Doe et al v. City and County of San Francisco et al

Filing 180

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE WHY SANCTIONS SHOULD NOT BE IMPOSED. Signed by Judge Thelton Henderson on 4/4/12. (tehlc2, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 4/4/2012)

1

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

2

FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

3
4
5

JANE DOE and ANNE RASKIN,

6
7
8

Plaintiffs,
v.
CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN
FRANCISCO, et al.,

NO. C10-04700 TEH
ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE
WHY SANCTIONS SHOULD
NOT BE IMPOSED

9
Defendants.
11
For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

10
On March 29, 2012, this Court issued an order setting the trial schedule, in the course
12
of which the Court made clear not only the Court’s intent to maximize the efficiency of this
13
trial through the use of time limits, but also the expectation that significant progress would be
14
made on the first day of trial, and that, accordingly, counsel should be prepared to proceed
15
with their first witnesses on Tuesday, April 3, 2012.
16
In spite of the Court’s best efforts, counsel remains unable to assist the Court in
17
pursuing the goal of efficiency. Though the trial was scheduled to proceed from 9:00 a.m.
18
until 5:00 p.m., counsel announced, at 4:20 p.m., after an unscheduled recess, that the
19
Plaintiffs were unable to proceed further (having examined two of an anticipated 24
20
witnesses) because the deposition of the next witness had been the victim of an assistant’s
21
oversight, left behind in a box in counsel’s office.
22
In the wake of a plethora of oversights, errors, inefficiencies, corrected filings, and
23
miscommunications by counsel for both sides in this case, after the Court has extended the
24
hours normally scheduled for trial to more than double the amount of time available for this
25
case and made plain the need to streamline these proceedings so that both parties will have
26
sufficient time to present their case, counsel’s failure to fill the time allotted today is utterly
27
28

1 unacceptable. In light of this, the Court hereby ORDERS counsel for the Plaintiffs to SHOW
2 CAUSE WHY SANCTIONS SHOULD NOT BE IMPOSED.
3

Any written response to this order shall be filed on or before Monday, April 9, 2012.

4 A hearing on this matter will be scheduled, upon a date and time to be determined.
5
6 IT IS SO ORDERED.
7
8 Dated: 4/4/12
9

THELTON E. HENDERSON, JUDGE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

11
For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

10

12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
2