Opinion
Case No. 07-00451, Adversary Proceeding No. 07-10033.
March 17, 2008
Not for Publication in West's Bankruptcy Reporter
MEMORANDUM DECISION RE MOTION TO DISMISS
On February 14, 2008, the court entered a Memorandum Decision and Order Re Defendant's Motion to Dismiss Adversary Proceeding, identifying several deficiencies in the complaint and directing the plaintiff, Gail Rucker, to file an amended complaint by March 5, 2008, absent which the court would dismiss this adversary proceeding with prejudice (Docket Entry ("DE") No. 25). The court selected March 5, 2008, as the plaintiff's filing deadline based, in part, upon the assumption that the plaintiff's former attorney, Janai C. Reed, would, pursuant to an order of this court, mail a copy of the Memorandum Decision and Order to the plaintiff by February 20, 2008, which would leave the plaintiff ample time to then file an amended complaint by March 5, 2008. On February 22, 2008, Reed filed a certificate of mailing in which she states that she did not receive the court's Memorandum Decision and Order until February 21, 2008, and that she hand delivered and mailed a copy of the Memorandum Decision and Order to Rucker on February 22, 2008. Although mailed by Reed two days after the February 20, 2008 deadline, Reed's hand delivery of the Memorandum Decision and Order — a more expeditious form of service — was sufficient to compensate for any delay in mailing. Likewise, even if the court deemed it appropriate to extend the March 5, 2008 deadline to account for the two-day delay in mailing, any such extension would be insufficient to excuse the plaintiff's continued failure to file an amended complaint more than ten days after the March 5, 2008 filing deadline has passed. The plaintiff having failed to timely file an amended complaint, and in accordance with this court's prior Memorandum Decision and Order (DE No. 25), the court will dismiss this adversary proceeding with prejudice.
The plaintiff failed to provide the court with her mailing address, and instead provided only the mailing address of her attorney, Ms. Reed. Although Ms. Reed has since withdrawn as plaintiff's counsel, the court nevertheless directed Ms. Reed to mail a copy of the Memorandum Decision and Order to the plaintiff by February 20, 2008 (DE No. 26, entered February 14, 2008).
A judgment follows.