Opinion
Civil Case No. 10-cv-02327-REB-MJW
01-04-2012
CAMERON McARTHUR, Plaintiff, v. SOURCE GAS LLC, Defendant.
Judge Robert E. Blackburn
ORDER GRANTING JOINT STIPULATED MOTION TO VACATE
TRIAL DATE AND FINAL TRIAL PREPARATION CONFERENCE
Blackburn, J.
The matters before me are (1) the parties' Joint Stipulated Motion To Vacate Trial Date and Final Trial Preparation Conference [#116] filed December 30, 2011; and (2) Defendant's Unopposed Motion for Extension of Time To File Its Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law [#117] filed December 30, 2011. Per force, I grant the motions.
"[#116]" is an example of the convention I use to identify the docket number assigned to a specific paper by the court's electronic case filing and management system (CM/ECF). I use this convention throughout this order.
The case is set to commence a trial to the court without a jury on January 9, 2012. On December 20, 2011, the magistrate judge issued his Recommendation on Defendant's Motion To Dismiss and for Sanctions (Docket No. 73) and Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment (Docket No. 100) [#114], recommending that defendant's motion for summary judgment be granted or, alternatively, that its motion to dismiss be granted. On January 3, 2012, the plaintiff filed objections to the recommendation. See [#118].
Although I will give prompt attention to the recommendation and the related objections, I can not represent that I can rule on the recommendation before commencement of trial on Monday, January 9, 2012. Thus, neither of my only two options is ideal: I can vacate the trial, continuing it without date until I rule on the recommendation, or I can proceed to trial as set with the recommendation to dismiss pending. Consistent with the letter and spirit of Fed. R. Civ. P. 1, I conclude that the unfortunate chronology of pretrial events necessitates the granting of the instant motions.
I am aware also of Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b)(2), which provides relevantly that "[a] party may respond to another party's objections within 14 days after being served with a copy."
THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED as follows:
1. That the parties' Joint Stipulated Motion To Vacate Trial Date and Final Trial Preparation Conference [#116] filed December 30, 2011, is GRANTED;
2. That the Trial Preparation Conference currently scheduled for Friday, January 6, 2012, at 2:00 p.m., as well as the trial to the court, currently scheduled to commence on Monday, January 9, 2012, are VACATED and CONTINUED WITHOUT DATE pending further order of this court; and
3. That Defendant's Unopposed Motion for Extension of Time To File Its Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law [#117] filed December 30, 2011, is GRANTED.
Dated January 4, 2012, at Denver, Colorado.
BY THE COURT:
________________
Robert E. Blackburn
United States District Judge