Barstad v. Department of Corrections et al

Filing 29

ORDER granting defendants' 27 Motion for Extension of Dispositive Motions deadline, and renoting plaintiff's 25 MOTION for Leave to File Excess Pages. The new Noting Date is 10/28/2014. By that date, plaintiff is directed to file with the Court a notice of intention with respect to his request to file an overlength brief. A copy of this Order has been mailed to plaintiff today. Signed by Hon. Mary Alice Theiler.(GB)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE

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08 JAMES BARSTAD,
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Plaintiff,
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v.
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EARL X. WRIGHT, et al.,
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Defendants.
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____________________________________ )

CASE NO. C14-0523-RSL-MAT

ORDER RE: PENDING MOTIONS

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Plaintiff James Barstad proceeds pro se and in forma pauperis in this civil rights action

15 pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff filed a Motion for Permission to File an Over-Length
16 Brief (Dkt. 25) and defendants filed a Motion for Extension of Time to File Dispositive Motion
17 (Dkt. 27). Now, having considered the pending motions, the Court finds and rules as follows:
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(1)

Plaintiff seeks permission to file an over-length brief. (Dkt. 25.)

He,

19 specifically, seeks to file a twenty-six page “Opening Brief and Memorandum.” (Dkt. 25-1.)
20 However, while the request to exceed the page limitation appears reasonable, the type of
21 document plaintiff seeks to file is unclear. As observed by defendants (see Dkt. 26), the
22 proposed brief and memorandum does not appear to constitute a motion for summary judgment

ORDER
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01 and, instead, appears to be a preemptive response to a dispositive motion not yet filed by
02 defendants. To the extent petitioner is preemptively responding, the document is not a filing
03 contemplated by the civil rules of procedure and is otherwise premature.

Accordingly,

04 plaintiff is directed to file a notice, on or before October 28, 2014, advising the Court of his
05 intention with respect to his proposed Opening Brief and Memorandum, and his motion to file
06 an over-length brief (Dkt. 25) is herein RENOTED for consideration as of that same date. If
07 plaintiff intends the document as a motion for summary judgment, he should clearly state as
08 such in the notice and request that the motion be noted for consideration by the Court. If
09 plaintiff intends the document as a preemptive response to a future dispositive motion, the
10 motion to file an over-length brief will be denied, and plaintiff will have the opportunity to
11 re-file the brief and memorandum, or a revised document, to any dispositive motion filed by
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(2)

Defendants seek a thirty-day extension of time to file dispositive motions given

14 the ongoing unavailability of two named defendants in this case. Plaintiff does not object to
15 this request. (Dkt. 28.) Finding the requested extension reasonable, defendants’ Motion for
16 Extension of Time to File Dispositive Motion (Dkt. 27) is GRANTED. The dispositive
17 motion deadline in this matter is herein extended to October 28, 2014.
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(3)

The Clerk is directed to send a copy of this Order to plaintiff, counsel for

19 defendants, and to Judge Lasnik.
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DATED this 6th day of October, 2014.

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Mary Alice Theiler
Chief United States Magistrate Judge
ORDER
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