Crawford v. Loving

84 F.R.D. 80, 1979 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9817
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Virginia
DecidedSeptember 14, 1979
DocketCiv. A. No. 78-0092-R
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 84 F.R.D. 80 (Crawford v. Loving) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Crawford v. Loving, 84 F.R.D. 80, 1979 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9817 (E.D. Va. 1979).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

WARRINER, District Judge.

I. FACTS

Complaint was filed 26 January 1978 seeking damages for a constitutional deprivation under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. In due time a motion to dismiss with supporting brief was filed by the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Plaintiff failed to file a responsive brief, and the [82]*82action was dismissed as barred by Eleventh Amendment, but- plaintiff was granted leave to file an amended complaint.

Plaintiff, ignoring the fact that leave to file an amended complaint had been granted, filed a motion for leave to file an amended complaint. After some delay an amended complaint was filed.

Again defendants filed a motion to dismiss. Again amazingly enough, plaintiff filed no brief in opposition. The amended complaint was so inexpertly drawn that the Court directed the filing of a more definite statement in lieu of dismissing the action. More importantly, the Court noted its “concern that plaintiff is being represented by counsel with insufficient experience,” and directed counsel examine DR 6-101 and to seek assistance if he entertained substantial doubt about the propriety of his continued representation.

A more definite statement was timely filed by plaintiff, to which defendant filed an answer followed by a motion for judgment on the pleadings as to one of the defendants. Counsel for plaintiff once again failed to file a brief in opposition to the motion. Further, counsel failed to respond to the Court’s order that he re-examine his representation and seek assistance. The defendant seeking dismissal was dismissed and counsel for plaintiff was directed to appear before the Court to excuse his failure to comply with the Court’s order.

Counsel appeared and stated that he had complied with the Court’s order but had failed to report compliance because he “didn’t know he had to.” Counsel further reported that he now recognized his inexperience, and that he planned to abandon the field of litigation,' move to Florida and specialize in treasure trove law. The case was to be carried on by other, presumably more able, members of his firm.

An initial pre-trial order was entered on 28 August 1978 terminating discovery, inter alia, on 31 January 1979. The matter was set for a two-day trial beginning on 26 February 1979. The case was a serious one. Plaintiff, a prisoner, alleged that though he was suffering from mental and emotional disease which could be controlled by medication, defendants had with deliberate indifference deprived him of medication. Lacking the medication he became mentally unbalanced and emotionally distraught, and in obedience to “voices” he cut off his penis with a razor blade. Moreover, and critical to the issue before the Court, plaintiff was alleged to be incompetent and he proceeded by his mother and next friend.

Although defendant sought timely discovery, counsel for plaintiff initiated none on his client’s behalf. Plaintiff did respond to defendants’ discovery, albeit deficiently.

On 16 October 1978 counsel for plaintiff filed a motion, allegedly “pursuant to the Order entered in this Court on May 12, 1978,” for leave to file a second amended complaint. The 12 May 1978 order had directed the filing within 10 days of a more particular statement. It afforded plaintiff no ground to file an amended complaint some five months later. Moreover, the motion was unaccompanied by a supporting brief as required by Local Rule 11(F) nor was an amended complaint tendered. Defendants filed their brief in opposition. As usual, counsel for plaintiff did not respond. Plaintiff’s motion was denied for the reasons above mentioned. Counsel for plaintiff never attempted to correct his lapse by tendering an amended complaint (the best source for the Court to determine the propriety of filing the same) nor by filing a supporting brief for his motion.

Nothing further of substance appears of record until 27 November 1978 when a sketch for an order endorsed by counsel for all parties was forwarded to the Clerk. The sketch recited that upon motion, notice, evidence and argument the Court appoint a named lawyer as guardian ad litem for plaintiff. No such motion had been filed. No notice had been given. No evidence had been taken. No argument had been heard. Further, no reason for appointing a guardian ad litem was readily apparent on the record. The Court, being neither informed nor aware of a reason why a guardian ad litem should be appointed, refused the tendered sketch for an order and entered an [83]*83order specifying its reasons for refusal-therefor.

On 11 December 1978, counsel for plaintiff filed a second motion seeking appointment of a guardian ad litem. This motion recited that “since at least 1970, the plaintiff has been suffering from various degrees of mental instability characterized as paranoid/schizophrenia, chronic undifferentiated type,” that he had suffered injury while in defendants’ care and custody, that a settlement in the amount of $6,000 of plaintiff’s claim had been reached, that plaintiff’s mental impairment made appointment of a guardian ad litem under Fed.R.Civ.P. 17(c) appropriate, and that all “interested parties” should be convened and that “the Court [should] approve a settlement in the amount of $6,000.” Defendants, by counsel, by an appropriate pleading filed on 14 December 1978, joined with plaintiff in requesting that, “the Court approve settlement in the amount of $6,000,” and release defendants from further liability-

Since proceeding by next friend satisfied the requirement of Rule 17(c), the Court refrained from appointing a guardian ad litem but in order to determine whether the settlement should be approved as requested by the parties and to be certain that the rights of the parties were otherwise protected, Westcott v. United States Fidelity Guarantee Co., 158 F.2d 20, 22 (4th Cir. 1946), the Court referred the motion to the U.S. Magistrate, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B) “to investigate the factual circumstances of this case and the appropriateness of the proposed settlement.” This order was entered on 4 January 1979.

Having initiated appropriate proceedings in furtherance of the parties’ motion seeking Court approval of the settlement, the Court considered that its common law and statutory1 obligation to protect the interests of parties suffering from a disability would in timely fashion be met. This was not to be. The parties instead forwarded to the Clerk on 17 January 1979 a sketch for an order or stipulation under Fed.R.Civ.P. 41(a)(1)(h) dismissing the case. The Magistrate, upon receipt of the stipulation, recommended that the case be dismissed, but by order of 6 February 1979 the Court refused the sketch on the ground that the Court’s duty to protect the interests of an incompetent party could not be evaded by resort to Rule 41.

The matter was again set for hearing before the Magistrate on the propriety of the settlement.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

L.A. v. United States
E.D. Michigan, 2025
Young v. United States
311 F.R.D. 117 (D. New Jersey, 2015)
Leslie v. Estate of Tavares
984 P.2d 1220 (Hawaii Supreme Court, 1999)
Green v. Nevers
111 F.3d 1295 (First Circuit, 1997)
Green v. Nevers
111 F.3d 1295 (Sixth Circuit, 1997)
Heppert v. Heppert
36 Va. Cir. 576 (Hopewell County Circuit Court, 1986)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
84 F.R.D. 80, 1979 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9817, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/crawford-v-loving-vaed-1979.