Bogor v. American Pony Express, Inc et al

Filing 149

ORDER, Counsel Jones shall send a copy of this Order to all of his clients for whom he seeks to withdraw from representation and shall file a proof of mailing; if a client does not object to the motion to withdraw by 9/8/10, the Court will deem the f ailure to object to be consent to the motion to withdraw being granted; withdrawal is granted for the corporate Defendant and no substitute counsel appears within 5 days of when withdrawal is granted, Plaintiff may move to strike the corporate Defend ant's answer; denying the 147 motion to stay; however, the parties may organize discovery however they deem appropriate within the deadlines set forth in this order; the deadline for completing all discovery is 2/14/11; the deadline for filing motions to decertify any class is 2/25/11; the deadline for filing dispositive motions is 5/31/11 (see order for further details). Signed by Judge James A Teilborg on 8/25/10.(REW)

Bogor v. American Pony Express, Inc., et al

Doc. 149

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

Yusuf M. Bogor, on behalf of himself and) ) all others similarly situated, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) vs. ) ) American Pony Express, Inc., an Arizona) Corporation, a.k.a. Allstate Cab Company,) ) et al., ) ) Defendants. ) )

No. CV 09-2260-PHX-JAT ORDER

Several motions are pending before the Court. First, the Court notes the parties who have appeared in this case have jointly moved to stay this case 60 days to allow the Defendants who have appeared to attempt to locate new counsel. The Court will not stay this case; however, the Court will extend certain deadlines as indicated below. With respect to the need for new counsel, the Court notes a motion to withdraw as counsel for all Defendants for whom he has appeared is pending from attorney Robert Jones. No client has consented to the motion. Accordingly, the Court will not rule on the motion until the time for the client(s) to object has expired. Additionally, the Court notes that Defendant American Pony Express, Inc. (a.k.a. Allstate Cab Company) cannot appear in federal court without counsel. See Rowland v. Cal. Mens Colony, Unit II Men's Advisory Counsel, 506 U.S. 194, 201-202 (1993) ("It has been the law for the better part of two centuries . . . that a corporation may appear in federal courts only through licensed

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counsel."). Therefore, if substitute counsel does not appear within five days after the motion to withdraw is granted (assuming it is eventually granted), Plaintiff may move to strike Defendant American Pony Express, Inc.'s answer and seek default. Further the Court notes that Plaintiff is in the process of serving additional Defendants who were added when the amended complaint was filed. Those new Defendants will be bound by the deadlines established herein as indicated below. Based on the foregoing, IT IS ORDERED that Counsel Jones shall send a copy of this Order to all of his clients for whom he seeks to withdraw from representation and shall file a proof of mailing. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that if a client does not object to the motion to withdraw by September 8, 2010, the Court will deem the failure to object to be consent to the motion to withdraw being granted. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that if withdrawal is granted for the corporate Defendant and no substitute counsel appears within FIVE days of when withdrawal is granted, Plaintiff may move to strike the corporate Defendant's answer. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the motion to stay (Doc. 147) is denied; however, the parties may organize discovery however they deem appropriate within the deadlines set forth below. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff shall serve and file a proof of service for all newly added Defendants by September 30, 2010. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that all newly added Defendants shall answer or otherwise respond to the second amended complaint (Doc. 123) within 20 days of being served (even if service is by waiver). IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that for any newly added defendant, Plaintiff must serve a copy of this Order and a copy of the Rule 16 scheduling order with the complaint (unless a newly added Defendant has already been served, in which case Plaintiff must send them a copy of this Order and a copy of the Rule 16 scheduling order today and file a proof -2-

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of mailing). IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the newly added Defendants are advised that they are bound by both the Rule 16 Scheduling Order (as modified by this Order) and this Order. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED extending the deadlines in this case as follows: The deadline for the party with the burden of proof on an issue to disclosure experts (as more specifically detailed in the Rule 16 Order) is October 25, 2010; The deadline for responsive expert disclosures (as more specifically detailed in the Rule 16 Order) is November 30, 2010; The deadline for rebuttal expert disclosures is December 13, 2010; The deadline for completing all discovery is February 14, 2011; The deadline for filing motions to decertify any class is February 25, 2011; The deadline for filing dispositive motions is May 31, 2011. DATED this 25th day of August, 2010.

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