Barghouti v. Davis

MOTION to Continue Trial and Reopening of Discovery

S.D. Ill.November 10, 2014

KCP-4538179-1 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS JAMAL BARGHOUTI, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) vs. ) No: 3:12-cv-1258-JPG-DGW ) RYAN DAVIS, ) ) Defendant. ) MOTION FOR CONTINUANCE OF TRIAL AND REOPENING OF DISCOVERY Plaintiff Jamal Barghouth hereby moves for a continuance of the currently schedule December 2, 2014 trial setting. Additionally, Plaintiff moves the Court to reopen discovery for a period of 90 days. In support of this Motion, Plaintiff states as follows: 1. This Court did not appoint Plaintiff counsel until after the close of discovery. 2. During discovery, Plaintiff sought to obtain from Defendant relevant information. Among other things, on October 10, 2013, Plaintiff attempted to serve written discovery on Defendant through the Court’s Electronic Filing Program with the institution where he is incarcerated. 3. The Clerk of Court issued a Notice that the foregoing written discovery should not be filed with the Court and instead should be mailed to Defendant’s counsel. 4. Plaintiff is unsure whether he mailed the foregoing written discovery requests to Defendant’s counsel. He believed that he had done what he needed to do in order to effect service of the discovery. However, he never received any discovery responses. 5. The Court appointed Plaintiff counsel in May 2014, after discovery had closed. 6. After formalizing the engagement process with Plaintiff, Plaintiff’s appointed counsel followed up with Defendant’s counsel in an effort to obtain responses to the above-referenced written Case 3:12-cv-01258-NJR-DGW Document 51 Filed 11/10/14 Page 1 of 3 Page ID #180 2 KCP-4538179-1 discovery requests. Counsel for Defendant advised that they did not respond to the discovery, as Defendant was never served. 6. Plaintiff needs discovery in order to effectively prosecute his action. Among other things, he needs information about the identities of those housed in cells near him who may have witnessed the events at issue, and he needs an opportunity to follow-up on information learned through documentation of the facility. 7. Plaintiff’s counsel also needs to depose Defendant in preparation for trial. Plaintiff did not understand the importance of this prior to his appointment of counsel. 8. Plaintiff’s counsel may need to depose additional witnesses after securing written discovery. 9. For the foregoing reasons, Plaintiff hereby requests a continuance of the presently scheduled trial. Additionally, Plaintiff requests that the Court reopen discovery for a period of 90 days in order to allow Plaintiff’s appointed counsel an opportunity to secure information needed to effectively prosecute the claims on behalf of Plaintiff. 10. Plaintiff’s counsel has consulted with Defendant’s counsel, who advised the Defendant opposes this request. For the foregoing reasons, Plaintiff hereby requests a continuance of the presently scheduled December 2, 2014 trial, and a reopening of discovery for a period of 90 days. Case 3:12-cv-01258-NJR-DGW Document 51 Filed 11/10/14 Page 2 of 3 Page ID #181 3 KCP-4538179-1 Respectfully submitted, HUSCH BLACKWELL LLP By: /s/Hillary L. Klein Hillary L. Klein 736 Georgia Avenue, Suite 300 Chattanooga, TN 37402 Telephone: (423) 265-5500 Facsimile: (423) 266-5499 hillary.klein@huschblackwell.com Attorney for Plaintiff CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I, Hillary L. Klein, certify that I am not less than 18 years of age, and that service of this Motion was made on November 10, 2014, upon all parties via the electronic filing system or United States First Class Mail. Bradley D. Gillespie Attorney General’s Office – Springfield, IL 500 S. Second Street Springfield, MO 62706 Attorney for Defendant Under penalty of perjury, I declare that the foregoing is true and correct. HUSCH BLACKWELL LLP By:/s/ Hillary L. Klein Hillary L. Klein Case 3:12-cv-01258-NJR-DGW Document 51 Filed 11/10/14 Page 3 of 3 Page ID #182