Free Motion for Extension of Time to File Response/Reply - District Court of California - California

Case 3:07-cv-02388-DMS-POR

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Filed 02/26/2008

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KAREN P. HEWITT United States Attorney STEVE B. CHU Assistant U.S. Attorney California Bar No. 221177 Office of the U.S. Attorney 880 Front Street, Room 6293 San Diego, CA 92101-8893 Telephone: (619) 557-5682 Attorneys for all Federal Defendants

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 MICHAEL FOX, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) ) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ) ) ) Defendant. ) ) ) ) ) ______________________________________ ) Civil Case No. 07CV2388-DMS (POR) EX PARTE APPLICATION FOR ADDITIONAL TIME TO FILE RESPONSIVE PLEADING

I. INTRODUCTION Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(b)(1), it is requested that the Court issue an order providing additional time for all Federal Defendants (hereafter "the United States" or the "Government") to respond to the Complaint filed in this action by Plaintiff Michael Fox. Such an order is authorized under Fed. R. Civ. Proc. 6(b)(1)(A), which allows the Court in its discretion to extend time "with or without motion or notice if the court acts, or if a request is made, before the original time or its extension expires . . . " Further, Local Rule 12.1 for this District provides that extensions of time for responding to a complaint shall only be secured by obtaining the approval of a judicial officer, who shall base the decision on a showing of good cause.

Case 3:07-cv-02388-DMS-POR

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Filed 02/26/2008

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II. RELEVANT PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND Plaintiff Michael Fox, appearing pro se, has filed an action against a number of defendants, including various federal agencies and federal employees. Plaintiff alleges

numerous items, labeling his various claims as a deprivation of his civil rights, abuse, and claims for monetary relief. Ordinarily, in an action originally filed in United States District Court against the United States, the time for response to a complaint against the United States is set forth in Fed R. Civ. P. 12(a)(2). That rule affords "60 days after service upon the United States Attorney . . ." within which to respond to the Plaintiff's pleading as opposed to the 20 days generally afforded to nonfederal defendants under the Rule. As noted in the Court's online docket, Plaintiff filed his Complaint on December 26, 2007, and claims to have served the United States on December 28, 2007. Pursuant to that calculation, and as noted on the Court's docket for this case, the United States must file a response to Plaintiff's Complaint on or before February 28, 2008. However, in the interim, and before the United States has filed any responsive pleading, Plaintiff elected to file a First Amended Complaint on January 30, 2008.

III. ARGUMENT Plaintiff has claimed wrongdoing covering a number of different issues and a vast number of distinct persons and entities. Additionally, Plaintiff has alleged claims related to conduct occurring over an expansive period of time dating back to January of 1995, a period which spans more than 13 years. Given this lengthy time period, the number of issues involved, and the number of parties allegedly implicated, Plaintiff's lawsuit must be put into context, requiring significant time to prepare a response. Due to relative workloads, additional time would be beneficial to allow counsel an opportunity to fully examine Plaintiff's lawsuit in order to prepare a suitable response. Therefore, the Government respectfully requests an additional 22 days to respond to Plaintiff's Complaint.

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Case 3:07-cv-02388-DMS-POR

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Filed 02/26/2008

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 DATED: February 26, 2008

IV. CONCLUSION For the above stated reasons, the Government respectfully requests that the Court grant an additional 22 days to respond to Plaintiff's complaint. Pursuant to this additional time, the Government's response to Plaintiff's Complaint would be due on or before March 21, 2008.

KAREN P. HEWITT United States Attorney /s Steve B. Chu STEVE B. CHU Assistant U.S. Attorney Attorneys for all Federal Defendants

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