Caudill v. South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy et al

Filing 15

ORDER Affirming Decision of Magistrate Judge Joseph R. McCrorey re 14 Appeal of Magistrate Judge Decision to District Court. Signed by Honorable Joseph F Anderson, Jr on 11/17/2010. (bshr, )

- J R M Caudill v. South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy et al

D o c . 15

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF SOUTH CAROLINA C O L U M B IA DIVISION S a n d ra K. Caudill, P l a in tif f , vs. S o u th Carolina Criminal Justice A c a d em y; Michael Lanier and R a n d y King, in their individual c a p a c itie s , D e f e n d a n ts . ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) C /A No.: 3:10-2291-JFA-JRM

ORDER

T h is matter comes before the Court on Defendants' appeal of the November 12, 2010 o rd e r of Magistrate Judge Joseph R. McCrorey denying Defendants' motion to stay the case. (E C F No. 12). One of the defendants' two attorneys, Eugene H. Matthews, is being deployed o n November 19, 2010 to report to active military service until December 2011 and will be u n a v a ila b le to work on this case in the interim. Because of the potential prejudice to the p la in tif f and the lack of prejudice to the defendants, this Court affirms the order of the M a g is tra te denying the motion to stay the case. Mr. Matthews requested that the case be stayed until his return because he has p re v io u sly represented the defendants, is familiar with the policies of the SCCJA, and is c e rtif ie d by the South Carolina Supreme Court as a specialist in employment and labor law. H e also argued that the plaintiff, who opposes staying the case, will not suffer prejudice as a result of the one year delay. However, the plaintiff has been diagnosed with Stage IV

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in o p e ra b le cancer, and it is not unreasonable to expect that her health may decline over the n e x t year. The prejudice to the defendants is limited because discovery has not begun, and th e scheduling order has been extended to give the defendants time to find substitute counsel. T h e r e f o r e , the Court affirms the order of the Magistrate denying the motion to stay the case an d extending the scheduling order. IT IS SO ORDERED.

N o v em b er 17, 2010 C o lu m b ia , South Carolina

J o s e p h F. Anderson, Jr. U n ite d States District Judge

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