Hurley v. Fuchs et al

Filing 36

ORDER VACATING SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE AND TO SHOW CAUSE by Magistrate Judge Gregory B. Wormuth granting 33 Defendants' Motion to Vacate Settlement Conference. The Settlement Conference set for May 20, 2022, is VACATED. Plaintiff's show cause response due within seven (7) days of the issuance of this Order. (emm)

Case 1:20-cv-00850-KG-GBW Document 36 Filed 05/10/22 Page 1 of 3

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW MEXICO
SHEILA HURLEY,
Plaintiff,
v.

Civ. No. 20-850 KG/GBW

STEPHANIE A. FUCHS, et al.,
Defendants.
ORDER VACATING SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE AND TO SHOW CAUSE
THIS MATTER comes before the Court upon review of Defendants’ Motion to
Vacate Settlement Conference (doc. 33), the Court’s Order Setting Expedited Briefing
Schedule (doc. 34), and Defendants’ Notice Regarding Settlement Letter (doc. 35).
Having reviewed the Motion, noting Plaintiff’s failure to respond by the Court’s
expedited deadline, and being fully advised in the premises, the Court GRANTS the
Motion, VACATES the settlement conference, and ORDERS Plaintiff to show cause for
her purported violation of the Court’s Order Setting Settlement Conference.
On May 3, 2022, Defendants requested the Court to vacate the settlement
conference set for May 20, 2022, due to Plaintiff’s alleged failures to serve her demand
letter upon Defendants at least 21 days prior to the date of the settlement conference in
accordance with the Court’s Order Setting Settlement Conference (doc. 29) and respond
to discovery requests served on February 18, 2022. Doc. 33. Because Plaintiff opposed

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the Motion, see id. at ¶ 8, the Court ordered her to respond to Defendants’ Motion by
May 5, 2022.1 Doc. 34. To date, Plaintiff has not filed a response. Her failure to do so by
the Court’s May 5, 2022, deadline “constitutes consent to grant [Defendants’] motion.”
See D.N.M.LR-Civ. 7.1(b).
Additionally, the Court’s Order Setting Settlement Conference required Plaintiff
to serve a demand letter on Defendants at least 21 calendar days before prior to the date
of the settlement conference, i.e., no later than April 29, 2022. Doc. 29 at 2. It also
warned her that it would impose a $100 fine for each day a party misses a deadline for
sending its demand letter to the other side. Id. at 4. Defendants’ Motion to Vacate
Settlement Conference asserts that Plaintiff failed to serve them with her demand letter
by the April 29, 2022, deadline. See doc. 33 at ¶ 3. It also states that Plaintiff represented
that she would submit her settlement conference demand letter on May 6, 2022. Id. ¶ 5.
Defendants’ Notice Regarding Settlement Letter—filed on May 6, 2022—indicates that
Plaintiff failed to provide her settlement conference demand letter to Defendants by that
date. See doc. 35 at ¶ 2.
IT IS ORDERED that the settlement conference set for May 20, 2022, is
VACATED due to Plaintiff’s failure to serve Defendants with her demand letter by the
Court’s deadline. IT IS ADDITIONALLY ORDERED that Plaintiff shall show cause in
writing within seven (7) days of the issuance of this Order why the Court should not

1

Plaintiff received service of this Order on May 4, 2022, via email. See doc. 4.

2

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impose sanctions against her for failing to serve Defendants with her demand letter by
the April 29, 2022, deadline.
IT IS SO ORDERED.

_____________________________________

GREGORY B. WORMUTH
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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