Opinion
CASE NO. 4:16-cv-04948-HSG
04-05-2018
OJMAR U.S., LLC, Plaintiff, v. SECURITY PEOPLE, INC., and ASIL GOKCEBAY (a.k.a. BILL GORDON), et al., Defendants.
CRAIG J. MARIAM (SBN: 225280) cmariam@grsm.com GORDON REES SCULLY MANSUKHANI, LLP 633 West Fifth Street, 52nd Floor Los Angeles, CA 90071 Telephone: (213) 576-5000 Facsimile: (877) 306-0043 MICHAEL D. KANACH (SBN: 271215) mkanach@grsm.com GORDON REES SCULLY MANSUKHANI, LLP 275 Battery Street, Suite 2000 San Francisco, CA 94111 Telephone: (415) 986-5900 Facsimile: (415) 262-3726 P. GAVIN EASTGATE (Pro Hac Vice Admitted) geastgate@grsm.com GORDON REES SCULLY MANSUKHANI, LLP 707 Grant Street, Suite 3800 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 Telephone: (412) 995-5230 Facsimile: (412) 347-5461 Attorneys for Defendants SECURITY PEOPLE, INC., and ASIL GOKCEBAY (a.k.a. BILL GORDON)
CRAIG J. MARIAM (SBN: 225280)
cmariam@grsm.com
GORDON REES SCULLY MANSUKHANI, LLP
633 West Fifth Street, 52nd Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90071
Telephone: (213) 576-5000
Facsimile: (877) 306-0043 MICHAEL D. KANACH (SBN: 271215)
mkanach@grsm.com
GORDON REES SCULLY MANSUKHANI, LLP
275 Battery Street, Suite 2000
San Francisco, CA 94111
Telephone: (415) 986-5900
Facsimile: (415) 262-3726 P. GAVIN EASTGATE (Pro Hac Vice Admitted)
geastgate@grsm.com
GORDON REES SCULLY MANSUKHANI, LLP
707 Grant Street, Suite 3800
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Telephone: (412) 995-5230
Facsimile: (412) 347-5461 Attorneys for Defendants SECURITY PEOPLE, INC.,
and ASIL GOKCEBAY (a.k.a. BILL GORDON) Judge: Hon. Haywood S. Gilliam DEFENDANTS SECURITY PEOPLE, INC. AND ASIL GOKCEBAY'S EX PARTE APPLICATION FOR AN ORDER Permitting Telephonic Appearance By Asil Gokcebay At The Upcoming Motion Hearings Pursuant To Local Rule 7-10; ORDER Date: April 5, 2018
Time: 2:00 pm /// ///
TO THE COURT, ALL PARTIES, AND THEIR COUNSEL OF RECORD:
Defendants SECURITY PEOPLE, INC. and ASIL GOKCEBAY (collectively, "Defendants") respectfully submit this ex parte application for an order that ASIL GOKCEBAY be permitted to appear by telephone for the hearings scheduled for April 5, 2018, at 2:00 p.m. In support of this request, undersigned counsel represents that (1) counsel for Plaintiff OJMAR U.S. LLC and counsel Forrest Hainline, Esq. of Goodwin Procter do not object to this request; (2) Defendant will be represented at the hearing by counsel appearing in-person from Gordon & Rees; and (3) Mr. Gokcebay is Defendants' person most knowledgeable about the facts related to the motions and seeks to appear for this hearing by telephone because he and all of his staff are in Hong Kong and unable to appear in person.
MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES
I. INTRODUCTION
Goodwin Procter's Motion to Withdraw and Defendants' related Motion to Continue Trial are both set for hearing on April 5, 2018. On April 3, 2018, the Court issued an Order requiring that a client representative for Defendants with knowledge regarding the factual basis for those motions personally attend the hearings. Asil Gokcebay is the person with knowledge of those facts and he is available telephonically but not available to attend in person in Oakland, California, on April 5. Immediately after receipt of the Order requiring a client representation attend, Gordon & Rees contacted Mr. Gokcebay. Mr. Gokcebay is out of the country, in Hong Kong, along with all of his staff, leaving no one with the necessary knowledge who can personally attend the hearing on Thursday as required by the Order. Mr. Gokcebay has advised that he can appear by phone, and Defendants therefore request that the Court issue an order that Mr. Gokcebay be permitted to attend the hearing telephonically.
II. ARGUMENT
Pursuant to Local Rule 7-10 and the Court's inherent authority to issue orders controlling its process, Defendants seek relief from the Order requiring that an employee of Security People/Digilock personally attend the hearings on the pending motion to withdraw and motion to continue as no such person is in the country.
On April 3, 2018, the Honorable Court issued an Order requiring that "[a] client representative of Defendant Digilock with knowledge of the matters described in the pending motion to withdraw (Dkt. No. [177]) and motion to continue trial date (Dkt. No. [179])" appear in person at the hearings of those motions on April 5, 2018, at 2:00 p.m. Dkt. No. 189. Defendants represent that Asil Gokcebay is the client representative with the most knowledge regarding the facts contained in the motions. Declaration of Craig J. Mariam at ¶ 2. Immediately following receipt of the Order, counsel for Defendants communicated with Mr. Gokcebay, who represented that he is in Hong Kong, along with all of his staff, and therefore neither he, nor any other Security People/Digilock employee with knowledge pertinent to the hearing, is available to attend the hearings in person. Id. Mr. Gokcebay represented that he would be available to call in for the hearing at 2:00 p.m. PDT, which will be approximately 5:00 a.m. local time in Hong Kong. Id. at ¶ 3. Counsel for Defendants then immediately communicated these facts to counsel for Plaintiff and co-defense counsel at Goodwin Procter to advise them of the issue and inquired whether they objected to Mr. Gokcebay appearing by phone. Id. at ¶ 4. Both counsel affirmed that they did not object to this request given the foregoing. Id.
As Mr. Gokcebay and all of his staff will be in Hong Kong at the date and time set for hearing on this motion, and as no counsel objects to the request, Defendants ask for relief from the Order requiring that a Security People/Digilock employee attend the hearing in person, and request that Mr. Gokcebay instead be permitted to appear by phone.
Counsel from Gordon & Rees will attend in person, and we understand counsel from Goodwin Procter and counsel for Plaintiff Ojmar will also attend in person. One attorney for Plaintiff Ojmar will be attending via telephone. Dkt. No. 188.
III. CONCLUSION
Based upon the foregoing, Defendants respectfully request that Asil Gokcebay be permitted to appear by telephone for the hearings scheduled for April 5, 2018, at 2:00 p.m. /// /// ///
Respectfully submitted, Dated: April 4, 2018
GORDON REES SCULLY MANSUKHANI, LLP
By: /s/ Craig J . Mariam
CRAIG J. MARIAM
MICHAEL D. KANACH
P. GAVIN EASTGATE (Pro Hac Vice Admitted)
Attorneys for Defendants
SECURITY PEOPLE, INC., and
ASIL GOKCEBAY (a.k.a. BILL GORDON)
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that on this 4th day of April, 2018, the foregoing pleading was electronically filed with the Clerk of the Court using the CM/ECF system, and a true and correct copy of the foregoing pleading was forwarded by electronic CM/ECF notification to the attorneys for the parties at the address listed in the Service List. Dated: April 4, 2018
GORDON REES SCULLY MANSUKHANI, LLP
By: /s/ Craig J . Mariam
CRAIG J. MARIAM
Attorneys for Defendants
SECURITY PEOPLE, INC., and ASIL
GOKCEBAY (a.k.a. BILL GORDON)
ORDER
ORDER FOR DEFENDANT ASIL GOKCEBARY TO APPEAR BY TELEPHONE
Defendants Security People Inc. and Asil Gokcebay's request for Mr. Gokcebay to appear by telephone for the hearing scheduled for April 5, 2018 at 2:00 p.m. is hereby GRANTED. Good cause appearing from the ex parte application of Defendants SECURITY PEOPLE INC. and ASIL GOKCEBAY, it is hereby ORDERED that ASIL GOKCEBAY is permitted to appear by phone at the hearings on the Motion to Withdraw (Dkt. No. 177) and the Motion to Continue Trial Date and Modify Scheduling Order (Dkt. No. 179) on Thursday, April 5, 2018, at 2:00 pm.
Mr. Gokcebay or his counsel shall contact CourtCall at (866) 582-6878 to make arrangements for the telephonic appearance. Dated: April 5, 2018
/s/_________
Hon. Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr.
United States District Court Judge