Crocker v. Brown

Filing 23

ORDER denying 22 Motion to Compel Plaintiff to Respond to Discovery Demands. Signed by Magistrate Judge Dennis Howell on 11/29/2016. (khm)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR
THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
ASHEVILLE DIVISION
1:16 CV 05

RENEE CROCKER,

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Plaintiff
v
SANDRA L. BROWN,
Defendant.

ORDER

THIS MATTER is before the undersigned pursuant to a Motion to Compel
Plaintiff to Respond to Discovery Demands (#22) filed by counsel for Defendant.
As examination of the file in this matter shows that a brief in support of Defendant’s
motion was not filed. LCvR 7.1(C) states as follows:
(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.
Defendant has failed to comply with this Rule.
A further concern is the directive of the Pretrial Order and Case Management
Plan (#10). The Pretrial Order and Case Management Plan states as follows:
III.
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C. MEMORANDA IN SUPPORT OF MOTIONS: Every motion shall
include, or be accompanied by, a brief written statement of the facts, a
statement of the law, including citations of authority and the grounds
on which the motion is based. No brief may exceed 25 pages without
Court approval. Briefs must be double spaced and in at least 14 point
type. Motions not in compliance with this order are subject to summary
denial.
Further, the Pretrial Order and Case Management Plan states:
III.
F.
MOTIONS TO COMPEL: A motion to compel must include a
statement by the movant that the parties have conferred in good faith in
an attempt to resolve the dispute and are unable to do so. Motions to
compel must be filed within the discovery period or they may be
deemed waived. After reviewing the merits of a motion and the
response thereto, the Court may order the parties to confer again in a
good faith attempt to resolve the dispute or to narrow the issues.
Consistent with the spirit, purpose, and explicit directives of the Federal
Rules of Civil Procedure, the Court expects all parties to attempt in
good faith to resolve discovery disputes without the necessity of Court
intervention. Failure to do so may result in appropriate sanctions.
The time for discovery to be completed in this case was November 1, 2016
(#10). The motion of the Defendant was not filed until November 15, 2016.
As a result of the failure of Defendant to support her motion with a brief as
required by LCvR 7.1(C) of the Local Rules of Civil Procedure and pursuant to the
Pretrial Order and Case Management Plan and the fact that the Motion to Compel
was filed outside the discovery period as required by the Pretrial Order and Case
Management Plan, the motion(#22) will be denied.

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ORDER
IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED that the Motion to Compel Plaintiff to
Respond to Discovery Demands (#22) is hereby DENIED.

Signed: November 29, 2016

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