Johnson v. HDSP et al

Filing 70

ORDER granting 69 Unopposed Motion to Extend Dispositive Motion Deadline; Motions due by 3/4/2021. Signed by Magistrate Judge Elayna J. Youchah on 2/4/2021. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - HAM)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

AARON D. FORD
Attorney General
KATLYN M. BRADY (Bar No. 14173)
Senior Deputy Attorney General
State of Nevada
Office of the Attorney General
555 E. Washington Ave., Ste. 3900
Las Vegas, Nevada 89101
[phone] (phone)
[phone] (fax)
Email: [e-mail]
Attorneys for Defendants
James Dzurenda, Julio Calderin,
Jennifer Nash, Brian Williams,
Jeremy Bean, Taylor Paryga,
Anthony Ritz, Pamela Del Porto,
Harold Wickham, Sheryl Foster,
Renee Baker, and Benjamin Estill

11
12
13

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

14

DISTRICT OF NEVADA

15

LAUSTEVEION JOHNSON,

Case No. 2:18-cv-01078-JCM-EJY

Plaintiff,

16
17

v.

18

HIGH DESERT STATE PRISON, et al.,

DEFENDANTS’ UNOPPOSED
MOTION TO EXTEND THE
DISPOSITIVE MOTION DEADLINE
[FIFTH REQUEST]1

Defendants.

19
20
21
22

Defendants James Dzurenda, Julio Calderin, Jennifer Nash, Brian Williams,

23

Jeremy Bean, Taylor Paryga, Anthony Ritz, Pamela Del Porto, Harold Wickham, Sheryl

24

Foster, Renee Baker, and Benjamin Estill, by and through counsel, Aaron D. Ford, Nevada

25

Attorney General, and Katlyn M. Brady, Senior Deputy Attorney General, of the State of

26

///

27

1

28

Although this is Defendants’ fifth request, this is the second request filed by
Defendants’ new counsel. Both of the extension requests filed by counsel were agreed to by
Plaintiff due to the COVID restrictions at Southern Desert Correctional Center.

30

Page 1 of 6

1

Nevada, Office of the Attorney General, request this Court grant Defendants’ unopposed

2

motion to extend the dispositive motion deadline.

3

I.

INTRODUCTION

4

Defendants respectfully request this Court extend the dispositive motion deadline

5

from February 4, 2021, to March 4, 2021. Good cause supports this request because new

6

counsel has been unable to complete the dispositive motion due to her heavy caseload.

7

Further, counsel spent a significant amount of time out of the office quarantining due to a

8

potential COVID exposure. Additionally, Plaintiff has been unable to complete a dispositive

9

motion due to the COVID restrictions at Southern Desert Correctional Center (SDCC).

10

II.

BACKGROUND

11

This is a prisoner civil rights matter. Plaintiff Lausteveion Johnson (Johnson) is an

12

inmate in the Nevada Department of Corrections (NDOC). Currently, Johnson is housed

13

at SDCC, which has imposed restrictions on inmate movements to prevent against the

14

spread of COVID-19.

15

On February 2, 2021, the parties engaged in a meet and confer to discuss multiple

16

matters across three cases. Declaration of counsel attached as Exhibit A. Counsel explained

17

to Johnson that she had been unable to complete the dispositive motion deadline because

18

she had been required to complete three summary judgments over the last two weeks and

19

had a fourth motion for summary judgment due February 8th.2 Accordingly, the dispositive

20

motion in this matter would have been counsel’s fifth dispositive motion in less than

21

4 weeks. Id. Further, counsel has been involved in responding to two emergency motions

22

regarding High Desert State Prison (HDSP)’s lockdown procedures.3

23

During the phone call, Johnson noted that he was recovering from an illness and

24

that due to the SDCC’s lockdown restrictions, he had been unable to complete a dispositive

25

motion in this matter. Id. Further, the parties discussed that Johnson has an opposition to

26

a motion for summary judgment due in another matter. Id. Accordingly, the parties agreed

27

2

28

The cases are: 2:17-cv-00641-JCM-BNW, 2:17-cv-00431-JCM-VCF, 2:17-cv-02500JCM-NJK, and 2:19-cv-00326-JAD-BNW.
3 2:20-cv-01768-RFB-EJY and 2:20-cv-00518-RFB-VCF.

30

Page 2 of 6

1

to extend the dispositive motion deadline 30 days to allow both sides to complete a

2

dispositive motion. Johnson agreed that Defendants would file the unopposed motion in

3

this matter.

4

III.

INFORMATION REQUIRED BY LOCAL RULE 26-4

5

Defendants provide the following information in accordance with Local Rule 26-4.

6

A.

7

The parties have completed the following discovery to date.

8

On October 15, 2019, Defendant Estill served Answers to Plaintiff’s Interrogatories.

9

On October 15, 2019, Defendant Baker served Answers to Plaintiff’s Interrogatories.

10

On October 16, 2019, Defendant Williams served Answers to Plaintiff’s

11

Discovery Completed

Interrogatories.

12

On October 18, 2019, Defendant Nash served Answers to Plaintiff’s Interrogatories.

13

On October 21, 2019, Defendant Calderin served Answers to Plaintiff’s

14

Interrogatories.

15
16

On October 21, 2019, Defendant Del Porto served Answers to Plaintiff’s
Interrogatories.

17
18

On October 22, 2019, Defendant Estill served Responses to Plaintiff’s first set of
Requests for Production of Documents.

19
20

On November 5, 2019, Defendant Nash served Responses to Plaintiff’s first set of
Requests for Admissions.

21
22

On November 6, 2019, Defendant Williams served Responses to Plaintiff’s first set
of Requests for Admissions.

23
24

On November 7, 2019, Defendant Calderin served Responses to Plaintiff’s first set
of Requests for Admissions.

25

On November 7, 2019, Defendant Del Porto served Responses to Plaintiff’s first set

26

of Requests for Admissions.

27

///

28

///

30

Page 3 of 6

1
2

On November 8, 2019, Defendant Del Porto served Responses to Plaintiff’s first set
of Requests for Production of Documents.

3

B.

4

No additional discovery is needed in this matter. The remaining case management

5

Discovery That Remains To Be Completed

deadlines are:

6

Dispositive motion deadline:

February 4, 2020

7

Joint pretrial order (if no dispositive motions filed):

March 4, 2021

8

C.

9

The dispositive motion deadline was not completed for several reasons. For

10

Defendants, counsel was unable to complete the dispositive motion deadline as she has

11

been required to complete four motions for summary judgment over the last three weeks

12

and is additionally working on two emergency motions for preliminary injunctions.

13
14

Reasons Why The Deadlines Were Not Satisfied

For Plaintiff, the deadline cannot be satisfied due to SDCC’s lockdown restrictions
during the COVID-19 pandemic and his recent illness.

15

D.

16

Dispositive motion deadline

March 4, 2021

17

Joint pretrial order (if no dispositive motions filed):

April 4, 2021

18

E.

19

Good cause supports granting this unopposed request to extend the dispositive

20

motion deadline. As counsel has been required to complete numerous substantive motions

21

over a short time, counsel has been unable to complete the dispositive motion in this

22

matter. Similarly, Plaintiff has been unable to complete a dispositive motion due to SDCC’s

23

COVID restrictions.

Proposed Deadlines

Good Cause Supports The Request

24

There will be no prejudice caused by granting this extension. Both parties have

25

agreed that an extension is necessary to ensure the claims can be adequately briefed for

26

this Court. Further, Plaintiff has indicated that he has yet to receive requested research or

27

items from the SDCC Law Library. As a result, Plaintiff has been unable to complete the

28

///

30

Page 4 of 6

1

dispositive motion. Finally, there is no trial date in this matter and thus, there is no

2

prejudice in granting this extension request.

3

IV.

CONCLUSION

4

Defendants respectfully request an extension to complete the dispositive motion

5

deadline from February 4, 2021, to March 4, 2021. The parties have agreed an extension in

6

this matter is necessary due to counsel’s heavy caseload and SDCC’s COVID restrictions.

7
8
9
10
11
12

DATED this 4th day of February, 2021.
AARON D. FORD
Attorney General
By: /s/ Katlyn M. Brady
KATLYN M. BRADY (Bar No. 14173)
Senior Deputy Attorney General
Attorneys for Defendants

13
14
15

IT IS SO ORDERED.

16
17
18
19

________________________________
U.S. MAGISTRATE JUDGE
Dated: February 4, 2021

20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28

30

Page 5 of 6

Case 2:18-cv-01078-JCM-EJY Document 69 Filed 02/04/21 Page 6 of 6

1

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

2

I certify that I am an employee of the State of Nevada, Office of the Attorney General,

3

and that on February 4, 2021, I electronically filed the foregoing DEFENDANTS’

4

UNOPPOSED MOTION TO EXTEND THE DISPOSITIVE MOTION DEADLINE

5

[FIFTH REQUEST] via this Court’s electronic filing system. Parties who are registered

6

with this Court’s electronic filing system will be served electronically. For those parties

7

not registered, service was made by emailing a copy at Las Vegas, Nevada, addressed to

8

the following:

9
10
11
12

Lausteveion Johnson, #82138
Southern Desert Correctional Center
P.O. Box 208
Indian Springs, Nevada 89070
Email: [e-mail]
Plaintiff, Pro Se

13
14
15

/s/ Carol A. Knight
CAROL A. KNIGHT, an employee of the
Office of the Nevada Attorney General

16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28

30

Page 6 of 6