Bustos v. Commissioner of Social Security

Filing 17

ORDER and ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE signed by Magistrate Judge Kendall J. Newman on 1/25/12, ORDERING that the parties 16 stipulation is approved, and plaintiff have until 3/2/11, to file a motion for summary judgment or remand. The scheduling order in t his case is amended accordingly. On or before 2/10/12, plaintiff's counsel, Bess M. Brewer, shall show good cause in writing why she should not be sanctioned in an amount of $2,500. Ms. Brewer shall appear before the undersigned in regards to this order to show cause on February 23, 2012, at 10:00 a.m. Neither plaintiff nor defendant's counsel need appear at the 2/23/12 show cause hearing. (Kastilahn, A)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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ROBERT V. BUSTOS,

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Plaintiff,

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No. 2:11-cv-01953 KJN

v.
MICHAEL J. ASTRUE,
Commissioner of Social Security,

ORDER & ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE

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Defendant.
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Presently before the court is a stipulation and proposed order filed on January 18,

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2012, which seeks a continuance of the deadline for plaintiff to file his motion for summary

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judgment or remand from January 17, 2012, to March 2, 2012 (Dkt. No. 16). Plaintiff’s

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counsel’s excuse is once again her “impacted briefing schedule.” The undersigned approves the

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stipulation despite the fact that plaintiff’s counsel filed it after plaintiff’s initial deadline to file

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his motion and in violation of Local Rule 144(d) and the court’s order.

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However, the undersigned orders plaintiff’s counsel, Bess M. Brewer, to show

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cause in writing why she should not be sanctioned $2,500 for her constant inability, at least in

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cases before the undersigned, to timely file motions for summary judgment or requests for

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extensions of deadlines. Ms. Brewer, an officer of this court, is an attorney who regularly

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appears before the undersigned and all too regularly seeks extensions of time based on her
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“impacted briefing schedule.” Such an excuse is wholly inappropriate, especially when the

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undersigned has specifically and repeatedly warned Ms. Brewer of the inadequacy of that excuse;

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Ms. Brewer has come to abuse the privilege of seeking extensions of time.

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The undersigned previously ordered Ms. Brewer to appear and address her failure

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to timely prosecute her clients’ cases and to follow the court’s orders and Local Rules. (Ortiz v.

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Astrue, No. 2:09-cv-02641 KJN (E.D. Cal.), Order, Aug. 9, 2010, Dkt. No. 25.) During that

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hearing, it was noted that the reason for Ms. Brewer’s “impacted briefing schedule” might very

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well be that she is taking on more cases than she can actually handle. Despite Ms. Brewer’s

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contrition on that occasion, her court appearance, which did not result in the imposition of

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monetary sanctions, seems to have had no impact on Ms. Brewer’s approach to accepting cases.

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In Ortiz, the undersigned warned Ms. Brewer at the hearing and in the order discharging the

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order to show cause that: “her future failures to comply with the court’s orders will result in the

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imposition of sanctions, monetary or otherwise, and those sanctions will be significant in the first

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instance.”

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Ms. Brewer appears to be falling behind in her cases again, having recently filed

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several requests for extensions, most of which were late-filed. (See, e.g., Pacheco v. Astrue, No.

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2:10-cv-1733 KJN (E.D. Cal.) (seeking two extensions); Duong v. Astrue, No. 2:11-cv-00347

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KJN (E.D. Cal.) (seeking two extensions); Carson v. Astrue, No. 2:11-cv-0632 KJN (E.D. Cal.)

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(seeking two extensions); Feltis v. Astrue, No. 2:11-cv-0723 KJN (E.D. Cal.) (seeking two

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extensions); Juarez v. Astrue, No. 2:11-cv-0748 KJN (E.D. Cal.) (seeking two extensions).)

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Nearly all of these requests were inadequately and inappropriately premised on Ms. Brewer’s

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“impacted briefing schedule.” At this point, Ms. Brewer has left the undersigned with no options

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other than to heavily sanction Ms. Brewer, refer her to the California State Bar, or dismiss her

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clients’ cases; the undersigned would prefer not to force Ms. Brewer’s clients to suffer dismissals

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for Ms. Brewer’s ongoing failures.

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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

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1.

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The parties’ stipulation (Dkt. No. 16) is approved, and plaintiff shall have

until March 2, 2011, to file a motion for summary judgment or remand.

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2.

The scheduling order in this case is amended accordingly.

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3.

On or before February 10, 2012, plaintiff’s counsel, Bess M. Brewer, shall

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show good cause in writing why she should not be sanctioned in an amount of $2,500, for her

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ongoing failures to timely prosecute her clients’ cases and follow the court’s local rules and

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orders.

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4.

Ms. Brewer shall appear before the undersigned in regards to this order to

show cause on February 23, 2012, at 10:00 a.m.
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Neither plaintiff nor defendant’s counsel need appear at the February 23,

2012 show cause hearing.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: January 25, 2012

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_____________________________________
KENDALL J. NEWMAN
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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