Opinion
CIVIL ACTION NO. H-10-3828
03-15-2012
KAREN M. GEORGE-BAUNCHAND, Plaintiff, v. WELLS FARGO HOME MORTGAGE, INC., et al., Defendants.
ORDER
On March 5, 2012, the plaintiff, Karen M. George-Baunchand, failed to appear at the second day of an evidentiary hearing that began on March 2. At 12:55 p.m., five minutes before the second day of the hearing, Baunchand filed a motion to continue on the ground that she had been admitted to a hospital with pneumonia. The court ordered Baunchand "to inform the court as to her health status as soon as practicable and to advise how quickly the remainder of the hearing can be reset." (Docket Entry 57.) The court emphasized that "[f]ailure to do so may lead to the dismissal of this case." (Id.)
Since March 5, Baunchand has not filed any status updates with the court. Because this court's December 2011 amended scheduling order set Docket Call for March 16 at 2:00 p.m., court personnel contacted Baunchand on March 15 to confirm that she would appear in court the following day. Baunchand stated that she would not. She explained that although she had been released from the hospital earlier this week, she was preparing to go to a second hospital because the first hospital had made her medical condition worse.
The court is troubled by Baunchand's repeated failures to keep the court informed of her inability to appear at scheduled hearings. The evidentiary hearing is reset to be completed on April 9, 2012, at 1:00 p.m. Baunchand is admonished that she must attend. Any request for a later hearing must be filed no later than April 6, 2012, and must be accompanied by a doctor's note explaining why additional time is needed and how much. Baunchand must also respond to the defendants' motion to strike (Docket Entry No. 48) by April 6, 2012. If Baunchand does not file the status report or does not respond to the motion to strike, this case will be dismissed, with prejudice, for failure to prosecute.
SIGNED on March 15, 2012, at Houston, Texas.
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Lee H. Rosenthal
United States District Judge