Nahmens v. Vilsack et al

Filing 61

ORDER signed by Chief District Judge Troy L. Nunley on 11/21/2024 GRANTING 60 Request to Exceed Page Limit and AUTHORIZING the Defendant to file a Combined Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment and Opposition to Plaintiff's motion which is up to 25 pages long. (Mendez Licea, O)

1 PHILLIP A. TALBERT
United States Attorney
2 JEFFREY J. LODGE
Assistant United States Attorney
3 2500 Tulare Street, Suite 4401
Fresno, CA 93721
4 Telephone: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
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Attorneys for Defendant Thomas Vilsack
6 Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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CATHERINE NAHMENS,
Plaintiff,

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v.

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CASE NO. 2:22-CV-01039-TLN-JDP
DEFENDANT’S REQUEST TO EXCEED PAGE
LIMITS; ORDER

THOMAS VILSACK, SECRETARY OF THE
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF
AGRICULTURE,
Defendant.

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Defendant Thomas Vilsack in his official capacity as Secretary of the United States Department

19 of Agriculture (“USDA”) seeks leave from the Court to file a lengthier document, as follows:
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1.

The Court's Initial Pretrial Scheduling Order (ECF No. 3) and Civil Standing Order as

21 found on the Court's website, places a page limit for points and authorities (exclusive of exhibits and
22 other supporting documentation) of twenty (20) pages on all initial moving papers, twenty (20) pages for
23 oppositions. A party may seek leave from the Court to file a lengthier document. The request must set
24 forth any and all reasons for any increase in page limits and be filed at least fourteen (14) days prior to
25 the filing of the motion.
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DEFENDANT’S REQUEST TO EXCEED PAGE LIMITS;
ORDER

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2.

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In this case, the Plaintiff has filed a Motion for Summary Judgment/Appeal of MSPB

2 Decision (ECF No. 53), which was 25 pages long and exceeded the page limit and was later reduced to
3 the maximum of 20 pages. Dkt. 56. The motion is based upon an Administrative Record which is over
4 3117 pages long including a decision by the MSPB which is 91 pages. Dkt. 28.
3.

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Pursuant to the amended scheduling order, the Defendant is authorized to file a

6 Combined Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment and Opposition to Plaintiff's Motion by December 6,
7 2024. Dkt. 52. 14 days prior to the filing of this motion is Friday, November 22, 2024.
4.

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Because of the length of the record and the number of matters being addressed, and

9 because the Defendant will respond to all the plaintiff’s arguments and make a counter motion for
10 summary judgment in one combined document, good cause exists to allow the Defendant to exceed the
11 page limits. The undersigned will endeavor to make the document as concise as possible, but in an
12 abundance of caution, requests an additional 5 pages.
For these reasons, the Defendant requests that the page limit be set at 25 pages exclusive of any

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14 tables.
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Respectfully submitted,

16 Dated: November 20, 2024

PHILLIP A. TALBERT
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY

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/s/Jeffrey J. Lodge
JEFFREY J. LODGE
Assistant United States Attorney
Attorneys for the United States

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ORDER

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The Defendant is authorized to file a Combined Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment and

23 Opposition to Plaintiff's Motion which is up to 25 pages long.
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DATED: November 21, 2024
____________________________
Troy L. Nunley
Chief United States District Judge

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DEFENDANT’S REQUEST TO EXCEED PAGE LIMITS;
ORDER

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