United States v. Feldman

Filing 35

ORDER Regarding Motions for Summary Judgment. Signed by District Judge Laurie J. Michelson. (WBar)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN
SOUTHERN DIVISION
UNITED STATES,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. 2:17-cv-11292
Honorable Laurie J. Michelson
Magistrate Judge David R. Grand

JOSEPH E. FELDMAN,
Defendant.
ORDER REGARDING MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
The Government asks to revise the briefing schedule relating to its motion for summary
judgment. Unfortunately, health problems recently experienced by the Government’s counsel
form the basis for this request. Joseph Feldman does not oppose the Government’s motion. The
Court will grant the Government’s request to modify the briefing schedule as specified below.
The summary-judgment briefing in this case has taken a long time to complete. In fact,
the Government filed its motion for summary judgment in November 2017 but, by August 2018,
the associated briefing was still not complete. (This was due to difficulty completing discovery.)
So on August 10, 2018, this Court denied the Government’s motion for summary judgment
without prejudice. (ECF No. 28.) This Court set a discovery deadline of November 16, 2018 and
a deadline of December 31, 2018 for the Government to move for summary judgment. But, as
before, extensions were sought. So, in March 2019, the Court reset the summary-judgment
deadline to May 6, 2019. This May 6 deadline has never been revised.
In April 2019, the parties asked to move the discovery deadline from April 15, 2019 to
May 2, 2019. There was no request to extend the May 6 summary-judgment deadline. And,

recall, the Court had already denied the Government’s motion back in August 2018. (ECF No.
28.) The Court granted the request to permit discovery through May 2, 2019.
On May 8, 2019, the parties filed yet another motion for an extension. The motion stated
in part:
The parties move for an order revising the briefing schedule for dispositive
motions in the Court’s March 25, 2019, text order as follows:




The reply of the United States must be filed by June 10, 2019.
The sur-reply of Joseph Feldman must be filed by July 10, 2019.
The page limit for the briefs supporting the reply and sur-reply shall be 25
pages.

This revision does not change the deadlines set forth in the Court’s March 25,
2019, order. It merely recognizes that the government’s motion for summary
judgment and Joseph Feldman’s response are already on file. ECF No. 15-18, 24.
Only supplemental filings are necessary due to the additional discovery conducted
by the parties.
(ECF No. 33, PageID.212 (emphasis added).)
On May 9, 2019, the Court granted this motion—in part. In particular, it entered the
following on the docket: “TEXT-ONLY ORDER Granting in Part 33 Joint MOTION to Revise
Briefing Schedule; Reply due by 6/10/2019, Sur-reply due by 7/10/2019. Briefs in support of the
reply and sur-reply shall not exceed ten (10) pages.” Notably, the Court did not “recognize[] that
the government’s motion for summary judgment and Joseph Feldman’s response are already on
file.” The Court would not have so recognized because, as stated, it had already denied the
Government’s motion back in August 2018.
Accordingly, the Court orders as follows. The Government shall file a motion for
summary-judgment on or before June 21, 2019. If it desires, the Government’s motion may
incorporate by reference the summary-judgment brief it filed on November 17, 2017. Feldman’s
response brief is due by July 12, 2019. If he desires, Feldman may incorporate by reference the

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brief he filed on April 30, 2018. The Government’s reply is due July 26, 2019. Feldman’s surreply is due on August 9, 2019. As previously ordered, neither the reply nor sur-reply shall
exceed 10 pages (and be otherwise compliant with the local rules on briefing).
SO ORDERED.
s/Laurie J. Michelson
LAURIE J. MICHELSON
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Date: June 10, 2019

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
The undersigned certifies that a copy of the foregoing document was served on the
attorneys and/or parties of record by electronic means or U.S. Mail on June 10, 2019.
s/William Barkholz
Case Manager to
Honorable Laurie J. Michelson

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