Branch Bank and Trust Company v. Technology Solutions Inc et al

Filing 114

ORDER granting in part 111 MOTION for Enlargement of Time to Respond to All Motions, continuing the action to the court's March 2014 term of court and extending the Individual Defendants' response date for all pending motions until fourteen days following the date the response otherwise would have been due. Signed by Honorable Joseph F. Anderson, Jr on 12/17/2013. (bshr, ). Modified on 12/17/2013 to edit text(bshr, ).

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF SOUTH CAROLINA
COLUMBIA DIVISION
Branch Bank and Trust Company,

C/A No. 3:13-cv-01318-JFA

Plaintiff,
vs.
ORDER
Technology Solutions, Inc.; Cathy G. Lanier;
and Randy D. Lanier,
Defendants.
Cathy G. Lanier and Randy D. Lanier (“Individual Defendants”) have moved for an
extension of time within which to respond to outstanding motions and have asked that the trial
date be postponed. ECF Nos. 106, 107, 111. In addition to citing family and medical reasons as
grounds for extensions, the Individual Defendants have told the court that a postponement of the
jury selection on January 7, 2014, is necessary so that they can “complete the requirements of the
court for a case in Florida.” ECF. No. 107, p. 1.
At a pretrial conference on Monday, December 16, 2013, this court inquired further as to
the nature of the conflict in the Florida litigation. Cathy G. Lanier, one of the Individual
Defendants, informed this court that the state court in Lee County, Florida, had directed for the
parties to that foreclosure case, including the Individual Defendants, to get together during the
first week of January 2014. “[T]he Court has asked for the attorneys and us to meet during that
period of time,” Ms. Lanier stated.
Subsequent to the hearing, this court conferred with the judicial assistant for the court in
the relevant jurisdiction in Florida.

This court was informed that no judicial activity had

occurred on the docket of the pending foreclosure case involving the Individual Defendants. In
other words, no judge had scheduled a hearing, ordered mediation, or suggested that the parties to
the action confer in January or at any other date.

The Individual Defendants hereby are admonished that, in the future, they may not
misrepresent the facts in their court submissions and in their other dealings with this court. To
do so damages their credibility with the court and quite possibly could subject them to contempt
sanctions.
With this as a backdrop, the court nonetheless will postpone the trial date of this case to
the two-month term of court beginning March 4, 2014. The court also will extend the Individual
Defendants’ response date for all pending motions until fourteen days following the date the
response otherwise would have been due.
The corporate defendant, Technology Solutions, Inc., has been in default for quite some
time, and the court is aware of no just cause for delaying entry of judgment. Thus, the court will
enter a separate order awarding judgment to the plaintiff, Branch Bank and Trust Company,
against the corporation.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

December 17, 2013
Columbia, South Carolina

Joseph F. Anderson, Jr.
United States District Judge