Johnson v. Smith et al, No. 2:2017cv00156 - Document 86 (D. Nev. 2020)
Court Description: ORDER granting 85 Motion to Extend Time; Re: 84 Motion for Sanctions. Responses due by 12/29/2020. Signed by Magistrate Judge Daniel J. Albregts on 12/18/2020. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - JM)
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Johnson v. Smith et al Doc. 86 Case 2:17-cv-00156-GMN-DJA Document 86 85 Filed 12/18/20 12/17/20 Page 1 of 9 5 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 AARON D. FORD Attorney General KATLYN M. BRADY (Bar No. 14173) Senior Deputy Attorney General State of Nevada Office of the Attorney General 555 E. Washington Ave., Ste. 3900 Las Vegas, Nevada 89101 (702) 486-0661 (phone) (702) 486-3773 (fax) Email: katlynbrady@ag.nv.gov Attorneys for Defendants James Cox, James Dzurenda, Rashonda Smith, Jo Gentry, and Brian Williams 9 10 11 12 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 13 DISTRICT OF NEVADA 14 LAUSTEVEION JOHNSON, 15 Plaintiff, 16 v. 17 RASHONDA SMITH, et al., 18 Case No. 2:17-cv-00156-GMN-DJA DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR AN EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE AN OPPOSITION TO PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SANCTIONS (ECF NO. 84) (FIRST REQUEST) Defendants. 19 20 Defendants James Cox, James Dzurenda, Rashonda Smith, Jo Gentry, and Brian 21 Williams, by and through counsel, Aaron D. Ford, Nevada Attorney General, and Katlyn M. 22 Brady, Senior Deputy Attorney General, request this Court grant Defendants a short 23 extension to file an opposition to Plaintiff’s motion for sanctions. ECF No. 84. MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES 24 25 I. INTRODUCTION 26 Defendants respectfully request this Court grant a 12-day extension of time to 27 oppose Plaintiff’s motion for sanctions. Despite diligently working on this matter, 28 Defendants have been unable to complete the opposition. Specifically, counsel has been 30 Page 1 of 5 Dockets.Justia.com Case 2:17-cv-00156-GMN-DJA Document 86 85 Filed 12/18/20 12/17/20 Page 2 of 9 5 1 required to complete a dispositive motion in another matter and only recently received an 2 order requiring the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) to enter a special appearance in 3 another matter to oppose a preliminary injunction on an emergency basis. As a result, 4 counsel has been unable to complete the opposition. Accordingly, Defendants respectfully 5 request 6 December 29, 2020, as this will ensure that the opposition is completed in light of the 7 upcoming holiday. 8 II. this Court extend the deadline to respond from December 17, 2020, to BACKGROUND AND RELEVANT PROCEDURAL HISTORY 9 On November 25, 2020, this Court entered an order granting Defendants’ motion for 10 summary judgment in part and granting Plaintiff’s partial motion for summary judgment 11 in part. ECF No. 82. This order disposed of all claims in this matter. See generally id. 12 Thus, the only pending motions in this matter are the parties’ cross motions for 13 sanctions. ECF Nos 63 and 68. The motions for sanctions address Plaintiff’s actions 14 regarding payment of the filing fees, and statements made regarding whether NDOC stole 15 money from Plaintiff or whether Plaintiff made a false statement. See id. 16 On December 3, 2020, Plaintiff filed a second motion for sanctions against defense 17 counsel, generally complaining about actions taken in other cases. ECF No. 84. After 18 receiving this motion, counsel was prevented from beginning an initial draft as the OAG’s 19 computer programs and electronic storage system were undergoing an update, rending 20 them unavailable for approximately two days, with accompanying nightly shutdowns. 21 Declaration of Counsel attached as Exhibit A. 22 Once access was restored, counsel began the initial draft of the opposition. Id. 23 However, counsel has been unable to complete this draft for several reasons. Specifically, 24 counsel was recently appointed to a senior attorney position and has assumed a supervisory 25 role that requires significant time and attention. Id. This has included supervising other 26 attorneys and revising the OAG’s training program. Id. Further, the OAG’s office is part of 27 Governor Sisolak’s Stay at Home Nevada 2.0 which has caused counsel to transition into 28 working from home the majority of the time. 30 Page 2 of 5 Case 2:17-cv-00156-GMN-DJA Document 86 85 Filed 12/18/20 12/17/20 Page 3 of 9 5 1 2 Further, counsel has been required to complete a dispositive motion in an unrelated matter, which has required significant time and attention. Id. 3 Finally, on December 14, 2020, at approximately 8:34 p.m., the OAG received an 4 order from the USDC requiring the OAG to make a special appearance and respond to a 5 motion for a preliminary injunction. Id. The Court ordered the OAG to respond by 6 December 18, 2020, and set a hearing on the matter for December 22, 2020. Id. This has 7 essentially required the Public Safety Division to build a complete case file within 24 hours 8 and create the accompanying declarations and authentication records. 9 This response has required significant time and attention from not only counsel, but 10 several of the attorneys in the Public Safety Division. Id. Counsel has been required to 11 assist with obtaining the necessary documentation, reviewing and contributing to the 12 written opposition, and preparing the accompanying declarations. Id. Thus, counsel does 13 not anticipate being able to complete the initial draft before today’s deadline. 14 III. 15 16 LEGAL STANDARD Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 6(b)(1)1 governs extensions of time and provides as follows: 17 When an act may or must be done within a specified time, the court may, for good cause, extend the time: (A) with or without motion or notice if the court acts, or if a request is made, before the original time or its extension expires; or (B) on motion made after the time has expired if the party failed to act because of excusable neglect. 18 19 20 21 IV. LEGAL ARGUMENT 22 Defendants respectfully request a twelve-day extension of time to respond to 23 Plaintiff’s motion for sanctions from December 17, 2020, until December 29, 2020. As all 24 the claims in this matter have been disposed of, there will be no prejudice in granting this 25 extension. 26 /// 27 1 28 As this is not a deadline set in a scheduling order, Defendants do not address Local Rule 26-1. 30 Page 3 of 5 Case 2:17-cv-00156-GMN-DJA Document 86 85 Filed 12/18/20 12/17/20 Page 4 of 9 5 1 Further, good cause exists to support the extension based on counsel’s new 2 supervisory tasks, current caseload, and the unexpected addition of an emergency 3 opposition to a preliminary injunction motion. Counsel requests an extension to 4 December 29, 2020, because it ensures there is no disruption from the upcoming holiday, 5 and counsel has confirmed she has no other deadlines or meeting that day. Thus, counsel 6 is confident that she will complete the motion on or before the 29th. 7 V. CONCLUSION 8 This Court should extend the responsive deadline from December 17, 2020, to 9 December 29, 2020. Counsel had expected to complete the response this week, but was 10 11 prevented from doing so by the emergency opposition ordered on Monday. DATED this 17th day of December, 2020. 12 AARON D. FORD Attorney General 13 By: /s/ Katlyn M. Brady KATLYN M. BRADY (Bar No. 14173) Senior Deputy Attorney General 14 15 Attorneys for Defendants 16 17 18 For good cause appearing therein, IT IS SO ORDERED. 19 DATED: December 18, 2020 20 21 22 23 __________________________________ DANIEL J. ALBREGTS UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 24 25 26 27 28 30 Page 4 of 5 Case 2:17-cv-00156-GMN-DJA Document 86 85 Filed 12/18/20 12/17/20 Page 5 of 9 5 1 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 2 I certify that I am an employee of the State of Nevada, Office of the Attorney General, 3 and that on December 17, 2020, I electronically filed the foregoing DEFENDANTS’ 4 MOTION FOR AN EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE AN OPPOSITION TO 5 PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SANCTIONS (ECF NO. 84) (FIRST REQUEST) via this 6 Court’s electronic filing system. Parties who are registered with this Court’s electronic 7 filing system will be served electronically. For those parties not registered, service was 8 made by emailing a copy at Las Vegas, Nevada, addressed to the following: 9 10 11 12 Lausteveion Johnson, #82138 Southern Desert Correctional Center P.O. Box 208 Indian Springs, Nevada 89070 Email: sdcclawlibrary@doc.nv.gov Plaintiff, Pro Se 13 14 15 /s/ Carol A. Knight CAROL A. KNIGHT, an employee of the Office of the Nevada Attorney General 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 30 Page 5 of 5 Case Case2:17-cv-00156-GMN-DJA 2:17-cv-00156-GMN-DJA Document Document85-1 86 Filed Filed12/18/20 12/17/20 Page Page61ofof94 EXHIBIT A Declaration of Counsel EXHIBIT A Case Case2:17-cv-00156-GMN-DJA 2:17-cv-00156-GMN-DJA Document Document85-1 86 Filed Filed12/18/20 12/17/20 Page Page72ofof94 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 AARON D. FORD Attorney General KATLYN M. BRADY (Bar No. 14173) Senior Deputy Attorney General State of Nevada Office of the Attorney General 555 E. Washington Ave., Ste. 3900 Las Vegas, Nevada 89101 (702) 486-0661 (phone) (702) 486-3773 (fax) Email: katlynbrady@ag.nv.gov Attorneys for Defendants James Cox, James Dzurenda, Rashonda Smith, Jo Gentry, and Brian Williams 9 10 11 12 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 13 DISTRICT OF NEVADA 14 LAUSTEVEION JOHNSON, 15 Plaintiff, 16 v. 17 RASHONDA SMITH, et al., DECLARATION OF COUNSEL 18 Defendants. I, Katlyn M. Brady, hereby attest that the following statements to the best of my 19 20 knowledge are true and correct. 1. 21 22 Case No. 2:17-cv-00156-GMN-DJA I am employed as a Senior Deputy Attorney General in the Office of the Nevada Attorney General (OAG). I am employed in the Public Safety Division. 2. 23 I represent the Defendants in the matter of Johnson v. Smith, case no. 2:17- 24 cv-00156-GMN-DJA. I additionally represent other Defendants in several matters 25 involving Plaintiff. 3. 26 Plaintiff filed the motion for sanctions on December 3, 2020; however, on that 27 date the OAG’s computer systems were undergoing significant upgrades and I was unable 28 /// 30 Page 1 of 3 Case Case2:17-cv-00156-GMN-DJA 2:17-cv-00156-GMN-DJA Document Document85-1 86 Filed Filed12/18/20 12/17/20 Page Page83ofof94 1 to review or begin a response. Issues relating to the upgrade carried over to December 4, 2 2020, interrupting counsel’s ability to access files and drafts. 3 4. I began a draft opposition in this matter, but was unable to complete it after 4 being assigned a motion to dismiss in another matter. This motion has taken up a 5 significant amount of time, despite working on it for several days.1 6 5. Further, I was recently promoted to the Senior Deputy Attorney General 7 position. As part of this position, I have assumed numerous supervisory assignments, 8 including revamping the training program for new attorneys in the Public Safety Division. 9 This has taken significantly more time than I had expected as I continue to learn my new 10 role. 11 12 6. Despite working overtime, and on weekends, I was unable to complete the draft response to Plaintiff’s motion for sanctions. 13 7. I had anticipated completing the draft early this week, but unexpectedly 14 received an order requiring the OAG to respond to an emergency motion by Friday, 15 November 18th.2 I have been required to communicate with the impacted institution, assist 16 in obtaining information for the opposition, and contributing to the drafting of the 17 opposition and the necessary declarations. 18 19 8. Working on the emergency opposition has prevented me from completing my final draft in this matter. 20 9. I have reviewed my calendar, including all upcoming deadlines, and confirmed 21 that there are no deadlines on December 29, 2020. Thus, I am confident I will complete the 22 response on or prior to December 29, 2020. 23 10. I certify that I bring this motion in good faith and not for any improper 24 purpose or unnecessary delay. 25 /// 26 /// 27 1 28 30 2 Case number 2:20-cv-01401-GMN-NJK. Case number 2:20-cv-01768-RFB-EJY Page 2 of 3 Case Case2:17-cv-00156-GMN-DJA 2:17-cv-00156-GMN-DJA Document Document85-1 86 Filed Filed12/18/20 12/17/20 Page Page94ofof94 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Pursuant to Title 28, United States Code, Section 1746, I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief. Executed this 17th day of December, 2020. AARON D. FORD Attorney General By: /s/ Katlyn M. Brady KATLYN M. BRADY (Bar No. 14173) Senior Deputy Attorney General Attorneys for Defendants 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 30 Page 3 of 3
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