United States of America v. Real Property and Improvements Located at 2366 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, California
Filing
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ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE AND SCHEDULING ORDER. Certificate of Interested Entities due by 9/5/2013. Show Cause Response due by 9/6/2013. Order to Show Cause Hearing set for 10/29/2013 at 9:30 AM. Further Case Management Conference set for 10/29/2013 at 9:30 AM in Courtroom 9, 19th Floor, San Francisco. Signed by Judge Jon S. Tigar on August 22, 2013. (wsn, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 8/22/2013)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Case No. 13-cv-02027-JST
Plaintiff,
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v.
ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE AND
SCHEDULING ORDER
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REAL PROPERTY AND
IMPROVEMENTS LOCATED AT 2366
SAN PABLO AVENUE, BERKELEY,
CALIFORNIA,
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Defendant.
United States District Court
Northern District of California
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Civil Local Rule 3-16 (a) requires that parties other than governmental entities file
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certificates of interested entities or persons “[s]o that Judges of this Court may evaluate any need
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for disqualification or recusal.” Subsection (b) provides that “[u]pon making a first appearance in
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any proceeding in this Court, a party must file”such a certificate. Civil L.R. 3-16(b) (emphasis
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added). “The Certification must disclose any persons, associations of persons, firms, partnerships,
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corporations (including parent corporations), or other entities other than the parties themselves
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known by the party to have either: (i) a financial interest (of any kind) in the subject matter in
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controversy or in a party to the proceeding; or (ii) any other kind of interest that could be
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substantially affected by the outcome of the proceeding.” Id. 3-16(b)(1) (citing 28 U.S.C. §
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455(d). “If a party has no disclosure to make pursuant to subparagraph (b)(1), that party must
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make a certification stating that no such interest is known other than that of the named parties to
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the action.” Civil L.R. 3-16(b)(3). The purpose of the rule is to enable “Judges of this Court [to]
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evaluate any need for disqualification or recusal early in the course of any case.” Civil L.R. 3-
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16(a); see also In re Cement Antitrust Litig. (MDL No. 296), 688 F.2d 1297, 1313 (9th Cir. 1982)
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(the purpose of the recusal and disqualification rules is “to promote public confidence in the
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impartiality of the judiciary”),aff'd sub nom. Arizona v. U.S. Dist. Court for Dist. of Arizona, 459
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U.S. 1191, 103 S. Ct. 1173, 75 L. Ed. 2d 425 (1983) and supplemented sub nom. State of Ariz. v.
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U.S. Dist. Court for Dist. of Ariz., 709 F.2d 521 (9th Cir. 1983).
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Claimant Berkely Patients Group, Inc. (“BPG”) filed a claim asserting an interest in the
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Defendant property and contesting forfeiture on June 4, 2013. ECF No. 12. To date, BPG has not
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filed a ceritificate of interested entities or persons.
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When a party violates local rules or a court order, courts may impose a number of different
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sanctions. For example, the Ninth Circuit has “repeatedly upheld the imposition of the sanction of
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dismissal for failure to comply with pretrial procedures mandated by local rules and court orders.”
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Thompson v. Hous. Auth. of City of Los Angeles, 782 F.2d 829, 831 (9th Cir. 1986)(citing cases).
United States District Court
Northern District of California
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In addition, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(f)(1) “expressly provides for imposing
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sanctions on disobedient or recalcitrant parties, their attorneys, or both.” Adv. Cttee. Notes, 1983
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Amendments, Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(f). Such sanctions may be imposed sua sponte or upon motion, if
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a party or its attorney fails to comply with a pretrial order. Civil Local Rule 1-4 provides: “Failure
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by counsel or a party to comply with any duly promulgated local rule or any Federal Rule may be
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a ground for imposition of any authorized sanction.”
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Violation of a local rule, as BPG has done here, constitutes violation of a pretrial order
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subject to the sanctions discussed above, particularly where there is “a close connection between
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the sanctionable conduct and the need to preserve the integrity of the court docket or the sanctity
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of the federal rules.” Zambrano v. City of Tustin, 885 F.2d 1473, 1480 (9th Cir. 1989) (citing
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Frazier v. Heebe, 482 U.S. 641 (1987)).
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For all the foregoing reasons, BPG is hereby ORDERED to file by September 5, 2103 a
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Certificate of Interested Entities that complies with Rule 3-16. If it does not comply with this
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order, then BPG is ORDERED TO SHOW CAUSE in writing by September 6, 2013 why the
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Court should not impose sanctions against it, including monetary sanctions, dismissal, or any other
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authorized sanction as set forth above.
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Any party wishing to provide additional authority to the Court regarding BPG’s response
to the Order to Show Cause may do so by September 19, 2013. BPG may file a reply in support of
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its response to this Order by October 3, 2013. The Court will hold a hearing on this Order to
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Show Cause on October 29, 2013, at 9:30 p.m. in Courtroom 9, 19th Floor, 450 Golden Gate Ave.,
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San Francisco, California.
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The Court will also conduct a case management conference concurrently with the hearing
on October 29, 2013, at 9:30 a.m. All parties are ordered to appear at that time.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: August 22, 2013
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JON S. TIGAR
United States District Judge
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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