Opinion
Civil Action No. 08-cv-00433-CMA-KMT.
March 9, 2010
ORDER
This matter is before the court on "Defendants' Motion to Compel and Request for Expenses and Fees" ("Motion") [Doc. No. 80].
On February 25, the court conducted a hearing on the issues presented by this Motion. The plaintiff was represented by counsel, Leonard A. Martinez, although Mr. Martinez had filed a Motion to Withdraw as counsel for the plaintiff. [Doc. No. 87.] This court granted the defendants' Motion to Compel and the plaintiff was allowed until March 7, 2010 to fully respond to the outstanding discovery requests previously forwarded by Defendants. [Minutes, Doc. No. 88]. A ruling on the request for an award of costs and fees was held in abeyance.
On March 5, 2010, the plaintiff through his counsel filed "Plaintiff's Response to Show Cause Order" ("Resp.") [Doc. No. 92] stating that the plaintiff had been in contact with his attorney and that plaintiff intended to respond to the outstanding interrogatories. Further, Plaintiff represented that since his incarceration at Bent County Correctional Facility he had experienced difficulties with mail delivery. ( Id. ¶ 4.) Although not captioned or docketed as a motion, plaintiff's counsel stated, "Plaintiff is requesting additional time to respond to interrogatories and production of documents." ( Id. ¶ 6.) Although counsel professed a belief that the plaintiff would be compliant with his discovery obligations, counsel did not withdraw his pending request to withdraw as counsel for plaintiff and, on March 8, 2010, the District Court granted the Motion. [Doc. No. 94.] Plaintiff now appears before the court pro se.
The court finds pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 37(a)(5) that although the Motion was granted to compel discovery, given the problems the plaintiff has had with his mail, his counsel's inability to establish contact with the plaintiff after his incarceration and plaintiff's recent requirement to proceed pro se in the case, "circumstances make an award of expenses unjust."
Therefore, it is
ORDERED:
1. "Defendants' Motion to Compel and Request for Expenses and Fees" is DENIED as to the request for expenses and fees. This motion is now fully resolved.
It is further ORDERED
2. The Clerk is directed to correct the docket to reflect that "Plaintiff's Response to Show Cause Order" [Doc. No. 92] is a pending Motion for Extension of Time. The defendants shall respond to this request for extension of time on or before March 26, 2010.
3. Plaintiff shall respond to the Defendants' "Motion to Dismiss as Sanction for Failure to Prosecute Pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 41(b)" [Doc. No. 95] on or before March 29, 2010.
Effective April 14, 2009
Dear Pro Se Litigant:The purpose of this letter is to make you aware of some of the rules and practices followed in this Court, so that you are better prepared to represent yourself in your pending litigation.th any must very th
1. If your mailing address changes while your case is pending, you must provide the Clerk's office with your new address. Send it to: Clerk of the United States District Court, 901 19 St., Denver, CO 80294. 2. You must appear in person in Courtroom C-201, Byron G. Rogers United States Courthouse, 1929 Stout Street, Denver, CO 80294, for all conferences and hearings in your case. If you want to participate by telephone, you must file a written motion explaining why you want that permission at least one week before the Court conference or hearing. 3. The Judge is not allowed to talk to you about your case without all of the other attorneys and parties present, except during a settlement conference. Settlement conferences are confirmed by a written order from the Judge scheduling a particular date and time for the conference. If you are not in Court for a settlement conference, the Judge cannot talk to you without all other lawyers and/or parties being present. 4. The Judge is not allowed to take your telephone calls and will not make any decisions about your case on the basis of what you ask for over the phone. 5. If you want the Judge to do something in your case, you must file a motion asking the Judge to do it and explaining why you want it done. The Judge does not respond to letters or any other form of request except motions. 6. Before you file motion, you call the attorneys for the other parties and ask them whether they agree or disagree with what you want to ask the Judge to do. Once you have talked to the lawyers for the other parties, you must tell the Judge in writing whether they agree or disagree with what you want to do, at the beginning of your written motion. Failure to do this will result in your motion being denied. 7. When another party or an attorney files a motion, you have twenty (20) days to file a written response to it. If you don't file your response within twenty (20) days, the Judge will decide the motion without the benefit of your point of view. 8. If you use abusive, offensive, obscene or inappropriate language in any document you file with the Court, the Judge may strike your document and refuse to consider it. 9. If you need additional time to complete something for which the Judge has set a deadline, you must file a motion before the deadline expires asking for a specific amount of additional time and explaining why you need it. 10. Unless your case or your personal circumstances are unusual, the Judge cannot appoint an attorney to represent you in your case. If you want to ask the Judge to appoint an attorney for you, you must file a motion and explain your unusual circumstances. 11. The Judge and her law clerks are not allowed to give you legal advice. 12. There are two sets of formal rules that apply to cases in this Court: (1) the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and (2) the Local Rules for the United States District Court for the District of Colorado. Copies of both are available in the Clerk's office on the first floor of the Alfred A. Arraj United States Courthouse, 901 19 St., Denver, CO 80294. 13. Even though you don't have a lawyer representing you in your case, you are required to follow the Rules identified in paragraph 12 above. Failure to follow the rules and/or failure to follow Court orders may result in the Judge ordering you to pay money to the other parties or dismissing your case. 14. Even though you don't have a lawyer representing you, you are required to participate in the ordinary events associated with being a party to a lawsuit, like discovery, court hearings, settlement conferences and trial. If you fail to do so, the Judge may impose monetary and non-monetary sanctions on you, up to and including either dismissal of your case (if you are the plaintiff) or entry of judgment against you (if you are the defendant). If you have questions about these rules and practices, please ask them at the Scheduling Conference. Thank you.