Free Motion for Extension of Time to File Response/Reply - District Court of Colorado - Colorado

Case 1:04-cv-01873-REB-OES

Document 70

Filed 10/18/2005

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO Civil Action No. 04-cv-1873-REB-OES LEONARD A. TRUJILLO, Plaintiff, v. GARY M. HISE, UNKNOWN JOHN DOE SUPERVISORS I-IV of the Denver Police Department; UNKNOWN JOHN DOE TRAINING PERSONNEL I-IV of the Denver Police Department; GERALD WHITMAN, Chief of Police of the City and County of Denver, Colorado; and the CITY AND COUNTY OF DENVER, COLORADO, Defendants. _____________________________________________________________________ MOTION FOR BRIEF EXTENSION OF TIME AND TO EXCEED PAGE LIMIT FOR PLAINTIFF'S RESPONSE TO DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT _____________________________________________________________________ The plaintiff, through his attorney, Lonn M. Heymann of the Walter L. Gerash Law Firm, P.C., hereby requests, in substantial compliance with D.C.COLO.LCiv.R 6.1 and 7.1, and with this Court's Order Granting Joint Motion to Set Briefing Schedule, that this Honorable Court grant a brief extension of time for Plaintiff's counsel to respond to Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment and, with respect to REB Civ. Practice Standard I.3.a., that this Court permit Plaintiff to exceed the Court's twenty (20) page limit for summary judgment responses: As grounds for this motion, Plaintiff states: 1. Given the late hour, and the immediate need for this motion, Plaintiff's

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counsel has not conferred with the defense in accordance with D.C.COLO.LCivR 7.1. However, Plaintiff's counsel had earlier conferred with Defense counsel regarding an extension of time to file Plaintiff's response brief, and Defense counsel indicated that such a motion was opposed. 2. This Court issued the Order Granting Joint Motion To Set Briefing

Schedule on September 16, 2005. Among other things, the Order set a briefing schedule for summary judgment in this case. Accordingly, after Defendants filed their Motion For Summary Judgment and accompanying brief, Plaintiff's deadline to file his response was October 17, 2005. 3. Due to the complexity of the issues in dispute, difficulties marshaling

supporting affidavits, and some ongoing technical impediments with office equipment, Plaintiff's counsel filed Plaintiff's Brief In Opposition to Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment at 12:03 AM MDT on October 18, 2005. The brief was somewhat incomplete and unedited. The twenty-five (25) page brief also exceeded the page limitation. Plaintiff's counsel then filed a supplement at 12:33 AM MDT, including deposition excerpts and affidavits attached to the response brief. 4. In part, Plaintiff's counsel was unable to properly brief the response in

time because extensive time and resources were spent obtaining affidavits. Plaintiff had found significant, unexpected obstructions to getting affidavits in this case. Plaintiff's counsel consulted within the past week with Defense counsel on the possibility of filing a F.R.C.P. 56(f) motion, but eventually determined that a motion for additional discovery was unnecessary. Nonetheless, Plaintiff's counsel's ability to brief

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the response was significantly impeded until at least one essential affidavit was obtained. 5. Plaintiff's counsel requests the following relief in the alternative: a. Plaintiff requests that this Court grant a two-day extension of time,

to and including Thursday, October 20, 2005, for Plaintiff's counsel to properly brief the response in accordance with REB Civ. Practice Standard I.3.a., which defines a twentypage limit for summary judgment responses, and REB Civ. Practice Standard I.3.b., which defines the proper form for response, or b. Plaintiff requests that this Court grant a thirty-five (35) minute

extension of time for Plaintiff to file his brief in response to Defendants' Motion For Summary Judgment, and permit Plaintiff's response to exceed the page limitation by five (5) pages. 6. On September 16, 2005, Defendants, unopposed by Plaintiff, filed a

motion seeking to exceed the page limit for their motion for summary judgment. The Court initially denied this request by Minute Order on September 16, 2005. Upon filing Defendants' Motion For Summary Judgment on September 20, 2005, Defendants filed a motion to reconsider. That motion was granted by Minute Order on September 21, 2005. With all accompanying documents, Defendants' motion for summary judgment consisted of twenty-nine (29) pages 7. With respect to the motion for summary judgment, one extension was

sought jointly by the parties. 8. Fairness and equity, and lack of prejudice to Defendants, provide a basis

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for this Court to exercise its discretion and permit all or some of the requested relief. 10. In accordance with D.C.COLO.LCivR 6.1D, the undersigned certifies that

a copy of this motion has been served on Plaintiff, Leonard Trujillo. Wherefore, for the foregoing reasons, Plaintiff respectfully requests that the Court: (a) grant a two-day extension of time, to and including Thursday, October 20, 2005, for Plaintiff's counsel to properly brief the response in accordance with REB Civ. Practice Standard I.3.a. and b., or (b) grant a thirty-five (35) minute extension of time for Plaintiff to file his brief in response to Defendants' Motion For Summary Judgment, and permit Plaintiff's response to exceed the page limitation by five (5) pages, or © grant such other or further relief as this Court deems appropriate. Respectfully submitted this 18TH day of September, 2005. s/ Lonn M. Heymann Lonn M. Heymann WALTER L. GERASH LAW FIRM, P.C 1439 Court Place, Denver CO 80202 PH: 303-825-5400; FAX: 303-623-2101 E-Mail: [email protected] Attorney for Plaintiff s/ Luis A. Corchado Luis A. Corchado Christopher M.A. Lujan Denver City Attorney's Office Litigation Section 201 West Colfax Ave., Dept. No. 1108 Denver, CO 80202-5332 Telephone: (720) 913-3100 Facsimile: (720) 913-3182 E-Mail: [email protected] Attorneys for Defendants

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on September 18, 2005, I presented the foregoing MOTION FOR BRIEF EXTENSION OF TIME AND TO EXCEED PAGE LIMIT FOR PLAINTIFF'S RESPONSE TO DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT to the Clerk of the Court for filing and uploading to the CM/ECF system which will send notification of such filing to the following e-mail addresses: Luis A. Corchado, Esq. Christopher M.A. Lujan Assistant City Attorney Civil Litigation Division 201 West Colfax Ave., Dept. 1108 Denver, Colorado 80202-5332 Attorneys for Defendants David J. Bruno, Esq. Bruno Bruno & Colin, PC 1560 Broadway, Ste 1099 Denver, Colorado 80202 Co-counsel for Defendant Hise The parties to this action, listed below, have been served by their respective counsel, via U.S. mail and/or hand delivery: Leonard Trujillo

s/ Lonn M. Heymann

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