More on the case can be found here. According to Sunrise’s most recent 10-Q, the lawsuit was first filed in Delaware, then withdrawn and refilled in the Eastern District of Virginia in July.