Gebrehawariat v. Seattle City Light et al

Filing 17

ORDER granting Plaintiff's Counsel of Record's 13 Motion to Withdraw as Attorney. Attorney Darryl Parker shall be terminated as counsel of record in this case. Mr. Gebrehawariat is now proceeding pro se in this matter. He is advised that he must be familiar with the Court's Local Civil Rules. Signed by Judge Ricardo S Martinez. (TH) (cc: Plaintiff via first class mail)

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    1   2   3   4   UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE 5 6 7 BETHEAL HABTE GEBREHAWARIAT, Plaintiff, 8 vs. 9 10 11 SEATTLE CITY LIGHT; TUAN TRAN; MELODY RETALLACK; and DOES I THROUGH X, inclusive,  12 Defendants. 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 22 Case No. C18-0128 RSM ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S COUNSEL OF RECORD MOTION TO WITHDRAW THIS MATTER comes before the Court on Plaintiff’s Counsel of Record Motion to Withdraw. Dkt. #13. Plaintiff’s counsel, Darryl Parker, asserts that he must withdraw as he believes any further representation would result in a violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct. Id. Defendant Seattle City Light does not oppose the withdrawal of Mr. Parker as counsel. Dkt. #14. Plaintiff opposes the motion, asserting that allowing the withdrawal would “jeopardize [his] position on the case as well as [his] work situation.” Dkt. #16. He also states that he fears if his attorney withdraws it will have a negative effect on his employment. Id. 20 21 ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Pursuant to Local Civil Rule 83.2, “no attorney shall withdraw an appearance in any case, civil or criminal, except by leave of court. Leave of court shall be obtained by filing a motion or a stipulation and proposed order for withdrawal.” LCR 83.2(b)(1). LCR 83.2 also 23 ORDER - 1       1 provides that attorneys “will ordinarily be permitted to withdraw until sixty days before the 2 discovery cutoff date in a civil case.” Id. The discovery deadline in this matter is not until 3 December 24, 2018. Dkt. #12. 4 In considering a motion to withdraw from representation, courts examine a variety of 5 factors, including: (1) the reasons why withdrawal is sought; (2) the prejudice withdrawal may 6 cause to other litigants; (3) the harm withdrawal might cause to the administration of justice; 7 and (4) the degree to which withdrawal will delay the resolution of the case. Bohnert v. Burke, 8 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 145373, 2010 WL 5067695 (D. Ariz. 2010). Having applied these 9 factors to the instant matter, this Court concludes that Mr. Parker should be permitted to 10 withdraw. 11 First, the reason cited for withdrawal is serious – any further representation would 12 result in a violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct. Second, the prejudice to other 13 litigants appears minimal, given that the only appearing Defendant does not object to the 14 withdrawal. Dkt. #14. Third, the threat to the administration of justice also appears minimal 15 given that this case is in its infancy and Plaintiff can presumably seek other counsel. Regarding 16 Plaintiff’s pro se Objection to Mr. Parker’s Motion to Withdraw (Dkt. #16), the Court is unable 17 to consider the Objection given that Mr. Parker still served as counsel of record at the time the 18 Objection was filed by Plaintiff. See Local Civil Rule 83.2(b)(4). Fourth, this withdrawal does 19 not seem likely to delay the resolution of the case, given that the case is still in its infancy and 20 the majority of the pending deadlines are not until the end of this year. Dkt. #12. Finally, Mr. 21 Parker filed his Motion to Withdraw long before the discovery deadline; thus, he is in accord 22 with Local Civil Rule 83.2. 23 ORDER - 2       1 Accordingly, the Court hereby ORDERS: 2 1. Plaintiff’s Counsel’s Motion to Withdraw (Dkt. #13) is GRANTED and Mr. Parker shall be terminated as counsel of record in this case. 3 4 2. Mr. Gebrehawariat is now proceeding pro se in this matter. He is advised that he 5 must be familiar with the Court’s Local Civil Rules, which can be found online at 6 the Court’s website. Mr. Gebrehawariat is also responsible for complying with the 7 Court’s Orders and deadlines in this matter. 3. The Clerk shall send a copy of this Order on Mr. Gebrehawariat at: 8 BETHEAL GEBREHAWARIAT 1203 NE 135TH STREET APT. 201 SEATTLE, WA 98125 9 10 11 4. Unless and until Mr. Gebrehawariat secures new counsel, all future filings in this 12 case must be served on him at the above address. 13 DATED this 16 day of April 2018. 14 A 15 RICARDO S. MARTINEZ CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 ORDER - 3  

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