Harris v. Larson et al

Filing 169

ORDER GRANTING 167 MOTION to Allow Counsel to Withdraw from Representation filed by Darius Harris. Attorney Charles L. Joley terminated. Counsel shall mail to Plaintiff his complete file by 1/12/18. Plaintiff is granted until 1/29/18 to file a supplemental response to motion for summary judgment. Clerk to send documents to Plaintiff as directed in Order. Signed by Magistrate Judge Donald G. Wilkerson on 1/9/2018. (sgp)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
)
)
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Plaintiff,
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v.
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DENNIS
LARSON,
VIPIN
SHAH,)
ZACHARY ROECKEMAN, DR. RITZ, and)
)
NURSE L. BRADBURY,
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Defendants.
DARIUS HARRIS,

Case No. 3:15-cv-252-NJR-DGW

ORDER
WILKERSON, Magistrate Judge:
Now pending before the Court is the Motion to Allow Counsel to Withdraw from
Representation filed by Plaintiff, Darius Harris, on November 29, 2017 (Doc. 167). The Motion
is GRANTED.
Plaintiff states that counsel, Charles L. Joley, has failed to communicate with him since
February, 2017 despite attempts to contact him thereafter. Plaintiff believes that counsel is
disinterested in representing him. The last document that Plaintiff is aware of is the motion for
summary judgment filed on June 5, 2017 (Doc. 156). Attorney Joley, notwithstanding receipt of
the motion, has not filed a response or otherwise communicated with the Court. This Court can
only assume, then, that that statements made in Plaintiff’s motion are accurate. This is not the
first time Plaintiff has complained about Mr. Joley’s lack of communication (Docs. 136, 137).
Local Rule 83.12 provides that “any party for whom counsel has been assigned shall be
permitted to request the judge discharge that counsel from the assignment and assign another.”
Such a request should be made “promptly after the party becomes aware of the reasons giving rise
to the request, or within such additional period as may be permitted by the judge for good cause
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shown.” Id. It is clear from Plaintiff’s motion, and a previous motion, that he has been
dissatisfied with Mr. Joley’s representation for several months and his request to discharge Mr.
Joley is supported by good cause. Mr. Joley is bound by Illinois’ Rules of Professional Conduct.
See Local Rule 83.2(b). As such, he is required to communicate with Plaintiff as to the status of
this case, promptly respond to requests for information, and explain matters so that Plaintiff can
make informed decisions. See Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct of 2010, Rule 1.4. The
Court cannot determine from the record whether Mr. Joley is performing these basic
communication tasks. As such, the Court accepts Plaintiff’s representation that Mr. Joley did not
share his response to the Motion for Summary Judgment with Plaintiff prior to filing it with the
Court (Doc. 163). Accordingly, good cause exists for the discharge of Mr. Joley.
Mr. Joley’s representation of Plaintiff is hereby TERMINATED.

Mr. Joley is

DIRECTED to mail to Plaintiff no later than January 12, 2018 his complete file. The Clerk of
Court is DIRECTED to send to Plaintiff a copy of the docket sheet in this matter and a copy of the
Motion for Summary Judgment (and memorandum and attachments) and the response (Docs. 156,
157, and 163). Plaintiff is GRANTED leave to file an additional response to the Motion for
Summary Judgment by January 29, 2018.
DATED: January 9, 2018

DONALD G. WILKERSON
United States Magistrate Judge

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