Free Order to Show Cause - District Court of Federal Claims - federal

Case 1:05-cv-01113-MMS

Document 29

Filed 08/01/2007

Page 1 of 2

In the United States Court of Federal Claims
No. 05-1113C (Filed: August 1, 2007) ************************************* CATEL, INC., * * Plaintiff, * * v. * * THE UNITED STATES, * * Defendant. * ************************************* ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE On June 29, 2007, the court granted plaintiff's counsel's motion to withdraw his appearance. At the same time, the court issued an order directing Catel, Inc., to file a status report with the court, no later than July 20, 2007, informing the court whether it had retained new counsel. As of the date of this order, the court has not received a status report from plaintiff nor has plaintiff contacted the court requesting additional time to file a status report. Due to plaintiff's failure to file the required status report or otherwise contact the court, the court enters the instant rule to show cause directing plaintiff to explain why the complaint should not be dismissed. Procedural History On October 17, 2005, plaintiff filed a complaint in this court, seeking relief for the government's alleged failure to pay plaintiff for work performed pursuant to a government contract. The parties engaged in alternative dispute resolution ("ADR"), from approximately February to June 2006. In late June 2006, the parties agreed that ADR would not be beneficial at that time; thus, the parties proceeded to conduct discovery. The court's July 26, 2006 discovery scheduling order, which adopted the parties' proposed discovery schedule, directed the parties to complete discovery by the end of May 2007, and to file a joint status report with the court by no later than June 13, 2007. On June 13, 2007, plaintiff's counsel at that time, Marc Lamer ("Mr. Lamer"), filed a motion for extension of time to file the status report. In the motion, Mr. Lamer noted that he had been unsuccessful on several occasions in his attempts to contact his client. Mr. Lamer further represented that Catel's phone and facsimile numbers were no longer in service, and its e-mail address was no longer active. Thus, on June 22, 2007, Mr. Lamer filed a motion for leave to

Case 1:05-cv-01113-MMS

Document 29

Filed 08/01/2007

Page 2 of 2

withdraw his appearance, and the court granted Mr. Lamer's motion. The court then allowed plaintiff until July 20, 2007, to advise the court of its new counsel. As noted above, the court has not received a status report from plaintiff, nor has plaintiff contacted the court requesting an extension of time to file the status report. Court orders cannot not be ignored. Accordingly, plaintiff Catel shall inform the court by no later than Wednesday, August 22, 2007, by status report whether it has retained new counsel and shall provide the name, address, and telephone number of its new counsel. Plaintiff shall file the status report in paper form. If plaintiff does not file a status report, the court shall dismiss plaintiff's complaint for failure to prosecute pursuant to RCFC 41(b). The Clerk of the Court shall mail a copy of this Order, via certified mail, to Catel's principal: Mr. Telmo Pires Catel, Inc. 200 South Street New Providence, NJ 07974 IT IS SO ORDERED. s/ Margaret M. Sweeney MARGARET M. SWEENEY Judge

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