Robinson v. Tipton County Board of Education

Filing 56

ORDER Setting, ( Telephone Status Conference set for 7/2/2012 01:00 PM (EST) before Judge Robert H. Cleland.). Signed by Judge Robert H. Cleland on 6/21/2012. Associated Cases: 2:10-cv-02785-RHC-dkv, 2:10-cv-02817-RHC-dkv(lgw)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
WESTERN DIVISION

THEAQUIATA ROBINSON,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. 10-02785

TIPTON COUNTY
BOARD OF EDUCATION,
Defendant.
and
TIPTON COUNTY
BOARD OF EDUCATION,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. 10-02817

THEAQUIATA ROBINSON, next friend
of T.R., and BERNARD TYRUS
STURGIS,
Defendants.
/
ORDER SETTING TELEPHONE CONFERENCE
On June 18, 2012, the court held an on-the-record telephone conference in these
consolidated cases with pro se party Theaquiata Robinson, counsel for Tipton County
Board of Education (“Tipton”), and Bernard Tyrus Sturgis, who is Robinson’s former
attorney and a named Defendant in Case Number 10-02817. The conference was
continued from the court’s prior telephone conference with Robinson and counsel for
Tipton on May 11, 2012, to afford Robinson the opportunity to obtain counsel.

During the conference, Robinson informed the court that she is still working on
securing representation in these matters. Moreover, Robinson seems unfamiliar with,
and unsure about the origins of, papers already filed in these actions that bear her
signature—namely, her response to Tipton’s motion for judgment on the administrative
record in Case Number 10-02785, a joint motion to dismiss by her and Sturgis in Case
Number 10-02817, and her response to Tipton’s motion for judgment on the pleadings
in Case Number 10-02817.1
Additionally, in Case Number 10-02817, Sturgis has yet to indicate on the court’s
docket whether he is proceeding pro se or through counsel. If he does wish to
represent himself, as he did during the telephone conference, he must add his contact
information to the court’s docket. It is also unclear whether Sturgis still wishes to pursue
the joint motion to dismiss2 or join Robinson’s response to Tipton’s motion for judgment
on pleadings.
In light of the apparent confusion regarding these matters, the court will again
continue the telephone conference to give Robinson and Sturgis more time to review
the record and decide how they wish to proceed in these matters. However, the court
notes that it will not grant another, similar continuance. Accordingly,

1

The court’s suspicion, albeit unconfirmed, is that Sturgis, who is not admitted to
practice in the Western District of Tennessee, improperly filed these documents on
Robinson’s behalf and without her knowledge.
2

The motion to dismiss, which was filed on January 14, 2011, and to which Tipton
responded on January 24, 2011, appears never to have been decided by the court;
however, it was terminated—perhaps mistakenly—on the court’s docket on May 2,
2011.
2

IT IS ORDERED that counsel for the parties shall participate in a telephone
conference on July 2, 2012, at 1:00 p.m. EDT. The court will place the telephone call.
If either Robinson or Sturgis wishes to be represented by counsel, their attorneys must
file an appearance on the record no later than June 29, 2012. If Sturgis intends to
proceed pro se, he must so indicate on the court’s docket and enter his contact
information by that same date.
During the conference, Robinson (or her attorney) should be prepared to inform
the court whether she wishes to adopt, modify, or abandon: (1) in Case Number 1002785, “Plaintiff’s Response to Defendant’s Motion for Judgment on the Administrative
Record” [Dkt. # 48]; (2) in Case Number 10-02817, the “Joint Motion to Dismiss” [Dkt.
# 4]; and (3) in Case Number 10-02817, the “Response to Motion for Judgment on the
Pleadings” [Dkt. # 15]. Similarly, Sturgis (or his attorney) should be prepared to inform
the court whether, in Case Number 10-02817, he intends to pursue the “Joint Motion to
Dismiss” [Dkt. # 4] and whether he wishes to adopt the “Response to Motion for
Judgment on the Pleadings” [Dkt. # 15].

s/Robert H. Cleland
ROBERT H. CLELAND
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Dated: June 21, 2012

I hereby certify that a copy of the foregoing document was mailed to counsel of record
on this date, June 21, 2012, by electronic and/or ordinary mail.
s/Lisa G. Wagner
Case Manager and Deputy Clerk
[phone]
S:\Cleland\JUDGE'S DESK\C2 ORDERS\10-02785.ROBINSON.SetTelephoneConference2.set.wpd

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