Jones v. Quartzsite, Town of et al

Filing 26

ORDER - ORDERED that Plaintiffs counsel shall supplement the Motion to Withdraw (Doc. 24 ) within seven (7) days, as indicated in the attached order or it will be denied. FURTHER ORDERED setting a hearing on the Motion for Extension of Time to Res pond to the Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings (Doc. 23 ) for tomorrow, December 19, 2013, at 1:05 p.m. Plaintiff's counsel may appear telephonically by calling into the Court at 602-322-7560 at the time set for the hearing. Ms. Wahlin shall appear in person. FINALLY ORDERED that Plaintiff's pro se motion to stay (Doc. 25 ) is denied. (see attached Order for details). Signed by Senior Judge James A Teilborg on 12/18/2013.(TLB)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

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Jennifer Marie Jones,
Plaintiff(s),

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v.
Town of Quartzsite, et al.,
Defendant(s).

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CV 12-1383-PHX-JAT

ORDER

Pending before the Court is Plaintiff’s counsel’s motion to withdraw and motion for
extension of time.

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The motion to withdraw, while seemingly well taken, fails to comply with Local Rule

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Civil 83. Specifically, it contains neither client consent, nor proof of service on the client.

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Next, it does not contain current contact information for the client which would allow the

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Court to send notice to her pro se if counsel withdraws. Counsel will be given 7 days to

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bring the motion into compliance or it will be denied.

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Next, counsel for Plaintiff has sought an extension of time to respond to a motion for

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judgment on the pleadings to give Plaintiff time to obtain new counsel or respond pro se.

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Counsel has indicated that Defendants will not stipulate to an extension. While the Court

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notes that the extension sought is quite long, given counsel’s many personal issues, it does

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not seem unreasonable.

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Defense counsel’s refusal to stipulate to extend this deadline is surprising to the Court.

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Previously in this case, defense counsel, Lisa S. Wahlin, moved firms. When Ms. Wahlin

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moved firms, she failed to enter the correct dispositive motion deadline for this case into her

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new firm’s docketing system. As a result, she missed the dispositive motion deadline. By

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Ms. Wahlin’s own statements, Plaintiff’s counsel then “graciously” agreed to extend the

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deadline. Nonetheless, Ms. Wahlin will not stipulate to extend time to respond to this very

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motion.

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Because the deadline to respond has expired, and because Ms. Wahlin will not

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stipulate to extend it, Ms. Wahlin must see some urgency to this matter. Accordingly, Ms.

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Wahlin will need to explain to the Court immediately why such a continuance is not

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warranted.

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Further, the Court notes that in Plaintiff’s counsel’s email attachment to his motion

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to withdraw, counsel suggests the parties are taking Plaintiff’s deposition in January 2014.

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Discovery closed in this case in August 2013. The Court is confused as to how this

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deposition could possibly be proceeding in January and orders it vacated if it is in fact

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scheduled.

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Based on the foregoing,

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IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiff’s counsel shall supplement the motion to withdraw

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within seven days, as indicated above, or it will be denied.

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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED setting a hearing on the motion for extension of time

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(Doc. 23) for tomorrow, December 19, 2013, at 1:05 p.m. Plaintiff’s counsel may appear

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telephonically by calling into the Court at 602-322-7560 at the time set for the hearing. Ms.

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Wahlin shall appear in person.

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IT IS FINALLY ORDERED that Plaintiff’s pro se motion to stay (Doc. 25) is
denied.
DATED this 18th day of December, 2013.

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