Phat's Bar & Grill, Inc. et al v. Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government et al

Filing 57

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER by Judge John G. Heyburn, II on 3/29/12 DENYING Plaintiffs 46 Motion to Strike Defendants Motions for Summary Judgment or Hold Them in Abeyance; REMANDING Defendants 40 41 Motions for Summary Judgment pending the cl ose of discovery; SUSTAINING 54 Motion for Extension of Time to Complete Discovery. Deadline for all discovery is extended to July 13, 2012. The Court will not grant any additional deadline extensions.Responses to currently pending dispositive motions will be due 20 days after the close of discovery. Deadline for filing new dispositive motions will be Friday, August 31, 2012. cc:counsel (DAK)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF KENTUCKY
AT LOUISVILLE
CIVIL ACTION NO. 3:10-CV-00491-H
PHAT’S BAR & GRILL, LLC, ET AL.
PLAINTIFFS
V.
LOUISVILLE-JEFFERSON COUNTY
METRO GOVERNMENT, ET AL.

DEFENDANTS

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
Plaintiffs, Phat’s Bar and Grill (“Phat’s”) and its father-and-son owners, Bert Williams,
Sr. and Bert Williams, Jr., filed this action against Louisville-Jefferson County Metro
Government (“Metro Government”) and 24 of its individual police officers. At this stage of
litigation, the only claims remaining against the individual officers are malicious prosecution,
conversion, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and tortious interference with business
relations. Only Plaintiffs’ malicious prosecution claim remains pending against Metro
Government.
Now before the Court are two summary judgment motions filed by Defendants
Lieutenant J.T. Duncan and Officer Kevin Smith (“Individual Defendants”). Plaintiffs have
moved to strike both motions or hold them in abeyance pending completion of discovery.
Plaintiffs have also moved for an extension of the discovery deadline. These motions are ripe for
determination. For the reasons that follow, the Court will remand Defendants’ Motions for
Summary Judgment pending the completion of discovery, and Plaintiffs’ Motion for Extension
of Time to Complete Discovery will be sustained.
Discovery in this case was not scheduled to be completed until March 15, 2012. In the

Court’s previous Memorandum Opinion dated September 23, 2011, it directed any “individual
defendant who believes that he should be dismissed from the remaining claims” to motion the
Court accordingly no later than November 1, 2011. The Court expected that Individual
Defendants wishing to file motions to dismiss for failure to state a claim would do so by this
deadline because discovery would still be occurring. However, Individual Defendants Duncan
and Smith moved for summary judgment on November 1, 2011.
Since motions for summary judgment are decided by evaluating issues of material fact,
they should not be considered until all discovery is completed. Rushing v. Flerlage Marine Co.,
No. 3:08–CV-531-JDM, 2010 WL 3620166, at *2 (W.D. Ky. Sep. 8, 2010). Individual
Defendants filed their motions in November, more than three months before discovery closed.
During that time, a genuine issue of material fact still could have arisen. For this reason, the
Court agrees with Plaintiffs that Defendants’ motions were filed prematurely and should be held
in abeyance until discovery is completed. The Court also recognizes that briefing and
responding to the pending summary judgment motions may have interrupted the parties’
completion of discovery. Therefore, the deadlines for discovery and filings of new dispositive
motions should be extended.
Being otherwise sufficiently advised,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiffs’ Motion to Strike Defendants’ Motions for
Summary Judgment or Hold Them in Abeyance is DENIED.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendants’ Motions for Summary Judgment is
REMANDED pending the close of discovery.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiffs’ Motion for Extension of Time to Complete

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Discovery is SUSTAINED and it is therefore ORDERED that:
1) The deadline for all discovery is extended to July 13, 2012. The Court will not grant
any additional deadline extensions.
2) Responses to currently pending dispositive motions will be due 20 days after the close
of discovery.
3) The deadline for filing new dispositive motions will be Friday, August 31, 2012.

March 29, 2012

cc:

Counsel of Record

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