Free Motion for Reconsideration - District Court of Arizona - Arizona

Robert R. Berk, 010162 JONES, SKELTON & HOCHULI, P.L.C. 2901 North Central Avenue, Suite 800 Phoenix, Arizona 85012 602-263-1781 [email protected] Attorneys for Defendant Life Cycle Books, Ltd. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF ARIZONA HERITAGE HOUSE `76, INC., an Arizona corporation, NO. CV 03 2516 PHX FJM Plaintiff, DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION OF 9/1/05 ORDER DENYING (UNOPPOSED) MOTION TO CONTINUE TRIAL

v.

LIFE CYCLE BOOKS, LTD., a Canadian corporation; THE INTREPID GROUP, a Colorado corporation, Defendants.

Defendant Life Cycle Books, Ltd. hereby respectfully requests that this Court reconsider its 9/1/05 Order denying Life Cycle's Motion to Continue Trial. As set forth in Life Cycle's Motion to Continue Trial, the reason for the Motion to Continue had nothing to do with Life Cycle, but rather with the family vacation schedule of Life Cycle's counsel. Undersigned counsel recognizes the importance of efficiently processing cases and understands that trial continuances adversely affect said efficiency, and for those reasons, undersigned counsel is hesitant to seek reconsideration of the Court's Order denying the requested continuance. Because of the importance of

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the matter to undersigned counsel's family, however, undersigned counsel wants to make sure it has at least addressed the concerns raised in the Court's Order. Initially, undersigned counsel is aware that the trial in this matter was scheduled thirteen months ago, and it is true, as the Court suggests, that undersigned counsel arranged and paid for his family vacation after that date. There are, however, two practical realities which the Court may, in its discretion, consider. First, the reason the vacation was scheduled for October 15-24 was because those are the only dates undersigned counsel's three children are on "fall break" from school. Undersigned counsel would have gladly scheduled the vacation earlier or later to avoid a conflict with the trial in this matter, but the children's school calendars, and specifically the timing of the fall break, was beyond counsel's control. In addition, while undersigned counsel takes trial dates very seriously, the reality is that many trial dates are vacated because of settlements, summary judgments, conflicts on the Court's calendar, and the like. Indeed, counsel is informed by the Court Clerk that there are five other trials scheduled to begin in this Court on the same date as this trial is scheduled to begin, and that of those five cases, two are older than this case and are unlikely to settle. There is a substantial possibility, therefore, that the present trial will be postponed by the Court regardless of the ruling on the Motion. It also should be noted that if attorneys were prohibited from scheduling vacations when said vacations might conflict with trial dates several months away, few, if any, vacations could be scheduled. Finally, the Court noted in its Order that undersigned counsel's trial calendar for November, 2005 should in no way affect counsel's availability for trial in October, 2005. Undersigned counsel agrees, and the only reason the November trial "conflict" was even mentioned in the Motion was so that if the Court was inclined to grant a

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continuance, the Court would not continue the trial to November and thereby create another scheduling conflict. In any event, the case scheduled to go to trial in November, 2005 was settled at a mediation on September 1, 2005, and undersigned counsel would therefore be available for trial that month, which would involve only a 30-day continuance. Undersigned counsel is uncomfortable beating what appears a dead horse, but feels obligated, before telling his family that their vacation is cancelled, to address the Court's concerns and request reconsideration. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED this _8th_ day of September, 2005. JONES, SKELTON & HOCHULI, P.L.C.

By s/Robert R. Berk Robert R. Berk 2901 North Central Avenue, Suite 800 Phoenix, Arizona 85012 Attorneys for Defendant Life Cycle Books, Ltd. COPY of the foregoing filed electronically this 8th day of September, 2005, to: Glenn S. Bacal, Esq. Jimmie W. Pursell, Jr., Esq. JENNINGS, STROUSS & SALMON, P.L.C. The Collier Center, 11 th Floor 201 East Washington Street Phoenix, Arizona 85004-2385 Attorneys for Plaintiff ___s/Jeannie Hayes___________

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Case 2:03-cv-02516-FJM