Reed v. Dzurenda et al

Filing 68

ORDER Granting 67 Motion to Extend Motions and Pretrial Order Deadlines. Motions due by 2/9/2022. Proposed Joint Pretrial Order due by 3/11/2022. Signed by Magistrate Judge Nancy J. Koppe on 1/11/2022. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - ABG)

Case 2:19-cv-00172-APG-NJK Document 67 Filed 01/10/22 Page 1 of 5
68
01/11/22
4
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

AARON D. FORD
Attorney General
CHRIS DAVIS (NV Bar No. 6616)
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 Defendant
Ted Nielson

9

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

10

DISTRICT OF NEVADA

11

DAVID LEVOYD REED,

12

Plaintiff,

13

v.

14

JAMES DZURENDA, et al.,

15

Defendants.

Case No. 2:19-cv-00172-APG-NJK
ORDER GRANTING
DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO EXTEND
DISPOSITIVE MOTIONS DEADLINES
ESTABLISHED BY COURT ORDER
(ECF NO. 65)
(FOURTH REQUEST) 1

16
17

Defendant, Ted Nielson, by and through counsel, Aaron D. Ford, Attorney General

18

of the State of Nevada, and Chris Davis, Deputy Attorney General, hereby moves, pursuant

19

to Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(b) and 16(b)(4) and Local Rules IA 6-1 and LR 26-3 to extend the

20

dispositive motions deadline established by Court Order (ECF No. 65) by thirty (30) days

21

from Monday, January 10, 2022, to Wednesday, February 9, 2021. This motion is

22

brought based on the following Points and Authorities, the good cause set forth in the

23

Declaration of Chris Davis Esq., and the pleadings and papers filed in this matter.

24
25
26
27
28

Plaintiff has filed two previous motions to extend scheduling order, namely ECF Nos. 54
and 56. EFC No. 65 was the first request to extend dispositive motions deadlines, and
this is the second request.
1

Page 1 of 5

Case 2:19-cv-00172-APG-NJK Document 67 Filed 01/10/22 Page 2 of 5
68
01/11/22
4
1
2
3

DECLARATION OF CHRIS DAVIS, ESQ.
I, Chris Davis, declare under penalty of perjury that the following is true and correct of my own
personal knowledge and if called to testify in this matter would testify as follows:

4

1.

I am a Deputy Attorney assigned to represent the Defendant Ted Nielson in this matter.

5

2.

I was hired by the Office of Attorney General on September 13, 2021, and began working

6

in the post-conviction habeas unit.

7

Department of Corrections (NDOC). I volunteered to transfer to the NDOC unit, and was scheduled to

8

begin on November 29, 2021.

9

3.

Because of a shortage of attorneys representing the Nevada

On November 19, 2021, however, my father passed away due to Covid related illness. As

10

a result, I was required to take personal leave in order to manage my father’s funeral arrangements. That

11

personal leave required me to delay my transfer until December 6, 2021, while still working for the

12

Attorney General’s post-conviction habeas unit. I was effectively handling a double case load until

13

December 23, 2021, when I completed my last assignment for the post-conviction unit for the Office of

14

the Attorney General.

15

4.

In December 2021, Deputy Attorney General Frank DiMaggio, the attorney assigned to

16

this matter announced his resignation, and on December 28, 2021, this matter was assigned to me. In

17

addition to my significant case load, I immediately began reviewing the file in this matter and discovered

18

that the dispositive motion deadline was January 10, 2022. While DAG DiMaggio had begun the process

19

of drafting a dipositive motion in this case, to meet the requirements of Fed. R. Civ. P. 11, I was required

20

to duplicate his review of the record to determine proper grounds for filing a dispositive motion.

21

5.

While I diligently reviewed the record and researched the applicable law, my ability to

22

timely complete a dispositive motion was hindered by the New Year Holiday, my pre-planned time for

23

my wedding anniversary (January 3rd), and my substantial case load I had taken on when transferring to

24

the NDOC unit. Additionally, shortly after the New Year, my son, who has a substance abuse problem,

25

relapsed. The overtime that I would have spent drafting a motion for summary judgment was spent

26

finding an out-patient rehabilitation center that would accept my son.

27
28

6.

Based on the forgoing, good cause is present to grant an extension of thirty (30) days.

Counsel for Defendant has diligently attempted to timely complete the dispositive motion, working long

Page 2 of 5

Case 2:19-cv-00172-APG-NJK Document 68 Filed 01/11/22 Page 3 of 4
67
01/10/22
5
1

hours, but has simply been unable to do so due to my father’s passing causing a double workload, the

2

short time between my assignment to this case and the dispositive motion deadline, the holidays, and my

3

personal family emergencies.

4

Dated this 10th day of January, 2022.

5

AARON D. FORD
Attorney General

6
7

By:

8
9

/s/ Chris Davis
Chris Davis

POINTS AND AUTHORITY

10

Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(b), the “court may, for good cause, extend the time . . . with or

11

without motion or notice . . . if a request is made, before the original time or its extension expires.”

12

Defendant seeks a thirty (30) day extension to the dispositive motion deadline which is set for today,

13

January 10, 2022. Good cause is present to grant an extension of thirty (30) days to file Defendant’s

14

motion for summary judgment. Counsel for Defendant has diligently attempted to timely complete the

15

dispositive motion, working long hours, but has simply been unable to do so due to his father’s passing

16

causing a double workload, the short time between his assignment to the case and the dispositive

17

motion deadline, the holidays, and his personal family emergencies. Accordingly, Defendant

18

respectfully requests that the extension be granted for good cause. See Ahanchian v. Xenon Pictures,

19

Inc., 624 F.3d 1253, 1260, (9th Cir. 2010) (holding that the “district court abused its discretion in

20

denying party’s timely motion” to extend time because the party “demonstrated the ‘good cause’

21

required by Rule 6, and because there was no reason to believe that [the party] was acting in bad faith

22

or was misrepresenting his reasons for asking for the extension”).

23
24
25
26
27

CONCLUSION
For the forgoing reasons, and for good cause appearing, the Defendant requests an extension as
follows:
1.

The time for the parties to file any dispositive motion be extended by thirty (30) days

from Monday, January 10, 2022, to Wednesday, February 9, 2022.

28

Page 3 of 5

Case 2:19-cv-00172-APG-NJK Document 67 Filed 01/10/22 Page 4 of 5
68
01/11/22
4
1

2.

If no dispositive motions are filed, the Joint Pretrial Order shall be filed on or before

2

Thursday, March 11, 2022. If the parties file dispositive motions, the Joint Pretrial Order shall be filed

3

thirty (30) days after the Court serves its order disposing of the dispositive motions, or further Court

4

order.

5

Dated this 10th day of January, 2022.

6

AARON D. FORD
Attorney General

7
8

By:

9

/s/ Chris Davis
Chris Davis

Attorneys for Defendant

10
11
12
13

ORDER
IT IS SO ORDERED.

14
15
16
17

Nancy J. Koppe
United States Magistrate Judge
Dated: January 11, 2022

18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28

Page 4 of 5