Guillen v. Owens et al

Filing 174

ORDER denying 173 Defendants' Motion for Extension of Time. Dispositive motion deadline is extended to 12/16/11. Signed by Magistrate Judge Lawrence O Anderson on 12/2/11.(TLJ)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

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Karl Louis Guillen,

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Plaintiff,
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vs.
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Quincy Owens, et al,
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Defendants.
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No. CV-10-226-PHX-JWS (LOA)
ORDER

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This case comes before the Court on Defendants’ timely Motion to Extend Time to

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File Dispositive Motions. (Doc. 173) Because of the urgency of a ruling and there being no

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undue prejudice to Plaintiff by doing so, the Court rules on the Motion without waiting for a

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response.

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On April 14, 2011, the Court entered a Scheduling and Discovery Order,

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establishing a December 2, 2011 deadline for filing dispositive motions. (Doc. 55) On

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December 2, 2011, Defendants filed the pending motion, seeking to extend the dispositive

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motion deadline for sixty days. Defendants’ counsel, Assistant Attorney General Michael

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Gottfried, explains that he was recently assigned to this case because the previous counsel

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handling this matter, Michele Forney, was moved to another section of the Attorney

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General’s Office. Defendants’ counsel explains that he needs an additional sixty days to

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familiarize himself with this case and to prepare a dispositive motion.

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Mr. Gottfried’s characterization of his assignment to this case as “recent” is a bit

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of an exaggeration. The record reflects that Mr. Gottfried was substituted as counsel on

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October 28, 2011. (Doc. 166) Thus, he has had at least thirty days to familiarize himself

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with this matter and to prepare a dispositive motion. Counsel does not provide any reason,

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aside from his “recent” assignment to this matter, why he is unable to timely file a dipositive

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motion.
Moreover, Mr. Gottfried does not explain why the former attorney assigned to this

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case, Ms. Forney, did not prepare a dispositive motion before being moved to a different

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section in the Attorney General’s office. Former counsel was surely aware of the December

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2, 2011 dispositive motion deadline, and there is no explanation why she was unable to

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prepare a dispositive motion before her transfer. Further, because Ms. Forney still works at

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the Attorney General’s office, albeit in “another section,” the Court cannot discern why Ms.

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Forney, who is familiar with this case, cannot share her knowledge with Mr. Gottfried and

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assist in preparing a dispositive motion. In short, Defendants’ counsel has not explained

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how, what appears to have been a routine staffing change, has impeded his or the Attorney

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General’s office ability to meet the dispositive motion deadline in a case that is nearly two

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years old.

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Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 6(b)(1) provides that:

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When an action may or must be done within a specified time, the court may,
for good cause, extend the time:

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(A) with or without motion or notice it the court acts, or if a request is made,
before the original time or its extension expires.
Fed.R.Civ.P. 6(b)(1) (emphasis added).
The Ninth Circuit has equated the good cause standard with the exercise of due

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diligence. Specifically, the Ninth Circuit has explained that the district court may modify the

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pretrial schedule “if it cannot reasonably be met despite the diligence of the party seeking

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the extension.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 16 advisory committee’s notes (1983 amendment); Johnson v.

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Mammoth Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604, 609 (9th Cir. 1992) (citations omitted). “Good

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cause” means the Rule 16 scheduling deadlines cannot be met despite the party’s diligence,

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citing Miller & Kane, Federal Practice and Procedure § 1522.1 at 231 (2d ed. 1990). Id.
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The ordinary staffing change described in Defendants’ motion does not satisfy the

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good cause standard, especially where the former counsel still works in the Attorney

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General’s Office, had knowledge of the dispositive motion deadline, and presumably can

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educate the new attorney regarding this matter. There is no evidence that, despite the

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exercise of diligence, Defendants could not have meet the dispostive motion deadline. As

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this Magistrate Judge has previously written by analogy to Rule 4(m), “[t]o hold that good

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cause has been shown here ‘would allow the good cause exception to swallow the rule.’”

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Williams v. City of Mesa, 2010 WL 2803880, * 1 (D.Ariz. Jul 15, 2010) (quoting Townsel v.

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County of Contra Costa, 820 F.2d 319, 320 (9th Cir. 1987)). “In these days of heavy case

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loads, trial courts . . . set schedules and establish deadlines to foster the efficient treatment

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and resolution of cases.” Hostnut.Com, Inc. v. Go Daddy Software, Inc., 2006 WL 1042335,

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* 1 (D.Ariz. April 19, 2006) (quoting Wong v. Regents of the Univ. of Cal., 410 F.3d 1052,

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1060 (9th Cir. 2005) (internal quotation marks omitted). “The parties must understand that

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they will pay a price for failure to comply strictly with scheduling and other orders. . . .” Id.

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Although the Court does not find good cause for purposes of Rule 6(b)(1)(A),

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Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16 authorizes the district court to control its cases “toward a

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process of judicial management that embraces the entire pretrial phase, especially motions

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and discovery.” See In re Arizona, 528 F.3d 652, 657 (9th Cir. 2009) (quoting Fed.R.Civ.P.

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16 advisory committee’s note, 1983 Amendment). After consideration of this matter, under-

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standing the current heavy caseloads in the Attorney General’s Office, the many challenges

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defending pro se prisoner lawsuits, and the benefits of resolving cases or eliminating issues

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that may not warrant a trial, the Court will grant a brief extension of the dispositive motion

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deadline pursuant to its inherent authority to manage its cases. F.J. Hanshaw Enters., Inc. v.

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Emerald River Dev., Inc., 244 F.3d 1128, 1136 (9th Cir. 2001) (recognizing that “all federal

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courts are vested with inherent powers enabling them to manage their cases and courtrooms

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effectively and to ensure obedience to their orders.”).

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Accordingly,

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IT IS ORDERED that Defendants’ Motion to Extend Time to File Dispositive
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Motions for sixty days, doc. 173, is DENIED. Pursuant to the Court’s inherent powers,

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however, the Court hereby extends the dispositive motion deadline to Friday, December

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16, 2011. No further extensions will be granted.

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DATED this 2nd day of December, 2011.

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