Kasalo v. Trident Asset Management, L.L.C. et al

MOTION

N.D. Ill.April 5, 2013

130551837 0934792 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS EASTERN DIVISION TOMMY KASALO, Plaintiff, v. TRIDENT ASSET MANAGEMENT, LLC. and OPS 10 LLC, Defendants. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Case No. 12-cv-02900 Judge Matthew F. Kennelly Magistrate Judge Michael T. Mason MOTION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME TO COMPLETE DISCOVERY TO PERMIT COURT TO RULE ON CERTIFIED QUESTIONS Defendants, TRIDENT ASSET MANAGEMENT, LLC ( Trident ) and OPS 10 LLC OPS 10 ), by their attorneys, David M. Schultz and Corinne C. Heggie, move to extend discovery close of April 5, 2013 up to and including May 6, 2013, and in support thereof, state as follows: 1. On April 18, 2012, plaintiff filed his Complaint alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ( FDCPA ) (Dkt. #1). On July 23, 2012, plaintiff filed an Amended Complaint. (Dkt. #21) Plaintiff filed a second amended pleading October 22, 2012. (Dkt. #31) 2. On February 25, 2012, defendants filed a motion to extend the discovery close date from March 5, 2013 to April 5, 2013 so the parties could complete oral discovery and resolve any open issues with respect to written discovery. (Dkt. #47) 3. Defendants motion to extend discovery was granted. 4. On March 13, 2013, defendants filed a motion compel. (Dkt. #50-51) At the hearing, the parties reported on that defendants would produce their witnesses on March 21, Case: 1:12-cv-02900 Document #: 54 Filed: 04/05/13 Page 1 of 5 PageID #:461 2 130551837 0934792 2013 and March 22, 2013 in Georgia and that plaintiff would be deposed on March 26, 2013. Defendants produced their witnesses. 5. Defendants deposed plaintiff at 2:00 p.m. Thursday, April 5, 2013 through no fault of defense counsel. Plaintiff s counsel canceled his client s deposition on March 25, 2013. (Exhibit C) Plaintiff s deposition had been previously noticed for March 1, 2013 and plaintiff s counsel cancelled that deposition too. 6. At the deposition, plaintiff did not answer several questions. His lawyer asserted the attorney-client privilege and instructed his client not to answer. Plaintiff took his lawyer s advice and did not answer. The questions were certified. 7. While defendants are not in possession of plaintiff s deposition transcript, plaintiff would not answer two questions that were posed in the interrogatories defendants propounded. The two questions were: (1) please identify the date Plaintiff retained his counsel and (2) please identify the date on which Plaintiff first engaged in two way verbal communication with his present counsel. (Exhibit A, Plaintiff s Answers to Interrogatories, Numbers 14 & 15) On January 13, 2013, plaintiff verified those discovery answers. (Exhibit A) While his lawyer objected to those two interrogatories on relevancy, no objection based on the attorney client privilege was made. (Exhibit A) Plaintiff served supplemental discovery answers a few hours before his deposition. (Exhibit B) No attorney client privilege objection was asserted in response to Interrogatories 14 and 15; however, the objection was asserted and plaintiff instructed not to answer those questions later that afternoon. 8. Plaintiff was also asked if he signed a retainer agreement with his lawyer, when he signed the retainer agreement, if he had paid legal bills in this case and if he had been sent legal bills in this case. His lawyer asserted the attorney-client privilege and instructed his client not to answer these questions. Plaintiff took his lawyer s advice and did not answer. The Case: 1:12-cv-02900 Document #: 54 Filed: 04/05/13 Page 2 of 5 PageID #:462 3 130551837 0934792 questions were certified. There could have been other questions certified; however, without the transcript, defense counsel cannot confirm or recall what the other questions were. 9. Defendants seeks to extend the discovery close date specifically to obtain a written copy of plaintiff s deposition transcript, which has already been ordered on an expedited basis, prepare and present the appropriate motion related to the certified questions to the court and obtain answers to the certified questions from plaintiff under oath. 10. This motion is not brought for purposes of delay or harassment. The additional time up to and including May 6, 2013, will permit defendants to prepare the appropriate motion regarding the questions certified at plaintiff s deposition taken at 2:00 p.m. Thursday, April 4, 2013. 11. Given the fact that discovery closes on April 5, 2013, defense counsel did not seek plaintiff s counsel s consent to this motion and the relief sought herein WHEREFORE, Defendants, TRIDENT ASSET MANAGEMENT, LLC and OPS 10 LLC, respectfully request this Court grant their Motion and enter an order extending the discovery close date from April 5, 2013 to May 6, 2013 to permit defendants to obtain a written copy of plaintiff s deposition transcript, prepare and present the appropriate motion related to the certified questions to the court and obtain answers to the certified questions from plaintiff under oath. Respectfully submitted, By: s/ Corinne C. Heggie One of the Attorneys for Trident and OPS 10 David M. Schultz Corinne C. Heggie HINSHAW & CULBERTSON LLP 222 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 300 Chicago, IL 60601-1081 312-704-3000 (f) 312-704-3001 Case: 1:12-cv-02900 Document #: 54 Filed: 04/05/13 Page 3 of 5 PageID #:463 4 130551837 0934792 dschultz@hinshawlaw.com cheggie@hinshawlaw.com Case: 1:12-cv-02900 Document #: 54 Filed: 04/05/13 Page 4 of 5 PageID #:464 5 130551837 0934792 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I, Corinne C. Heggie, an attorney, certify that I shall cause to be served a copy of the Motion for Extension of Time to Complete Discovery upon the following individual(s) as indicated below on this 5th day of April, 2013. þ CM/ECF ¨ Facsimile ¨ Federal Express ¨ Mail ¨ Messenger Attorneys for Plaintiff(s) Mario Kris Kasalo The Law Office of M. Kris Kasalo, Ltd. 20 North Clark Street Suite 3100 Chicago, IL 60602 s/Corinne C. Heggie One of the Attorneys for Defendants David M. Schultz (Atty. No. 6197596) Corinne C. Heggie Attorneys for Defendant HINSHAW & CULBERTSON LLP 222 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 300 Chicago, Illinois 60601-1081 Phone No: (312) 704-3000 Fax No: (312) 704-3001 E-mail Address: dschultz@hinshawlaw.com cheggie@hinshawlaw.com Case: 1:12-cv-02900 Document #: 54 Filed: 04/05/13 Page 5 of 5 PageID #:465