McAfee v. Howard Baer, Inc. et al

Filing 22

ORDER denying without prejudice Plaintiff's 21 Motion for Discovery Sanctions. Signed by Magistrate Judge Dennis Howell on 9/1/2016. (nvc)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR
THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
ASHEVILLE DIVISION
1:15 CV 182

MERCEDES KAMARIA POWELL
MCAFEE,

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Plaintiff
v
HOWARD BAER, INC., and KEITH
LOVELL CAMPBELL,
Defendants.

ORDER

THIS MATTER is before the undersigned pursuant to Plaintiff’s Motion For
Discovery Sanctions (#21). LCvR 7.1 (A), (B) and (C) provides as follows:
LCvR 7.1
(A) Motions in Writing. Unless made during a hearing or trial, all
motions must be put in writing and filed as provided by LCvR 5.2(C)
and shall state with particularity the grounds of the motions and shall
set forth the relief or Order sought. Motions will ordinarily be ruled
upon without oral argument, unless otherwise ordered by the Court.
LCvR 7.1(B) reads as follows:
(B) Requirement of Consultation. Any motions other than for
dismissal, summary judgment, or default judgment shall show that
counsel have conferred or attempted to confer and have attempted in
good faith to resolve areas of disagreement and set forth which issues
remain unresolved. The requirement of consultation also applied to
motions for extension of time and to motions for continuance of a trial
or other proceeding. Consultation is not required where the moving
party is represented and the non-moving party is unrepresented, or
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where the motion is for an extension of time to file a responsive
pleading to complaint, counterclaim, crossclaim, or any other initial
petition for relief.
(C) Requirement of Briefs. Briefs shall be filed contemporaneously
with the motion, except no brief is required in support of timely motions
for extension of time, continuances, admission pro hac vice, or early
discovery. Exhibits in support of a brief shall be attached as appendices
as specified in the Administrative Procedures. Factual contentions shall
be supported as specifically as possible by citation to exhibit number
and page.
In regard to the filing of the Plaintiff, Plaintiff’s counsel states he has
attempted to communicate with counsel for Defendants in an attempt to resolve the
dispute but further states, “in fairness to defense counsel, this attempt at
communication may have not provided adequate time for counsel to communicate
with his client.” Therefore, the requirement of consultation has not been met.
Further, Plaintiff has not filed a brief as required by LCvR 7.1 (C). A review of the
motion does not show a reference to any case or a citation to any specific Rule of
Civil Procedure pursuant to which the Plaintiff could move for sanctions.
A further concern to the Court is that discovery is to be completed in this
matter by October 1, 2016. Counsel for Plaintiff and counsel for the Defendants
should review the Pretrial Order and Case Management Plan in this matter. All
motions regarding discovery have to be filed and ruled upon before the discovery
due date of October 1, 2016.

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ORDER
IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion For Discovery
Sanctions (#21) is DENIED without prejudice for the reasons set forth above.
Plaintiff is invited to file a new motion and brief that complies with the Local Rules.
Signed: September 1, 2016

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