Opinion
20 Civ. 3773 (LGS) (S.D.N.Y.)
10-24-2022
Manbro Energy Corp. v. Chatterjee Advisors, LLC,
Application GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. The trial date is adjourned from January 9, 2023, to January 17, 2023 at 9:45 a.m., in first place on the Court's calendar. The final pretrial conference is adjourned from December 19, 2022, to January 5, 2022, at 11:00 a.m., and will be held via videoconference. The parties will be provided with call-in instructions via email. Members of the press and public may dial into the conference using conference call number (888) 363-4749 and access code 558-3333.
Motions in limine shall be filed by November 30, 2022, and responses by December 9, 2022, per the Court's individual rules. The final pre-trial order, joint requests to charge, joint voir dire, joint verdict form and any memoranda of law, as provided in the Court's individual rules, shall be filed by December 14, 2022.
Dear Judge Schofield:
We write respectfully from King & Spalding LLP as Defendants' just-retained counsel for trial in this action, currently scheduled to begin on January 9, 2023 or the Court's first available date thereafter. See Dkt. No. 219 (“Scheduling Order”). I respectfully request a three-month adjournment of this trial start date and the final pretrial conference currently scheduled for December 19, 2022, and by a similar amount of time extensions of the current deadlines for filings in anticipation of trial. See id. These are Defendants' first requests for extensions and adjournments of the dates in the Scheduling Order. Plaintiff has consented to a one-month extension of the trial date, subject to the Court's schedule, and of associated pretrial deadlines.
Defendants request the above-described extensions and adjournments because of a very recent change in representation. I joined King & Spalding just two weeks ago, and Defendants advised King & Spalding on October 13 that my new Firm is being retained as trial counsel. The core team that had managed this case is now divided among three law firms, so we here at King & Spalding will now have to rebuild some of that core team. The entire case record for this matter (including all work product, client files, and correspondence) currently remains at my prior law firm, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. Given that motions in limine are due on October 31, 2022, see Scheduling Order, an extension of looming pretrial deadlines would be especially important. My team and I will need the requested time to transition the voluminous case record from Gibson Dunn, and rebuild the infrastructure for this case at King & Spalding. We also learned today of availability issues the week of January 9 for Defendants' principal expert. Defendants therefore seek the Court's approval for adjournments of the trial start date and final pretrial conference by three months, and analogous deadline extensions for the filings in anticipation of trial ordered by the Court. See Scheduling Order.
We thank the Court for its consideration of these requests.
Mark A. Kirsch, Judge.