Opinion
Civil Action 19-cv-01056-CMA-GPG
08-16-2022
LAKE IRWIN COALITION and THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF THE COUNTY OF GUNNISON, CO, Plaintiffs, v. JONATHAN WHITACRE SMITH, ANDERSON FAMILY TRUST, ERIC RICHARD ASLAKSON, JACK A. & SANDRA E. BRILL TRUSTEES UDT DATED MARCH 24, 1981, RICHARD GILDERSLEEVE, ERIC W. JORDAN, LYPPS NICHOLAS J. TRUST, THOMAS MOORE, RUBY PEAK, LLC, SCARP RIDGE, LLC, CRAIG A. SCHOEPKE, ALLISON ELLIOTT, ROBINSON BASIN LLC Defendants, v. DAVID J. GOTTORFF, Third Party Defendant.
ORDER
CHRISTINE M. ARGUELLO, SENIOR UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
This matter is before the Court on the following:
(1) The Recommendation of United States Magistrate Judge Gordon P. Gallagher (Doc. # 306), wherein he recommends Denying Defendant Aslakson's Motion for Leave to File Counter Claims Against Plaintiff Gunnison County and Cross Claims against Defendant USFS and Third Party Claims Against Defendant TAPP (Doc. # 300);
(2) Defendant Eric Aslakson's Motion for Leave to File Additional Cross Claims Against Defendant USFS (Doc. # 318); and
(3) Defendant Eric Aslakson's Motion to Correct the Docket (Doc. # 325).
For the following reasons, Judge Gallagher's Recommendation (Doc. # 306) is affirmed and adopted as an order of this Court, and Mr. Aslakson's Motions (Docs. ## 300, 318, 325) are denied.
(1) Judge Gallagher's Recommendation (Doc. # 306) on the Motion for Leave to File Counter Claims (Doc. # 300).
On February 2, 2022, Mr. Aslakson filed a motion for leave to assert crossclaims against Gunnison County and the U.S. Forest Service. (Doc. # 212). Judge Gallagher recommended denying that motion, noting that the deadline to amend the pleadings was January 30, 2020 and that the deadline for dispositive motions was March 19, 2021. (Doc. # 289). Mr. Aslakson did not object to that Recommendation, and this Court affirmed Judge Gallagher's Recommendation. (Doc. # 291).
On September 30, 2021, Mr. Aslakson filed another motion seeking to assert crossclaims and counterclaims, claiming that “[n]ew data has arisen” that justifies amendment. (Doc. # 300). Judge Gallagher construed this Motion as a Motion for Reconsideration, and, finding that Mr. Aslakson had failed to demonstrate any of the circumstances justifying reconsideration of a court's prior order, recommended denying the Motion. (Doc. # 306).
Mr. Aslakson now objects to Judge Gallagher's Recommendation. (Doc. # 307). He argues that his Motion was based on “new data,” which justifies late amendment. The Court agrees with Judge Gallagher.
Under 28 U.S.C. § 636(a)(1)(B), this Court may designate a magistrate judge to consider dispositive motions and submit recommendations to the Court. When a magistrate judge submits a recommendation, the Court must “determine de novo any part of the magistrate judge's [recommended] disposition that has been properly objected to.” F.R.C.P. 72(b)(3). Having reviewed the matter de novo, the Court is satisfied that Judge Gallagher's recommendation is correct. Mr. Aslakson has failed to provide any clear or acceptable justification why he should be allowed to assert crossclaims and counterclaims roughly two years after the deadline to do so. Judge Gallagher properly construed this Motion as a Motion for Reconsideration and correctly denied the motion based on Mr. Aslakson's failure to establish any of the circumstances which would have allowed the Court to reconsider its prior order. Therefore, Judge Gallagher's Recommendation (Doc. # 306) is affirmed and adopted as an order of this Court.
(2) Defendant Eric Aslakson's Motion for Leave to File Additional Cross Claims Against Defendant USFS (Doc. # 318)
On April 28, 2022, Mr. Aslakson filed a Motion for Leave to File Additional Cross Claims against Defendant USFS. (Doc. # 318). This Motion is denied. This motion is largely duplicative of his two prior motions for leave to add crossclaims, and it fails for the same reasons those motions failed. The deadline to amend pleadings was January 30, 2020, and Mr. Aslakson has failed to provide any acceptable justification for waiting until nearly two and a half years beyond that deadline to file this Motion. Therefore, and for the reasons stated in the Court's prior orders and recommendations on this matter (Docs. ## 289, 291, 306), the Motion is denied.
(3) Defendant Eric Aslakson's Motion to Correct the Docket (Doc. # 325)
Mr. Aslakson next moves to “correct the docket.” (Doc. # 325). He argues that the U.S. Forest Service should not be listed as “terminated” on the docket because the Court has not yet ruled on his two outstanding motions to assert counterclaims against the USFS. (Docs. ## 300, 318). This Motion is denied. The Forest Service was dismissed from this case March 30, 2022; therefore, it is correctly listed as “terminated” on the docket, and there is no need to correct the docket. Further, Mr. Aslakson has failed to show any basis for asserting new claims against the Forest Service. Therefore, this Motion is denied.
For the foregoing reasons, it is ORDERED that Plaintiff's Objection (Doc. # 307) is OVERRULED, and Judge Gallagher's Recommendation (Doc. # 306) is AFFIRMED AND ADOPTED as an order of this Court. It is
FURTHER ORDERED that Defendant Aslakson's Motion for Leave to File Counter Claims Against Plaintiff Gunnison County and Cross Claims against Defendant USFS and Third Party Claims Against Defendant TAPP (Doc. # 300) is DENIED. It is
FURTHER ORDERED that Defendant Eric Aslakson's Motion for Leave to File Additional Cross Claims Against Defendant USFS (Doc. # 318) is DENIED. It is
FURTHER ORDERED that Defendant Eric Aslakson's Motion to Correct the Docket (Doc. # 325) is DENIED.