Microsoft Corporation v. Internal Revenue Service

Filing 72

ORDER granting in part Parties' 71 Stipulated Motion for Extension of Time for Defendant to File a Reply Brief. The Court will extend the Reply deadline to Friday, 8/12/2022. Signed by Judge Ricardo S. Martinez.(SB)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE

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MICROSOFT CORPORATION,
Plaintiff,

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v.

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INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE,

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Case No. C15-369 RSM
Case No. C15-850 RSM
ORDER GRANTING IN PART
STIPULATED MOTION TO EXTEND
TIME FOR REPLY

Defendant.

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This matter comes before the Court on the parties’ stipulated Motion to extend time for
Defendant to file a Reply brief in support of its Motion for Summary Judgment. Case No. C15-

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369, Dkt. #71. This case, originally filed in 2015, has been plagued with delays and stipulated

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continuances. See Case No. C15-369, Dkt. #60. After stating “this will be the last extension

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absent a more substantial showing of good cause or the scheduling of a telephonic status

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conference,” the Court has granted two more extensions. Most recently, the Court extended the

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deadline for Microsoft to file a response brief. See Case No. C15-369 Dkt. #65.
Now the IRS seeks to extend the deadline to file its Reply brief from July 29, 2022, to

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September 12, 2022. Case No. C15-369, Dkt. #71 at 2. The IRS says it needs these additional

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45 days, “[g]iven the broad scope of this matter; the numerous complex issues subject to

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briefing; the breadth of Plaintiff’s Brief in Opposition, its declarations, and exhibits; and the

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ORDER GRANTING IN PART STIPULATED MOTION TO EXTEND TIME FOR REPLY - 1

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planned leave of both undersigned counsel for Defendant and the IRS Chief Counsel attorney

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assigned to this matter.” Id. at 1. One IRS attorney assigned to this matter is on leave the week

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of August 1, 2022, and another has planned leave for the last week of August. Id. at 3.

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The parties have given only surface-level, conclusory reasons for this request. Vacation
planned for after the deadline hardly qualifies as good cause. In any event, the IRS had the
opportunity to raise this issue when they stipulated to the last set of deadlines. Admittedly, the

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breadth of Plaintiff’s Brief in Opposition is clear on the face of the filing, justifying more than

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the standard week to draft a reply brief. The Court therefore finds good cause to grant this

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stipulation in part.
Having considered the briefing from the parties and the remainder of the record, the

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Court hereby finds and ORDERS that the parties’ stipulated Motion to extend time for

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Defendant to file a Reply brief, Case No. C15-369, Dkt. #71, is GRANTED IN PART. The

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Court will extend the Reply deadline to Friday, August 12, 2022.

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DATED this 29th day of July, 2022.

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A

RICARDO S. MARTINEZ
CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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ORDER GRANTING IN PART STIPULATED MOTION TO EXTEND TIME FOR REPLY - 2