Graham-Bingham Irrevocable Trust et al v. Trudeau et al

Filing 57

ORDER by Judge Richard A Jones. The court directs the clerk to ENTER DEFAULT against Dft Greenwich Bay. The court VACATES the trial date and all other pending pretrial deadlines. (CL) (cc: D. Trudeau, Greenwich Bay Management)

HONORABLE RICHARD A. JONES

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE

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GRAHAM-BINGHAM IRREVOCABLE
TRUST, et al.,

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Plaintiffs,
ORDER
v.
DONALD TRUDEAU, et al.,

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Defendants.
In its May 23 order permitting counsel for Defendants to withdraw, the court
informed Defendant Greenwich Bay Management, LLC (“Greenwich Bay”) that it would
enter its default if it did not obtain counsel within 30 days. Greenwich Bay has not
obtained counsel, nor has it done anything to indicate that it intends to defend itself in
this action. The court accordingly directs the clerk to ENTER DEFAULT against
Greenwich Bay.
As to the remaining Defendant, Donald Trudeau, it appears that he has ceased to
defend his interests in this action as well. Trial is set to begin on July 8. On June 24,
Plaintiffs unilaterally filed what was supposed to be a joint pretrial order. Dkt. # 54. The
second sentence of that submission states as follows: “Because Defendant[s] have not
contacted Plaintiffs, however, despite Plaintiffs[’] efforts to reach Defendants, this
document was prepared by Plaintiffs alone.” Plaintiffs reveal nothing more about the
extent of their efforts to contact Mr. Trudeau, the results of those efforts, or whether Mr.

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CASE NO. C12-755RAJ

ORDER – 1

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Trudeau has done anything since his counsel withdrew to signal that he intends to

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participate in this litigation. Plaintiffs have also not proposed any method of bringing

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this case to a conclusion, other than to unilaterally file pretrial documents.
Trial will not occur on July 8. Mr. Trudeau seems unlikely to appear at trial, and

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Plaintiffs have not explained how they propose to go to trial against an empty chair. In

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any event, the court is in the midst of a lengthy criminal trial that will extend well beyond

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July 8.

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The court accordingly VACATES the trial date and all other pending pretrial
deadlines.
The court’s intent is to rule on the pending summary judgment motions, which are

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fully briefed. Typically, the court assigns a high priority to summary judgment motions

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in cases with impending trial dates. In cases where trial is not looming, the court assigns

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a lower priority. The pending motions now fall into this latter category.

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Dated this 27th day of June, 2013.

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A

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The Honorable Richard A. Jones
United States District Court Judge

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ORDER – 2