Opinion
2:21-cv-01490-APG-BNW
11-17-2022
TOMMY LAQUADE STEWART, Petitioner, v. CALVIN JOHNSON, et al., Respondents.
ORDER GRANTING, IN PART, MOTION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME (ECF NO. 37)
ANDREW P. GORDON, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
In this habeas corpus action, Respondents filed a motion to dismiss on August 19, 2022. ECF No. 33. The petitioner, Tommy Laquade Stewart, represented by appointed counsel, filed an opposition to the motion to dismiss on October 18, 2022. ECF No. 36. Respondents then had 30 days, until November 17, 2022, to file a reply to Stewart's opposition to their motion to dismiss. See ECF No. 9.
On November 16, 2022, Respondents filed a motion for extension of time (ECF No. 37), requesting a 60-day extension of the time. Respondents' counsel states that the extension of time is necessary because of her obligations in other cases and because she “will be on vacation the week of November 21, 2022 and possibly the first week of January 2023.” ECF No. 37 at 2. Respondents' counsel states that Stewart does not oppose the motion for extension of time. Id.
I find that Respondents' motion for extension of time is made in good faith and not solely for the purpose of delay, and I find that there is good cause for an extension of time. I also find, though, that this request is excessive. The motion to dismiss does not appear to be especially complex. The scheduling order gave Respondents 30 days to file their reply in support of that motion, and that appears to have been reasonable. I cannot countenance Respondents' request for another 60 days for this filing, based generally on counsel's caseload and counsel's one or two weeks of vacation over the next two months. I will grant a shorter extension of time-50 days, instead of the 60 days requested-and I will not be inclined to further extend this deadline absent extraordinary circumstances.
I THEREFORE ORDER that Respondents' Motion for Enlargement of Time (ECF No. 37) is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART. Respondents will have until and including January 6, 2023, to file a reply to Petitioner's opposition to their motion to dismiss.