Jones v. Martinez

Full title: ERVIN LEE JONES, Applicant, v. DONNIE MARTINEZ, and JOHN W. SUTHERS, the…

Court: United States District Court, D. Colorado

Date published: Oct 18, 2007

Civil Action No. 07-cv-00523-LTB-BNB (D. Colo. Oct. 18, 2007)

Opinion

Civil Action No. 07-cv-00523-LTB-BNB.

October 18, 2007

ORDER

BOYD BOLAND, Magistrate Judge

This matter is before me on a letter (the "Letter") filed by Ervin Lee Jones (the "petitioner") on October 11, 2007 [Doc. #26]. The petitioner seeks an order to preserve the deposition testimony of "a couple of witnesses" in this case who "have become terminally ill." The petitioner does not describe the content of the requested testimony, nor does he explain its relevance to this case.

In addition, the plaintiff does not certify that copies of the Letter were served on the other parties or their attorneys. Copies of papers filed in this Court are to be served upon counsel for all other parties (or directly on any party acting pro se) in compliance with Fed.R.Civ.P. 5. Rule 5 provides:

Every order required by its terms to be served, every pleading subsequent to the original complaint unless the court otherwise orders because of numerous defendants, every paper relating to discovery required to be served upon a party unless the court otherwise orders, every written motion other than one which may be heard ex parte, and every written notice, appearance, demand, offer of judgment, designation of record on appeal, and similar paper shall be served upon each of the parties.

* * *

All papers after the complaint required to be served upon a party, together with a certificate of service, shall be filed with the court within a reasonable time after service.

Fed.R.Civ.P. 5(a) and (d).

Service upon other parties may be by mail. Proof that service has been made is provided by a certificate of service. This certificate should be filed along with the original papers and should show the day and manner of service.

Finally, "[a]n application to the court for an order shall be by motion which . . . shall state with particularity the grounds therefor, and shall set forth the relief or order sought. . . . The rules applicable to captions and other matters of form of pleadings apply to all motions and other papers provided for by these rules." Fed.R.Civ.P. 7(b). The petitioner improperly submitted his request in the form of a letter, not in the form of a motion, as required.

IT IS ORDERED that the Motion is DENIED.