Free Motion for Extension of Time - District Court of Connecticut - Connecticut

Case 3:02-cv-00718-RNC

Document 223

Filed 04/03/2006

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT ========================================X LAURA GUIGLIANO, as Guardian Ad Litem for MICHAEL GUIGLIANO, a Person Adjudged to be Incompetent, and LAURA GUIGLIANO, Individually, Plaintiffs, ­against ­ DANBURY HOSPITAL, et al. Defendants. ========================================X 3:02 CV 718 (RNC) (DFM)

PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR EXTENSION OF DEADLINES IN SCHEDULING ORDER 1
Dated: March 29, 2006

Plaintiff's counsel respectfully requests that this Court issue an Order, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 6 (b) and L. Civ. R. 7 (b), for an extension of certain deadlines in the Amended Superseding Scheduling Order Regarding Case Management Plan of Magistrate Judge Martinez, dated June 8, 2005, (see, Exhibit "A", 6/08/05 Scheduling Order [Case Docket History, Document # 157]) on the grounds that such deadlines cannot be met despite the due diligence of counsel for all parties in this action. Counsel for defendants DANBURY HOSPITAL, BORRUSSO and CATANIA and counsel for third party defendant / apportionment defendant KESSLER consent to and join in the request for relief made by this motion. This is the first motion for extension of the
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ORAL ARGUMENT [ IS ___ / IS NOT X ] REQUESTED FOR THIS MOTION.

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Scheduling Order's deadlines.

This action was initially filed in 2002. It was stayed in July 2003 for a lengthy period due to the death of plaintiff MICHAEL GUIGLIANO. Subsequent to the death of MICHAEL GUIGLIANO, LAURA GUIGLIANO was substituted as a party plaintiff in her capacity as administrator of her late husband's estate. Amended pleadings setting forth a wrongful death claim were then served and filed. The assignment of this case was also transferred among several judges in the District of Connecticut one of whom recused himself due to a potential conflict of interest. Thereafter, discovery commenced in the form of voluminous document disclosure and the depositions of multiple fact witnesses during the period June 2004 ­ September 2005. Judge Martinez issued her Amended Superseding Scheduling Order Regarding Case Management Plan on June 8, 2005, after a conference with counsel in her Chambers.

The parties have complied with the provisions of Judge Martinez's Scheduling Order, dated June 8, 2005, in terms of the deadlines for: (1) completing fact discovery and the depositions of fact witnesses, (2) the depositions of plaintiff's expert witnesses and (3) the service of defendants' expert disclosure. The reports and expert witness information with regard to defendants' expert witnesses were served on or about the December 30, 2005, deadline in the Scheduling Order 2 . Thereafter, plaintiff's counsel served multiple Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(4)(A) Notices to Take Deposition, dated January 18, 2006, on the date of January 18, 2006, (see, Exhibit "B", Plaintiff's Fed. R. Civ. P.

Some of the reports and expert witness information with regard to defendants' expert witnesses were served in early January 2006 on consent of the movant due to the Christmas and New Year's holidays.

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26(b)(4)(A) Notices to Take Deposition, dated January 18, 2006) scheduling the depositions of the defendants' expert witnesses for dates in February 2006 prior to the deadline imposed by the aforementioned Scheduling Order. Due to unforeseen schedule and calendar conflicts among the expert witnesses, none of these expert depositions proceeded on the dates for which they were noticed by plaintiff's counsel.

Due diligence has been and is continuing to be exercised by counsel for all parties in scheduling the depositions of defendants' expert witnesses. All counsel have been in near daily contact via e-mail messages and telephone calls in an attempt to schedule these depositions. In the last month, counsel for the parties have proceeded to conduct three expert depositions with one requiring a continued deposition due to the physician having to adjourn in mid-testimony due to the necessity of attending to a medical matter of an urgent nature. At present, depositions of expert witnesses are scheduled for March 30 in New York, April 7 in Hartford, and May 5 in Boston. Attempts are ongoing among counsel to schedule three more expert depositions and dates have been proposed for late April and May. Third party defendant / apportionment defendant KESSLER's counsel has filed a motion with this Court seeking, in part, permission to serve expert disclosure by April 14, 2006. (See, third party defendant / apportionment defendant KESSLER's Motion for Extension of Time, dated March 1, 2006 & filed March 6, 2006 [Case Docket History, Document # 220].) Counsel in this case will similarly need to take the

deposition of the expert witness for defendant KESSLER.

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Despite the due diligence of counsel for all parties in this action, the following deadlines in the June 8, 2005, Scheduling Order, cannot be met in time: (1) the February 28, 2006, deadline for depositions of defendants' expert witnesses and the deposition of the third party defendant / apportionment defendant's expert witness; (2) the April 17, 2006, deadline for submission of the joint trial memorandum; and (3) the May 2006 deadline in the Scheduling Order for submission of this action to the trial ready list. Under the circumstances, plaintiff's counsel (in conjunction with defendants' counsel) respectfully requests this Court, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 6 (b) and L. Civ. R. 7 (b), to extend the aforementioned deadlines (1) to May 31, 2006, for completion of expert witness depositions; (2) to July 17, 2006, for submission of the joint trial memorandum; and (3) to a date deemed appropriate by the Court for submission of the action to the trial ready list.

Dated: Larchmont, New York March 30, 2006

Yours, etc.,

Joseph Lanni _____________________________________
JOSEPH LANNI (CT 23566) The Law Firm Of JOSEPH LANNI, P.C. Attorneys for Plaintiff LAURA GUIGLIANO 138 Chatsworth Avenue, Suites 6 ­ 8 Larchmont, New York 10538 (914) 834-6600 Fax: (914) 834-0152

Digitally signed by Joseph Lanni DN: cn=Joseph Lanni, c=US, [email protected] Date: 2006.03.30 19:16:13 -05'00'

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TO: NEUBERT, PEPE & MONTIETH, P.C. Attorneys for Defendants DANBURY HOSPITAL, 195 Church Street New Haven, CT 06510 RYAN, RYAN, JOHNSON & DELUCA, LLP Attorneys for Defendant BORRUSO & DANBURY SURG. ASSOC. 80 Fourth Street Stamford, CT 06905 HALLORAN & SAGE, L.L.P. Attorneys For Defendant CATANIA One Goodwin Square 225 Asylum Street Hartford, CT 06103 SCOTT F. MORGAN, ESQ. WEINER, MILLO & MORGAN, LLC Co-Counsel for Plaintiff LAURA GUIGLIANO 220 Fifth Avenue, 7th Floor New York, New York 10001 RENDE, RYAN & DOWNES, LLP Attorneys for Apportionment Defendant / Third Party Defendant FRANK KESSLER, M.D. 202 Mamaroneck Avenue White Plains, New York 10601

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DECLARATION OF SERVICE PURSUANT TO 28 U.S.C. § 1746 I, JOSEPH LANNI, an attorney duly admitted to practice before this Court, hereby certify, under the penalty of perjury, that the following is true and correct: I am over 18 years of age, I am not a party to the action, and I reside in Westchester County in the State of New York. I served a true copy of the annexed: PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR EXTENSION OF DEADLINES IN SCHEDULING ORDER with Exhibits "A" & "B", dated March 30, 2006; on the date of March 30, 2006, by mailing the same via first class mail or the equivalent in a sealed envelope deposited in a post office or receptacle for mail provided by the U.S. Postal Service or via an express delivery courier service to the offices of counsel for the defendants located at the address indicated below: TO: NEUBERT, PEPE & MONTEITH Attorneys for Defendants DANBURY HOSPITAL 195 Church Street New Haven, CT 23067 Tel.: (203) 821-2000 RYAN, RYAN, JOHNSON & DELUCA, LLP Attorneys for Defendants BORRUSSO & DANBURY SURG. ASSOC., P.C. 80 Fourth Street Stamford, CT 06905 Tel.: (203) 357-9200 HALLORAN & SAGE, LLP Attorneys for Defendants CATANIA One Goodwin Square Hartford, CT 06103 Tel.: (860) 522-6103

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TO (cont'd):

SCOTT F. MORGAN (CT 23648) WEINER, MILLO & MORGAN, LLP Co-Counsel for Plaintiffs 220 Fifth Avenue New York, New York 10001 Tel.: (212) 213-1220 RENDE, RYAN & DOWNES, LLP Attorneys for Apportionment Defendant / Third Party Defendant FRANK KESSLER, M.D. 202 Mamaroneck Avenue White Plains, New York 10601

Executed on March 30, 2006, in Larchmont, New York.

Joseph Lanni ______________________________
JOSEPH LANNI (CT 23566)

Digitally signed by Joseph Lanni DN: cn=Joseph Lanni, c=US, [email protected] Date: 2006.03.30 19:17:51 -05'00'

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