Chen et al v. City of Redmond

Filing 10

ORDER RE: REQUESTS TO EXTEND DEADLINES AND FOR COURT APPOINTED COUNSEL; plaintiffs' motion to extend deadlines is granted in part; FRCP 26(f) conf ddl set for 6/16/17, initial disclosure ddl set for 6/23/17, JSR due 6/30/17; regarding plaintiffs' motion for court appointed counsel, additional documents due by 5/31/17; plaintiffs' 9 MOTION to Appoint Counsel is renoted for 6/9/17 by Judge Ricardo S Martinez. (RS) cc plaintiffs

1
2
3
4
5
6
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE

7
8
9
10
11
12
13

SUSAN CHEN AND NAIXIANG LIAN,
Plaintiffs,
v.
CITY OF REDMOND,

Case No. C17‐569‐RSM 

ORDER RE: REQUESTS TO EXTEND 
DEADLINES AND FOR COURT‐
APPOINTED COUNSEL 

14
15

Defendant.

16

This matter comes before the Court on Plaintiff Susan Chen’s Motion requesting an

17

extension of certain deadlines and requesting court-appointed counsel. Dkt. #9. This Motion

18

was filed without a noting date.

19

The Court will first address Ms. Chen’s request to extend the deadlines for the Rule

20
21

26(f) Conference, Initial Disclosures, and Joint Status Report. Id. at 1. Ms. Chen presents a

22

doctor’s note indicating that she suffers from a subconjunctival hemorrhage caused by stress

23

and recommending that she reduce her stress for the next 1-3 weeks. Id. at 5. The Court will

24

grant this request and extend each of these deadlines by one month as stated below.

25

The Court will next address Ms. Chen’s request for court-appointed counsel. Ms. Chen

26
27
28

states that she “was found indigent by order of Washington Superior court in Feb 2014, and
was represented by King County Office of Public Defense,” and that she “continues to lack
ORDER RE: REQUESTS TO EXTEND DEADLINES AND FOR COURT‐APPOINTED 
COUNSEL ‐ 1 

1

sufficient funds to seek review in this case.” Id. at 2. Ms. Chen provides no other evidence

2

that she cannot afford to hire an attorney in this matter. The Court finds that Plaintiffs’ request

3

lacks information that is necessary for the Court’s review as stated below. The Court will

4

allow Plaintiffs to submit this information and note this portion of the Motion for consideration

5
6
7
8
9
10

at a later date.
Having reviewed the relevant briefing and the remainder of the record, the Court hereby
finds and ORDERS:
1) Plaintiff’s Motion to Extend Deadlines, Dkt. #9, is GRANTED in relevant part. The
new deadlines are as follows:

11
12

a. FRCP 26f Conference Deadline: 6/16/2017

13

b. Initial Disclosure Deadline: 6/23/2017

14

c. Joint Status Report Due: 6/30/2017

15
16

2) Plaintiffs’ Motion for court-appointed counsel lacks certain information that is
necessary for the Court’s review. The Court therefore REQUESTS the following

17
18
19
20
21

from Plaintiffs no later than Wednesday, May 31, 2017:
a. a copy of the Feb 2014 Washington Superior Court Order finding Ms. Chen
indigent;
b. a signed and sworn declaration from one or more of the Plaintiffs with the

22
23
24
25
26
27

following:
i. evidence of income, assets, and expenses, or otherwise explaining
how they lack sufficient funds to retain counsel;
ii. evidence of any previous attempts to hire an attorney in this matter.
c. The Court does not need bank statements or other records from Plaintiffs.

28
ORDER RE: REQUESTS TO EXTEND DEADLINES AND FOR COURT‐APPOINTED 
COUNSEL ‐ 2 

1
2
3
4

3) The Court DIRECTS the Clerk to note Plaintiffs’ Motion for Court Appointed
Counsel, Dkt. #9, for consideration on June 9, 2017.
4) The Court DIRECTS the Clerk to mail a copy of this Order to Plaintiffs at PO BOX
134, REDMOND, WA 98073.

5
6
7

DATED this 16 day of May 2017.

8
9
10
11
12

A

RICARDO S. MARTINEZ
CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
ORDER RE: REQUESTS TO EXTEND DEADLINES AND FOR COURT‐APPOINTED 
COUNSEL ‐ 3