Callaway v. DenOne, LLC et al, No. 1:2018cv01981 - Document 42 (N.D. Ohio 2019)

Court Description: Opinion & Order signed by Judge James S. Gwin on 1/18/19. The Court, for the reasons set forth in this order, grants defendants' motion for sanctions. The Court orders plaintiff's counsel to pay $1,548.53 in costs and $1,360.00 in attorneys fees. (Related Doc. 22 ) (D,MA)

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Callaway v. DenOne, LLC et al Doc. 42 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO -----------------------------------------------------------------: BARBARA CALLAWAY, : : : Plaintiff, : : vs. : : DENONE LLC, et al, : : Defendants. : : ------------------------------------------------------------------ CASE NO. 1:18-cv-1981 OPINION & ORDER [Resolving Doc. 22] JAMES S. GWIN, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE: In this labor law action, Plaintiff failed to appear for a Case Management Conference. Defendants now move for sanctions under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(f).1 For the following reasons, the Court GRANTS Defendants’ mot“on. The Court ORDERS Pla“nt“ff’s counsel to pay $1,548.53 in costs and $1,360.00 “n attorney’s fees. I. Background The Case Management Conference for this action was scheduled to take place on November 30, 2018 at 8:00 a.m.2 Defendant Er“ck Mart“nez and Defendants’ counsel arrived at court on t“me. Pla“nt“ff and Pla“nt“ff’s counsel fa“led to appear, and the Court’s attempts to contact them were unsuccessful. After waiting until 8:30 a.m., the Court conducted the conference without Plaintiff or Plaintiff’s counsel. 1 2 Doc. 22. Plaintiff opposes. Doc. 26. Defendants reply. Doc. 29. See 10/31/2018 docket entry (resetting the Case Management Conference date and time). Dockets.Justia.com Case No. 1:18-cv-1981 Gwin, J. Plaintiff states that she missed the conference because James Simon, counsel for Plaintiff, mistakenly calendared the conference for 9:00 a.m.3 She also states that she and Mr. Simon arrived at court at approximately 8:30 a.m. and were waiting in the hallway until 9:00 a.m. Defendant Martinez submits a declaration stating that he spent $1,108.41 on airline travel to Cleveland from Fort Worth, Texas and $440.12 on lodging for the conference. 4 He also states that Defendants incurred $1,360.00 “n attorney’s fees to prepare for and to attend the conference. II. Discussion Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16, which governs the scheduling and management of pretr“al conferences, the court must order the party, its attorney, or both to pay the reasonable expenses—“nclud“ng attorney’s fees—incurred because of any noncompliance with this rule, unless noncompliance was substantially justified or other circumstances make an award of expenses unjust. 5 Here, the violation of Rule 16 resulted from counsel’s negl“gence. Thus, h“s noncompliance was not substantially justified and imposition of Rule 16(f)(2) costs and fees is appropriate. Plaintiff does not argue that her noncompliance was justified. Instead, she argues that Defendants would have incurred costs and fees regardless of whether Plaintiff attended the conference. She also argues that if Defendants’ counsel had stopped “n the hallway 3 Doc. 26 at 1. He also submits receipts for these costs. See Doc. 40-2. 5 Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(f)(2). 4 Case No. 1:18-cv-1981 Gwin, J. outs“de chambers wh“le depart“ng the conference, they l“kely could have gotten the Court’s attent“on at that po“nt. 6 These arguments are unpersuasive. The Court required Mr. Martinez to attend the conference because he had settlement authority. Because Plaintiff did not show, there was no opportunity to discuss settlement and his travel costs were wasted.7 Further, Pla“nt“ff’s suggest“on that the Defendants’ counsel could have remed“ed the mistake by greeting her in the hallway at 8:50 a.m. is incorrect. The Court had other conferences scheduled on the morn“ng of the 30th, so Defendants’ alleged fa“lure to m“t“gate the damage caused by Pla“nt“ff counsel’s negl“gence “s not relevant. Rule 16(f)(2) prov“des that costs may be assessed aga“nst the party, its attorney, or both. Because Pla“nt“ff’s counsel adm“ts that he “s at fault, he w“ll bear the costs. III. Conclusion For the foregoing reasons, the Court GRANTS Defendants’ motion for sanctions. The Court ORDERS Pla“nt“ff’s counsel to pay $1,548.53 in costs and $1,360.00 in attorney’s fees. Dated: January 18, 2018 s/ James S. Gwin JAMES S. GWIN UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 6 Doc. 26 at 2. See, e.g., Ayers v. City of Richmond, 895 F.2d 1267, 1270 (9th Cir. 1990) (district court did not abuse by ordering party to pay opposing party’s travel costs as sanction for negligent nonappearance at pretrial conference). 7

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