Royce v. Needle et al

Filing 235

MEMORANDUM Order: The Needle, P.C. motion for extension 225 is denied as tendered. Needle is granted only until March 21, 2016 to file a response to the Order. (For further details see Memorandum Order) Signed by the Honorable Milton I. Shadur on 3/14/2016:Mailed notice(clw, )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
EASTERN DIVISION
MERLE L. ROYCE,
Plaintiff,
v.
MICHAEL R. NEEDLE, P.C., et al.,
Defendants.

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Case No. 15 C 259

MEMORANDUM ORDER
By his protracted failure to retain replacement counsel for his professional corporation,
Michael R. Needle, P.C., ("Needle, P.C."), its President Michael Needle ("Needle") 1 has stymied
the efforts of this Court -- and of all other counsel in the case as well -- to deal with the
imposition of Fed. R. Civ. P. ("Rule") 11 sanctions against Needle, P.C. (and, not incidentally,
most likely against Needle personally). Most recently Needle (acting for Needle, P.C.) has
belatedly moved for an extension of the deadline that this Court's February 29, 2016
memorandum order ("Order") had imposed on Needle, P.C. But counsel for the Amari Group
has filed a Response and Objection to that motion that puts the lie to Needle's claim of lack of
notice by showing that both the fee petitions at issue and the Order were in fact communicated to
him at his e-mail address "[e-mail]."
In brief, the Needle, P.C. motion for extension is denied as tendered. Needle is granted
only until March 21, 2016 to file a response to the Order, and to do so contemporaneously with
the delivery (1) of a paper Judge's Copy to this Court's chambers and (2) of copies to lawyers

1

Although this Court has no information as to any other members of Needle, P.C.,
Michael Needle is doubtless its principal (if not sole) member.

Alan Borlack, Jennifer Sprengel, Dom Rizzi, Robert Gamburg and Richard Cochran (all of
whom are currently being transmitted copies of this memorandum order via e-mail, the same
means by which a copy of this memorandum order is being transmitted to Needle). If Needle
fails to do so, this Court will immediately enter the proposed order that was transmitted to this
Court (with copies e-mailed to Needle and others) by counsel for the Amari Group as an
enclosure to counsel's February 25, 2016 letter -- but if Needle does file a response, this Court
will promptly determine the appropriate course of action (which may call for entry of that
proposed order in any event).

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Milton I. Shadur
Senior United States District Judge
Date: March 14, 2016

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