United States Surety Company v. Stevens Family Limited Partnership et al

Filing 27

MEMORANDUM Order Signed by the Honorable Milton I. Shadur on 5/29/2012:Mailed notice(srn, )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS

EASTERN DIVISION
UNITED STATES SURETY COMPANY,

Plaintiff,
v.
STEVENS FAMILY LIMITED
PARTNERSHIP, et al.,
Defendants.

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No.

11 C 7480

MEMORANDUM ORDER
During yesterday’s status hearing in this action this Court
learned that defense counsel had previously filed an Answer to
the Complaint, but without complying with this District Court’s
LR 5.2 (f) that requires delivery of a paper copy of every
electronic filing to the judge’s chambers.

Later in the morning

defense counsel belatedly cured that omission by delivering a
copy of the Answer, after which this Court’s threshold review has
disclosed a flaw requiring correction.
Answer ¶¶11, 12 and 13 fail to respond to the corresponding
allegations of the Complaint, as Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(b) requires,
asserting instead that a document referred to in the Complaint
“speaks for itself.”

In much the same way, Answer ¶19 fails to

respond to allegations as to certain letters by stating that the
“letters themselves are the best evidence of their contents.”
As to the “speaks” assertions, see App’x ¶3 to State Farm
Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Riley, 199 F.R.D. 276, 278 (N.D. Ill.
2001).

As to the “best evidence” assertion, that improperly

mixes a figurative pleading apple with the equally figurative
evidentiary orange.

Accordingly all of the Answer paragraphs

referred to in this memorandum order are stricken, with leave to
file a curative amendment to the Answer (not a self-contained
Amended Answer) on or before June 5, 2012.
No charge is to be made to defendants by their counsel for
the added work and expense incurred in correcting counsel’s
errors.

Defendants’ counsel are ordered to apprise their clients

to that effect by letter, with a copy to be transmitted to this
Court’s chambers as an informational matter (not for filing).

________________________________________
Milton I. Shadur
Senior United States District Judge
Date:

May 29, 2012