Moore v. Commissioner of Social Security

Filing 17

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Kendall J. Newman on 8/19/11 GRANTING 30 day extension of time for dft to respond to pltf's 14 Motion for Summary Judgment. (Manzer, C)

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BENJAMIN B. WAGNER
United States Attorney
LUCILLE GONZALES MEIS
Regional Chief Counsel, Region IX
Social Security Administration
ELIZABETH FIRER
Special Assistant United States Attorney
333 Market Street, Suite 1500
San Francisco, California 94105
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]
E-Mail: [e-mail]
Attorneys for Defendant

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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SACRAMENTO DIVISION
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PAMELA IRENE MOORE,

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Plaintiff,
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v.
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MICHAEL J. ASTRUE,
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Commissioner of
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Social Security,
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Defendant.
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_________________________________)

CIVIL NO. 2:10-cv-02477 KJN
STIPULATION AND ORDER

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The parties hereby stipulate by counsel, with the Court’s approval as indicated by issuance of the

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attached Order, that Defendant shall have a FIRST extension of time of 30 days, up to and including

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September 14, 2011, to respond to Plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment. This extension is being

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sought because, between the time Plaintiff filed his opening brief on July 15, 2011 and August 15, 2011,

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Counsel for the Commissioner had to draft a Ninth Circuit brief, seek voluntarily remand in two other

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district court cases, which had already been extended, conduct an office-wide appellate briefing training

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and review three other appellate briefs for her colleagues – work that requires becoming familiar with

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the records in cases she did not brief, takes up to 30 hours to complete and cannot be easily extended.

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Counsel was also out of the office on leave from July 15-22, 2011. Given this workload and absence,

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Counsel was not able to complete the Commissioner’s response by the current due date and respectfully

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requests an additional 30 days.

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The parties further stipulate that the Court’s Scheduling Order shall be modified accordingly.

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Respectfully submitted,
/s/Ann M. Cerney
(As authorized via telephone)
ANN M. CERNEY
Attorney for Plaintiff

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Dated: August 15, 2011
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Dated: August 15, 2011

BENJAMIN B. WAGNER
United States Attorney
DONNA L. CALVERT
Acting Regional Chief Counsel, Region IX
Social Security Administration

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/s/ Elizabeth Firer
ELIZABETH FIRER
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney
Attorneys for Defendant

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ORDER

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Defendant filed this stipulation (the “Stipulation”) on August 15, 2011, the same day as

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defendant’s deadline to file its Opposition/Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment. (Dkt. No. 5 ¶ 4.)

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Disconcertingly, defendant waited until a filing deadline before asking the court to extend that same

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deadline. E.D. Local Rule 144(d) (“Counsel shall seek to obtain a necessary extension from the Court or

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from other counsel or parties in an action as soon as the need for an extension becomes apparent.

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Requests for Court-approved extensions brought on the required filing date for the pleading or other

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document are looked upon with disfavor.”). Further, the events giving rise to the requested extension are

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primarily workload-related, such as counsel’s drafting and reviewing briefs in other cases and

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conducting a training. These workload-related hurdles were presumably apparent to defendant’s counsel

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before the filing deadline, and counsel offers no explanation regarding the delay in seeking the court’s

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approval. Future stipulations suffering from similar deficiencies may not be approved. The undersigned

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nonetheless approves this stipulation.

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2 - Stip & Order Extending Def's Time

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APPROVED AND SO ORDERED.
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DATED: August 19, 2011

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KENDALL J. NEWMAN
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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3 - Stip & Order Extending Def's Time