Woodworth v. Hulshof et al

Filing 237

ORDER - the Court GRANTS plaintiff's motion to substitute 234 and enters its Order substituting William S. Lewis, in his capacity as Personal Representative of the Estate of Kenneth Lewis, in place of Defendant Kenneth Lewis. Plaintiff's original motion to substitute 228 is DENIED AS MOOT. The Court will GRANT plaintiff's motion to lift the stay 235 . Defendant Lewis is ORDERED to file a motion for summary judgment on or before SEPTEMBER 29, 2016. Plaintiff's responses to the motions for summary judgment shall be filed on or before OCTOBER 20, 2016. Signed on 8/26/16 by District Judge Fernando J. Gaitan, Jr. (Enss, Rhonda)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
ST. JOSEPH DIVISION
MARK EUGENE WOODWORTH,
Plaintiff,
v.
KENNETH HULSHOF, et al.,
Defendants.

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Case No. 4:14-cv-06090-FJG

ORDER
Pending before the Court are (1) Plaintiff’s Motion to Substitute Party for Kenneth
Lewis (Doc. No. 228); (2) Plaintiff’s Amended Motion to Substitute Party in Place of
Defendant Kenneth Lewis (Deceased) (Doc. No. 234); and (3) Plaintiff’s Motion to Lift
Stay and to Set Date for Hearing on Plaintiff’s Amended Motion to Substitute Party in
Place of Defendant Kenneth Lewis (Doc. No. 236). Plaintiff seeks to have William S.
Lewis, who has been appointed as the personal representative of Kenneth Lewis’s
estate, substituted as a party in this action. No opposition was filed to the pending
motions.
The Court notes, initially, that a hearing may be necessary upon a motion to
substitute party in cases where there is a dispute as to the appropriateness of the
proposed substituted party (see Baicker-McKee, et al., Federal Civil Rules Handbook
773 (West Group 2016)).

However, in a case like this one where the personal

representative of the decedent’s estate appears to be an appropriate substitution under
Fed. R. Civ. P. 25 and no one has filed objections to such an appointment, the Court
finds a hearing to be unnecessary.

Accordingly, the Court GRANTS plaintiff’s motion to substitute (Doc. No. 234)
and enters its Order substituting William S. Lewis, in his capacity as Personal
Representative of the Estate of Kenneth Lewis, in place of Defendant Kenneth Lewis.
Plaintiff’s original motion to substitute (Doc. No. 228) is DENIED AS MOOT.
Additionally, the Court will GRANT plaintiff’s motion to lift the stay (Doc. No. 235).
Defendant Lewis is ORDERED to file a motion for summary judgment (see Doc. No.
228, wherein counsel represents such a motion will be forthcoming after substitution) on
or before SEPTEMBER 29, 2016. Plaintiff’s responses to the motions for summary
judgment1 shall be filed on or before OCTOBER 20, 2016.
IT IS SO ORDERED.

Date: August 26, 2016
Kansas City, Missouri

S/ FERNANDO J. GAITAN, JR.
Fernando J. Gaitan, Jr.
United States District Judge

1

The Court notes that Defendant Hulshof filed a motion for summary judgment on May
16, 2016 (Doc. No. 225). The response deadline for that motion has been stayed since
June 8, 2016 (Doc. No. 231).
2