Goines v. Lee Memorial Health System et al

Filing 78

ORDER granting 77 Defendant Lee Health's Motion to Extend Time to Comply with Court's Order. Lee Memorial's production of documents pursuant to 76 the Court's September 14, 2018 Order is deemed as timely. See Order for details. Signed by Magistrate Judge Carol Mirando on 10/2/2018. (DRS)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
FORT MYERS DIVISION
DONIA GOINES,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No: 2:17-cv-656-FtM-29CM

LEE MEMORIAL HEALTH
SYSTEM d/b/a CAPE CORAL
HOSPITAL and JEOVANNI
HECHAVARRIA,
Defendants.
ORDER
This matter comes before the Court upon review of Defendant Lee Health’s
Motion to Extend Time to Comply with Court’s Order filed on September 28, 2018.
Doc. 77. Defendant Lee Memorial Health System (“Lee Memorial”) seeks a one-day
extension of time to comply fully with the Court’s September 14, 2018 Order directing
Lee Memorial to produce certain documents by September 28, 2018. Id.; see Doc. 76
at 18. For good cause shown and because Lee Memorial requests only a single-day
extension, the motion will be granted.
The Court notes, however, that Lee Memorial failed to comply with Middle
District of Florida Local Rule 3.01(g). Throughout this litigation, the parties have
been repeatedly instructed to comply with Local Rule 3.01(g). Indeed, the Court’s
most recent Order stated:
The Court cannot overstate . . . the importance of Local Rule 3.01(g) in
preserving judicial economy, as it fosters communication between the
parties and helps resolves disputes without court intervention.

Therefore, from this point forward, all parties are advised they must
certify in any future motions that they conferred through engaging in
clear, substantive discussions involving all issues raised in the motion
in person or by telephone in a good faith effort to resolve any issues
raised prior to motion practice. Failure to comply with the Local Rules
and this Order could result in sanctions.
Doc. 76 at 17 (emphasis in original).

Further, in a previous Order, the Court

specifically admonished Lee Memorial for its last-minute filing of a motion to extend
its deadline to disclose experts and expert reports: “[T]he parties should not
unnecessarily wait to file their requests until the eleventh hour.

Lee Memorial

should have been aware of its inability to meet the expert disclosure deadline prior
to the day before the deadline.” See Doc. 71 at 3.
Without explanation and in flagrant disregard to this Court’s Orders and the
Local Rules, Lee Memorial’s present motion indicates that counsel for Lee Memorial
had “not yet heard back” from Plaintiff or Defendant Jeovanni Hechavarria upon
filing the motion. Doc. 77 at 3. Further, Lee Memorial once again waited until the
eleventh hour to file its motion for extension, although it should have been aware of
its inability to meet the deadline prior to the deadline. Because the motion seeks
only a one-day extension, it will be granted. But the Court warns Lee Memorial that
any future motions that fail to comply fully with Local Rule 3.01(g)—both as set forth
in the Rule and as required by this Court in its September 14, 2018 Order—will be
summarily denied on that basis and will subject Lee Memorial to sanctions.

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ACCORDINGLY, it is
ORDERED:
Defendant Lee Health’s Motion to Extend Time to Comply with Court’s Order
(Doc. 77) is GRANTED. Lee Memorial’s production of documents pursuant to the
Court’s September 14, 2018 Order (Doc. 76) is deemed as timely.
DONE and ORDERED in Fort Myers, Florida on this 2nd day of October, 2018.

Copies:
Counsel of record

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