Cannon v. Speedway LLC

Filing 23

ORDER regarding plaintiff's request for more time to hire new counsel 22 Signed by District Judge George Caram Steeh. (MBea)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN
SOUTHERN DIVISION
MARY ANN CANNON,
Plaintiff,
Case No. 16-10257
HON. GEORGE CARAM STEEH

vs.
SPEEDWAY LLC,

Defendant.
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ORDER REGARDING PLAINTIFF’S REQUEST FOR
MORE TIME TO HIRE NEW COUNSEL (DOC. 15)
This matter is before the Court on plaintiff Mary Ann Cannon’s
request for more time to hire new counsel. On January 10, 2017 the Court
held a hearing on plaintiff’s counsel’s motion to withdraw. Plaintiff was
served with notice of this hearing, but did not attend. Counsel asserted that
a serious breakdown of the attorney-client relationship occurred to the
extent that he could no longer effectively represent plaintiff. The Court
granted counsel’s motion and stayed the case for thirty (30) days for
plaintiff to retain new counsel and file an appearance. (Doc. 18). The
order provided that in the event that no one files an appearance for plaintiff,
she shall be deemed to be proceeding pro se and the Court will rule on the
outstanding summary judgment motion without oral argument.
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On June 20, 2017, the Court received a letter from plaintiff stating
that she is having a hard time finding a new lawyer and asking the Court to
“please be patient with me.” The Court construes this letter as a request
for more time to find counsel. It has been over six months since the
plaintiff’s counsel withdrew and no attorney has filed an appearance on
plaintiff’s behalf. In her letter plaintiff does not provide any explanation
regarding the efforts she has made to find new counsel. Defendant’s
motion for summary judgment was filed November 14, 2016 and has been
pending for eight months.
The Court will not continue the stay on the pending motion for
summary judgment. Plaintiff was represented by counsel at the
commencement of this action, throughout discovery and during the briefing
of her response to the summary judgment motion. Plaintiff will not be
prejudiced by the Court making a determination on defendant’s motion
without holding oral argument. If plaintiff hires new counsel, they should
file an appearance immediately.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: July 20, 2017
s/George Caram Steeh
GEORGE CARAM STEEH
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
Copies of this Order were served upon attorneys of record on
July 20, 2017, by electronic and/or ordinary mail and also on
Mary Ann Cannon, 770 Coleman,
Grand Rapids, MI 49508.
s/Barbara Radke
Deputy Clerk

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