Free Motion for Extension of Time - District Court of Connecticut - Connecticut

Case 3:03-cv-00977-CFD

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Filed 02/25/2005

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT

WENDELL HARP and ARCHITECTS ENVIRONMENTAL COLLABORATIVE INTERNATIONAL, P.C., Plaintiffs, v. JOHN DeSTEFANO, CITY OF NEW HAVEN and NEW HAVEN BOARD OF EDUCATION Defendants.

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CASE NO: 3:03CV977(CFD)

FEBRUARY 25, 2005

DEFENDANTS' MOTION TO MODIFY DEADLINES IN REPORT OF PARTIES' PLANNING MEETING Pursuant to Local Rule 16(b), Defendants, John DeStefano, Jr., City of New Haven and the New Haven Board of Education ("Defendants"), through their undersigned counsel, hereby move to modify the deadlines set forth in the Report of Parties' Planning Meeting (the "Report") adopted by this Court. In particular, Defendants move to modify the following deadlines: 1. Paragraph V. F. 2. ­ Defendants move to modify the deadline for the completion

of discovery until July 1, 2005. 2. Paragraph V.F.4. ­ Defendants move to modify the deadline for the completion of

depositions until July 1, 2005. 3. Paragraph V.F 6. ­ Defendants move to modify the deadline for the disclosure by

Plaintiffs of trial experts and the provision of reports from such retained experts to April 1, 2005 and the date for completion of depositions of such experts to May 1, 2005.

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4.

Paragraph V.F.7. ­ Defendants move to modify the deadline for the disclosure by

Defendants of all trial experts and for the provision of reports from such retained experts until June 1, 2005. Depositions of such experts will be completed by July 1, 2005. 5. Paragraph V.F.8. ­ Defendants move to modify the deadline for the provision of a

damages analysis by any party who has a claim or counterclaim for damages to July 1, 2005. 6. Paragraph V.G. ­ Defendants move to modify the deadline for the filing of

dispositive motions to August 1, 2005. 7. Paragraph V.H. ­ Defendants move to modify the deadline for filing the joint trial

memorandum to September 1, 2005 or 30 days after this court rules on any summary judgment motion filed by Defendants, whichever date is later. 8. Paragraph IV. ­ Defendant moves to modify the trial readiness date to October 1,

2005 or thirty days after the joint trial memorandum is filed. In support of this motion, Defendants represent that this case alleges that Defendants violated Plaintiffs' First Amendment rights by terminating an architectural services contract between the Defendant New Haven Board of Education and Plaintiff Architects Environmental Collaborative International, P.C. for the design of the new Prince-Welch School in New Haven, Connecticut. Plaintiffs claim that such contract was terminated because Plaintiff Wendell Harp and his wife supported a candidate challenging Defendant John DeStefano's candidacy for Mayor of the City of New Haven. Plaintiffs seek compensatory and punitive damages as well as attorney's fees pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1988. Neither Plaintiffs nor Defendants have conducted any discovery in this case. Further, although the Report (¶ F.8) stated that a damages analysis would be provided by any party who has a claim for damages by June 1, 2004, Plaintiffs have failed to provide such a damages analysis to date.

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Good cause exists for the filing of this request. The undersigned filed her appearance on January 21, 2005, because prior counsel for Defendants, Martin Echter, resigned from his position as Deputy Corporation Counsel for the City of New Haven. The undersigned has been working diligently since that time to familiarize herself with the complex facts of this case, which span, at minimum, a six year period of time and involve many technical issues. In order to prepare properly for this case and so that the issues are narrowed and the parties' and the Court's time conserved at trial, Defendants need to engage in pretrial discovery. Manifest injustice will result if Defendants cannot properly prepare for trial of this complex case. The undersigned counsel has attempted to contact Plaintiffs' counsel to determine his position on this motion but has been unable to reach Plaintiffs' counsel. However, the undersigned notes that Plaintiffs' Local Rule 41(a) Explanation dated February 20, 2005 states that "[d]iscovery in this case has closed and the time for dispositive motions has expired." This is the first motion to modify the dates set forth in the Report filed by Defendants WHEREFORE, Defendants move that the dates set forth in the Report be modified as described above. DEFENDANTS JOHN DeSTEFANO, CITY OF NEW HAVEN and NEW HAVEN BOARD OF EDUCATION By: /s/ Carolyn W. Kone Carolyn W. Kone (ct 06207) BRENNER, SALTZMAN & WALLMAN LLP Their Attorneys 271 Whitney Avenue New Haven, CT 06511 Tel. (203) 772-2600 Fax (203) 772-4008 Email: [email protected]

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that a true and accurate copy of the foregoing was served this 25th day of February, 2005, by U.S. first class mail, postage prepaid, upon:

John R. Williams Williams & Pattis 51 Elm St., Ste. 409 New Haven, CT 06510 Martin S. Echter Corporation Counsel's Office 165 Church St. New Haven, CT 06510 /s/ Carolyn W. Kone Carolyn W. Kone, Esq. (ct06207)

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