Opinion
1:11-CV-265 Lee
04-30-2013
RITA C. HALEY, Plaintiff, v. DR. SOBROTO KUNDU, Individually, et al., Defendants.
ORDER
Before the Court is a motion for extension of time of jury trial [Doc. 85] and an amended motion for extension of time of jury trial [Doc. 87] filed by Defendant Roma Trakru a/k/a Roma Kundu ("Defendant Trakru"), who is representing herself pro se. In both motions, Defendant Trakru seeks an eight day extension of the trial scheduled to begin May 7, 2013 and represents she is unable to fully prepare by that date. Defendant Trakru submitted an affidavit with the amended motion in which she states she has been working diligently, but needs to further study the files in the case and become more familiar with the Court rules to appropriately follow them during trial [Doc. 87-1].
During the hearing on April 26, 2013, the Court asked Defendant Trakru to explain in more detail what she hoped to accomplish in the eight day period. Defendant Trakru stated she had yet to obtain the case file from her former attorney, needed to review the documents in the file, sought to study the rules more closely before trial, and needed time to form her arguments and defenses. Defendant Trakru did not indicate that she sought to obtain the services of another lawyer, and the Court observes that Defendant Trakru professed to be familiar with various rules at the April 15 hearing, when her request to represent herself was granted.
After inquiring of the availability of the other attorneys, it was determined that an eight day extension of trial was not possible and the length of any extension granted would be a matter of several months to accommodate the schedules of multiple lawyers and the Court. Plaintiff objected to any lengthy continuance, and given this objection, the parties were unable to reach agreement on an alternative date for trial to accommodate Defendant Trakru's request. Accordingly, and for the reasons outlined in more detail during the hearing, Defendant Trakru's motion for extension of time of jury trial [Doc. 85] and amended motion for extension of time of jury trial [Doc. 87] are DENIED.
SO ORDERED.
ENTER:
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SUSAN K. LEE
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE