Sacramento E.D.M., Inc., et al. v. Hynes Aviation Industries, Inc., et al.

Filing 99

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Kendall J. Newman on 6/17/16 ORDERING that Within fourteen (14) days of this order, defendants' counsel, Thomas Barth, shall pay the Clerk of Court $100.00 in sanctions based on his failure to timely appear at the 6/16/16 Status Conference. Defendants' counsel shall NOT directly or indirectly attempt to recover such sanctions from his clients. Failure to timely comply with this order will result in increased sanctions.(Mena-Sanchez, L)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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SACRAMENTO E.D.M., INC., et al.,

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Plaintiffs,

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No. 2:13-cv-0288-KJN

v.

ORDER

HYNES AVIATION INDUSTRIES, INC.
et al.,
Defendants.

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This matter came on for a status conference before the undersigned on June 16, 2016.

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(See ECF No. 93.) The status conference was set to commence at 10:00 a.m. Attorney Sean

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Gavin made a timely appearance on behalf of plaintiffs. However, defendants’ counsel, Thomas

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Barth, failed to appear by the time the status conference commenced.1 Accordingly, the

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undersigned ordered a brief recess of the status conference so that Mr. Barth’s whereabouts could

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be ascertained. Both the court and opposing counsel made several attempts to contact Mr. Barth

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by telephone to no avail. Only after opposing counsel sent Mr. Barth a text message asking him

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where he was did he respond that he was currently driving to the court and was caught behind

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road construction just outside Davis, California. At no time did Mr. Barth on his own volition

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While this matter was set to begin at 10:00 a.m., the case was not called until roughly 10:20 a.m.
because the undersigned first heard another matter that was also set for 10:00 a.m. Despite this
additional time, Mr. Barth still failed to appear at the time this case was called.
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contact the court or opposing counsel to explain that he was running late. Once Mr. Barth arrived

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in the courtroom, at around 11:00 a.m., the status conference finally commenced.

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During the status conference, the undersigned questioned Mr. Barth about his extreme

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tardiness. While apologetic, Mr. Barth could not provide a justifiable reason for why he arrived

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roughly an hour late. Indeed, he acknowledged that he had failed to afford himself adequate time

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to arrive at the court for the 10:00 a.m. hearing and had not contacted the court or opposing

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counsel to explain that he would be late despite having access to a cell phone. Given the lack of

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circumstances that would excuse Mr. Barth’s lack of punctuality, the undersigned finds it

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appropriate to impose monetary sanctions on him.

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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

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1. Within fourteen (14) days of this order, defendants’ counsel, Thomas Barth, shall pay

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the Clerk of Court $100.00 in sanctions based on his failure to timely appear at the

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June 16, 2016 status conference. Defendants’ counsel shall NOT directly or indirectly

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attempt to recover such sanctions from his clients.

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2. Failure to timely comply with this order will result in increased sanctions.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: June 17, 2016

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