Opinion
Case No. 2:09-cv-1089 JFM.
January 31, 2011
ORDER
This court has reviewed an email sent from defendant Scott Johannessen to the courtroom deputy dated January 28, 2011 asking the courtroom deputy for advice on how to proceed concerning difficulties Mr. Johannessen is having regarding the jury trial scheduled for Monday, January 31, 2011. Mr. Johannessen is a licensed attorney and member of the bar of this court. As such, he should understand that this is not a proper question to put to court staff and, additionally, that this ex parte communication is not a proper vehicle for seeking court action.
Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that a printed copy of the email be filed as a part of the record of this case and the email shall be otherwise disregarded.
DATED: January 28, 2011
History: This message has been forwarded.
Good morning, Jonathan.
My wife, Lorrie, and I are faced with a series of events that make it impossible for us to travel to California next week to attend the trial in the above-referenced matter.
This week I had to go see two doctors here in Nashville, one a doctor of dental surgery and the other an endodontist, to check up on a serious infection that had developed in the lower bone structure of my mouth. As a follow-up to my examination I will be in surgery under a general anesthetic next Tuesday, February 1, and have been instructed to not eat or drink for a period of time before the surgery. I also cannot travel. Even if I was not required to be in surgery next week we simply cannot afford the cost of traveling to California, we cannot afford the cost of an attorney to try the case for us (until now I have been able to manage the pretrial portion of the case), we have no one to care for three of our children (ages 13, 6 and 1) in our absence and, in any event, given my infection, traveling for me in a pressurized plane would be extremely painful.
Directly related to our financial woes, a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition will be filed this weekend as a consequence of the enormous financial pressures bearing down upon us. The attorney representing the plaintiff and the counter-defendants in this case, Doug MacDonald, has been aware of our situation for quite some time now. To put things in perspective, we cannot even afford the airfare required to attend a trial that is necessary to recover the approximately $200,000 owed to us by the plaintiff and its owners.
I am writing to the Court to seek some direction as to what Judge Moulds requires given our situation. This weekend I will be filing with the Court a notice of the bankruptcy automatic stay that will be in place once the Chapter 7 petition is filed. I understand the case will be stayed pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 362(a). As to our private financial and medical affairs set forth above, however, I do not feel comfortable placing them on the Court's public docket, but I am more than willing to provide an affidavit from either or both of us or any other evidence corroborating our reasons for not being able to attend the trial.
Again, the notice of the bankruptcy automatic stay will be filed with the Court this weekend. Please let me know what more the Court requires, if anything, so that our absence next week is fully explained to the Court's satisfaction.
Thank you, and please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any questions.
Respectfully yours,
Scott Johannessen
Law Offices of Scott D. Johannessen