WARTLUFT et al v. THE MILTON HERSHEY SCHOOL AND SCHOOL TRUST et alMOTION to Exceed Page Limitation with ConcurrenceM.D. Pa.March 10, 2019 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA JULIE ELLEN WARTLUFT F/K/A JULIE ELLEN BARTELS AND FREDERICK L. BARTELS, JR., Individually and as Administrators of the Estate of Abrielle Kira Bartels, Deceased, Plaintiffs, vs. THE MILTON HERSHEY SCHOOL and THE HERSHEY TRUST COMPANY, AS TRUSTEE OF THE MILTON HERSHEY SCHOOL TRUST, Defendants, vs. KAREN FITZPATRICK and THOMAS FITZPATRICK, Third-Party Defendants. : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : C.A. NO.: 1:16-cv-02145-JEJ (Jones III, J.) DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO FILE BRIEF IN EXCESS OF WORD/PAGE LIMITS IMPOSED BY LOCAL RULES Defendants Milton Hershey School, and Hershey Trust Company, as trustee of The Milton Hershey Trust (together, “Defendants”), by and through undersigned counsel, hereby file this Motion to File Brief in Excess of Word/Page Limits Imposed by Local Rules as follows: 1. On December 7, 2018, the Court entered an Order, sua sponte, based on its “inherent power” reinstating Plaintiffs’ state law tort claims that it had previously dismissed on August 10, 2017. (Docs. 216-17.) Case 1:16-cv-02145-JEJ-MCC Document 234 Filed 03/10/19 Page 1 of 5 2 2. On January 22, 2019, pursuant to the Court’s Order of December 7, 2018, and a Stipulation approved by the Court, (Doc. 219), Defendants filed an Answer to the Amended Complaint and reinstated claims. (Doc. 222.) 3. On February 1, 2019, Defendants timely filed a Third-Party Complaint against Karen Fitzpatrick, a legal guardian of AB, who was authorized by Plaintiffs Julie Ellen Wartluft and Frederick L. Bartels, Jr. to exercise legal and physical custody over her, and Thomas Fitzpatrick (Ms. Fitzpatrick’s father). (Doc. 225.) 4. AB committed suicide off of MHS’s campus at the Fitzpatricks’ Newport, Perry County, PA, home. 5. On February 28, 2019, Plaintiffs filed a Motion to Strike the Third- Party Complaint. (Doc. 231.) 6. Defendants’ Response in Opposition Brief is due no later than March 14, 2019. 7. Local Civil Rule 7.8(b) limits the length of briefs to 5,000 words. 8. Due to the issues to be substantively addressed, including the procedural history of this matter, and the Third-Party Complaint, it will be necessary to file a brief that will not exceed 5,300 words. 9. No party will be prejudiced by this request. 10. Plaintiffs concur with this request. Case 1:16-cv-02145-JEJ-MCC Document 234 Filed 03/10/19 Page 2 of 5 3 11. Plaintiffs’ counsel has also been legal counsel to Third-Party Defendants throughout this litigation. 12. In light of the unique, novel, and unprecedented theories advanced by Plaintiffs’ Motion to Strike, and the significant facts of record and this case’s procedural history, the granting of this request will avail this Court with the necessary information to make an informed decision on Defendants’ Response Brief in Opposition to the Motion to Strike Third-Party Complaint, and Plaintiffs’ meritless Motion to Strike. WHEREFORE, Defendants respectfully request that the Court grant this Motion, and permit Defendants to file a brief in opposition to Plaintiffs’ Motion to Strike in excess of the word and page limits imposed by this District’s Local Rules, but not to exceed 5,300 words. Respectfully submitted, /s/ Jarad W. Handelman Jarad W. Handelman, Esquire (PA 82629) Kyle M. Elliott, Esquire (PA 306836) Elliott Greenleaf, P.C. 17 N. Second Street, Suite 1420 Harrisburg, PA 17101 717.307.2600 (phone) / 717.307.2060 (fax) 215.977.1000 (phone) / 215.977.1099 (fax) jwh@elliottgreenleaf.com kme@elliottgreenleaf.com Counsel for Defendants Dated: March 10, 2019 Case 1:16-cv-02145-JEJ-MCC Document 234 Filed 03/10/19 Page 3 of 5 CERTIFICATION OF CONCURRENCE Pursuant to Local Civil Rule 7.1, counsel for Plaintiffs concurs with this Motion. Respectfully submitted, /s/ Jarad W. Handelman Jarad W. Handelman, Esquire Counsel for Defendants Dated: March 10, 2019 Case 1:16-cv-02145-JEJ-MCC Document 234 Filed 03/10/19 Page 4 of 5 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I, Kyle M. Elliott, Esquire, hereby certify that I caused the foregoing Motion to File Brief in Excess of Word/Page Limits Imposed by Local Rules to be filed electronically with the Court, where it is available for viewing and downloading from the Court’s ECF system, and that such electronic filing automatically generates a Notice of Electronic Filing constituting service of the filed document upon all counsel of record. I further certify that I caused a copy to be served on the following via email and first class U.S. mail: Karen Fitzpatrick Thomas Fitzpatrick 465 North 4 th Street Newport, PA 17074 karenfitzpatrick413@gmail.com Third-Party Defendants /s/ Kyle M. Elliott Kyle M. Elliott, Esquire Dated: March 10, 2019 Case 1:16-cv-02145-JEJ-MCC Document 234 Filed 03/10/19 Page 5 of 5
