Hiles v. Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC

Filing 14

ORDER: The parties' Joint Motion for Extension of Time to Exchange and File Documents, Conduct Mediation, and File the Case Management Report (Doc. # 13 ) is GRANTED in PART to the extent that the deadlines contained in the Scheduling Order are extended by a period of thirty days. The deadline to exchange information and documents (and to file the same with the Court) is extended from June 27, 2016, to and including July 27, 2016. The mediation deadline is extended from July 11, 2016, to and including August 11, 2016. The Case Management Hearing set for July 14, 2016, and attendant Case Management Report deadline are cancelled. The Court will reschedule the Case Management Hearing via separate Notice. The parties are directed to provide more information about the subpoena to the cellular service provider by June 27, 2016. Signed by Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington on 6/22/2016. (KAK)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
TAMPA DIVISION
MELISSA HILES,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No.

8:16-cv-808-T-33MAP

OCWEN LOAN SERVICING, LLC,
Defendant.
______________________________/
ORDER
This matter is before the Court pursuant to the parties’
Joint Motion for Extension of Time to Exchange and File
Documents, Conduct Mediation, and File the Case Management
Report (Doc. # 13), which was filed on June 21, 2016.

The

Court grants the Motion in part, as explained below.
Discussion
Plaintiff

Melissa

Hiles

filed

her

23-page

Verified

Complaint against Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC on April 4, 2016,
alleging that Ocwen violated the Florida Consumer Collection
Practices Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and the
Telephone Consumer Protection Act. (Doc. # 1).

On April 26,

2016, Ocwen sought and obtained an extension of time to
respond to the Complaint. (Doc. ## 6, 8).
The Court entered its Scheduling Order, which is narrowly
tailored to the circumstances of this case, on April 26, 2016.

(Doc. # 9).

That Order requires the parties to exchange

relevant documents (for instance, documents “that relate to
the

telephone

calls,

letters,

or

other

debt

collection

activities in question”), and file the documents with the
Court,

by

June

27,

2016.

(Id.

at

2).

In

addition,

the

Scheduling Order refers the case to mediation with Peter
Grilli, Esq. and a mediation date of July 11, 2016, has been
established. (Id. at 4).

The Court set a Case Management

Hearing for July 14, 2016, and directed counsel to file a Case
Management Report by July 12, 2016. (Id. at 8-9).
Recognizing the impact that telephone records have in
consumer collection cases, the Court specifically authorized
counsel “to serve subpoenas on telecommunications entities so
that accurate information may be gathered,” and warned: “If
the parties elect to serve subpoenas for telephone records in
this case, they should do so as early as practicable and
should work together to facilitate the process.” (Id. at 4).
The Court admonished that “the parties are not permitted
to mediate until the information exchange outlined in this
Order has been completed.” (Id.). The Court also advised, “If
the mediation date is approaching, and the parties realize
that they will not be able to complete the document exchange
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called for herein, the

parties are directed to file a motion

to reschedule the mediation. . . . [T]he parties are strongly
encouraged to promptly exchange documents, as required herein,
to avoid unnecessary expense.” (Id. at 4-5).
At this juncture, the parties jointly move to extend the
deadlines of the Scheduling Order. (Doc. # 13).
request

that

information

the
and

Court

extend

documents

to

the
August

deadline
12,

to

2016,

Counsel
exchange
move

the

mediation deadline to August 19, 2016, and establish August
24, 2016, as the deadline to file the Case Management Report.
(Id. at 2).

Counsel mention various “litigation schedules”

and other factors which may bear on their ability to meet the
Court’s requirements.

However, one representation in the

Motion requires further discussion.

Counsel indicate that

they are awaiting telephone records that have been subpoenaed
from

Hiles’

cellular

telephone

service

provider,

“which

generally take 3-5 months to be received and are of great
significance to this TCPA litigation.”

(Id.).

However, counsel do not provide information regarding
when the subpoena was issued.

Without that information, the

Court is unable to determine whether counsel have diligently
attempted to comply with the Court’s Scheduling Order.
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At

this juncture, with the limited information provided, the
Court grants the extension Motion in part by extending all
deadlines in the Scheduling Order by a period of thirty days.
The Court would be willing to revisit this and grant a longer
extension depending on when the subpoena was sent to Hiles’
cellular telephone service provider and when the cellular
telephone records are made available. Counsel are directed to
file a status report containing this information by June 27,
2016.
The Court also takes this opportunity to reiterate that
it has placed this case on a “fast track” and that the Court
“must take an active role in managing cases on [its] docket.”
Chudasama v. Mazda Motor Corp., 123 F.3d 1353, 1366 (11th Cir.
1997). Recent changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
place heightened case management duties on the Court, and the
Court’s goal in resolving the present Motion is to reduce the
expenses associated with litigation and to ensure that the
case does not languish on the Court’s docket.

The Court

recognizes the importance of receiving telephone records from
the third party service provider, but it also has a continuing
obligation to move the case forward in an effort to reduce

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costs and to speedily resolve the case in a just and efficient
manner.
Accordingly, it is hereby
ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED:
(1)

The parties’ Joint Motion for Extension of Time to
Exchange and File Documents, Conduct Mediation, and File
the Case Management Report (Doc. # 13) is GRANTED in PART
to

the

extent

that

the

deadlines

contained

in

the

Scheduling Order are extended by a period of thirty days.
(2)

The deadline to exchange information and documents (and
to file the same with the Court) is extended from June
27, 2016, to and including July 27, 2016.

The mediation

deadline is extended from July 11, 2016, to and including
August 11, 2016.

The Case Management Hearing set for

July 14, 2016, and attendant Case Management Report
deadline are cancelled. The Court will reschedule the
Case Management Hearing via separate Notice.
(3)

The parties are directed to provide more information
about the subpoena to the cellular service provider by
June 27, 2016.

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DONE and ORDERED in Chambers in Tampa, Florida, this 22nd
day of June, 2016.

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