Maxson v. H&R Block, Inc.

Filing 38

ORDER granting in part and denying in part 32 Motion to Stay; Responses for 19 20 and 23 Motions due by 4/12/2017. It is denied in all other respects. Signed by Magistrate Judge Carl W. Hoffman on 3/21/2017. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - JM)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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DISTRICT OF NEVADA

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KIMBERLY A. MAXSON,

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Plaintiff,
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vs.
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H&R BLOCK, INC.,
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Defendant.
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__________________________________________)

Case No. 2:16-cv-00152-APG-CWH
ORDER

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Presently before the court is Plaintiff Kimberly A. Maxson’s Motion for a Stay or for an

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Expansion of Time (ECF No. 32), filed on February 6, 2017. Plaintiff filed a supplement (ECF No.

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33) in support of the motion on February 16, 2017. Defendant HRB Resources, LLC filed a

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response (ECF No. 34) on February 21, 2017. Plaintiff filed a reply (ECF No. 35) on February 28,

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2017. Plaintiff filed a second supplement (ECF No. 36) in support of the motion on March 8,

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2017.

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I.

BACKGROUND

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This is an employment dispute in which Plaintiff alleges Defendant discriminated against

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her based on disability. (See Compl. (ECF No. 1).) Plaintiff asserts claims under the Americans

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with Disabilities Act and state common law tort claims against Defendant. (Id. at 36-43.)

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Defendant contends that Plaintiff signed an employment agreement with Defendant in which she

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agreed to submit any dispute she had with Defendant to binding arbitration. (Mot. to Compel

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Arb. & Mot. to Dismiss or Alternatively to Stay (ECF Nos. 19, 20), Ex. A.) Defendant therefore

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moves to compel arbitration and to dismiss this case. This motion is pending before the United

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States district judge assigned to this case. Defendant also moved to stay discovery pending the

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outcome of its motion to compel arbitration and to dismiss. (Mot. to Stay Discovery (ECF No.

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23).)

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On November 30, 2016, Plaintiff requested a sixty-day extension of time to respond to

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Defendant’s pending motions. (Mot. for Expansion of Time to File Response(s) (ECF No. 25).)

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The court granted the motion in part and denied the motion in part. (Order (ECF No. 31).)

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Specifically, because more than thirty days had passed since Plainitff’s request for a sixty-day

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extension, the court determined that a thirty-day extension would provide Plaintiff with sufficient

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time to respond to Defendant’s pending motions. (Id. at 3.) The court ordered Plaintiff to respond

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to the motions within 30 days of the date of the order, making her deadline February 3, 2017. (Id.

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at 4.) Although the order was dated January 4, 2017, the court’s docket indicates that the order was

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not entered by the Clerk of Court until the following day, January 5, 2017. (See docket text of ECF

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No. 31.)

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On February 6, 2017, Plaintiff filed the instant motion for a stay or a second extension of

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time, arguing that she needs additional time to provide another affidavit and supporting

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documentation regarding her allegations of criminal conduct in both this case and another case she

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has pending in this district.1 Specifically, she states that “[a] stay is critical in both cases in order to

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avoid further felony offenses against myself and the United States of America and to alleviate

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further human suffering and to protect and save human lives.”2 (Mot. for a Stay or Second Request

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for an Expansion of Time (ECF No. 32) at 2.) In her supplement, Plaintiff states that stress and

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physical illness have made it difficult for her to concentrate, hindering her ability to complete and

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file documents in this case.

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Defendant responds that Plaintiff’s allegations regarding criminal conduct are irrelevant to

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whether she is required to arbitrate her claims against Defendant. Defendant argues that her failure

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to respond to its motions by the court-ordered deadline constitutes a consent to the granting of the

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motions under Local Rule 7-2(d). Defendant further argues that Plaintiff has not demonstrated

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Plaintiff has filed three affidavits regarding an alleged criminal conspiracy. (See Affidavits
(ECF Nos. 15, 30, 37).)
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Plaintiff filed this motion in this case and in Maxson v. Mosaic Sales Solutions US Operating
Company, LLC, 2:14-cv-02116-APG-NJK.
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good cause for the extension or excusable neglect for her failure to request the extension before the

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February 3, 2017 deadline expired.

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Regarding her request for a stay of litigation, Defendant argues Plaintiff does not meet her

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burden to obtain a stay. Specifically, Defendant argues that Plaintiff does not present any evidence

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indicating that she would be harmed if a stay is not entered and that an indefinite stay would only

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serve to create confusion, waste time, and needlessly delay litigation of this matter. Finally,

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Defendant argues Plaintiff has had adequate time to respond to its motions, which is evidenced by

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the fact that since it filed its pending motions, Plaintiff has had time to file 7 briefs totaling 100

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pages, not including exhibits, yet she has not addressed the arbitration agreement or whether

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discovery should be stayed while the court considers whether to enforce the arbitration agreement.

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Plaintiff’s reply includes documentation indicating that she sought medical attention and

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was prescribed medication and rest. Additionally, Plaintiff reiterates the importance of her

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affidavits for the court’s understanding of her allegations regarding a fraud that spans the legal

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system and states that she requires a forty-five day stay of litigation to allow her to prepare another

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affidavit. In her supplement to her reply, Plaintiff specifies that she needs until March 15, 2017, to

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finalize and file her third affidavit. Plaintiff’s third affidavit was filed on March 17, 2017.

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(Affidavit (ECF No. 37).)

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II.

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ANALYSIS
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 6(b), the court may, for good cause, extend a

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deadline if a request is made “before the original time or its extension expires.” Fed. R. Civ. P.

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6(b)(1)(A). After the deadline has expired, the court may extend the deadline “if the party failed to

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act because of excusable neglect.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(b)(1)(B); see also LR IA 6-1(a). The Ninth

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Circuit has equated good cause with the exercise of due diligence. See Johnson v. Mammoth

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Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604, 509 (9th Cir. 1992).

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Here, the court will apply the good cause standard for the purpose of determining whether

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to grant Plaintiff’s request for an extension of time. Although the court’s order granting Plaintiff’s

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previous request for an extension explicitly stated that Plaintiff must respond to Defendant’s

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pending motions within 30 days of the date of the court’s order, January 4, 2017, the order was not
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entered by the Clerk of Court until the following day, January 5, 2017. If the 30-day deadline was

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calculated based on the triggering date of January 5, 2017, the thirtieth day would fall on February

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4, 2017, which was a Saturday, making Plaintiff’s deadline the next judicial day, which was

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February 6, 2017. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(a)(1)(C) (stating that if the last day of a time period

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specified by a court order is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the period continues to run until

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the end of the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday). Given that the instant

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motion was filed on February 6, 2017, the court will apply the good cause standard.

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Even applying the more lenient good-cause standard, it is unclear to the court how
Plaintiff’s allegations of fraud and her request to prepare multiple affidavits regarding fraud bear on

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her ability to respond to the motions pending before the court, which are defendant’s motions to

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compel arbitration, to dismiss, and to stay discovery while the court considers whether to compel

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arbitration. It is also unclear to the court why Plaintiff was unable to respond to Defendant’s

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pending motions given that she was able to prepare hundreds of pages of affidavits and supporting

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exhibits regarding her fraud allegations during the same time period. Given Plaintiff’s

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representations that she has been suffering from stress and illness, however, the court finds there is

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good cause to grant Plaintiff a brief extension to respond to Defendant’s pending motions. The

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court therefore will extend Plaintiff’s response deadline to April 12, 2017. Plaintiff is advised that

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no further extensions will be granted absent a showing of good cause and that in evaluating good

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cause, the court will take into account all previous extensions. See LR IA 6-1(a).

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To the extent Plaintiff requested a stay of litigation to allow her to prepare an additional

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affidavit regarding fraud, the court finds that request is moot given that Plaintiff filed her third

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affidavit on March 17, 2017. (Aff. (ECF No. 37).) The court therefore will deny Plaintiff’s request

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for a stay of litigation.

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III.

CONCLUSION

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IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiff Kimberly A. Maxson’s Motion for a Stay or for an

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Expansion of Time (ECF No. 32) is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. It is granted in that

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the court will give Plaintiff until April 12, 2017, to respond to Defendant’s pending motions to

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compel arbitration, to dismiss, and to stay discovery (ECF Nos. 19, 20, and 23). It is denied in all
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other respects.

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DATED: March 21, 2017

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______________________________________
C.W. Hoffman, Jr.
United States Magistrate Judge

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