Eco Fiber Inc. v. Yukon Packaging, LLC

• Court: District Court, W.D. North Carolina
• Decided: June 5, 2024
• Docket: 3:24-cv-00484
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA CHARLOTTE DIVISION CASE NO. 3:24-CV-00484-FDW-SCR ECO FIBER INC., ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) ORDER ) YUKON PACKAGING, LLC et al, ) ) Defendants. ) )

THIS MATTER is before the Court on Defendants’ Opposed Motion for Leave to Exceed Word Count, (Doc. No. 26). In the motion, Defendants contend “[e]ach Defendant has their own individual facts and arguments that are not necessarily shared . . . [and] each Defendant may elect to file a respective brief”. (Doc. No. 26, p. 2.) Thus, Defendants seek to file a single brief on behalf of all Defendants with a word limit extension from 4,500 words to 12,000 words. The Court disagrees. Plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction is based on an alleged civil conspiracy amongst Defendants. Plaintiff filed a single motion articulating its arguments as to each Defendant within this Court’s word limit. (Doc. No. 11.) After review of the pleadings, the Court is confident Defendants, each represented by the same counsel, does not need an additional 7,500 word to efficiently respond to the pending preliminary injunction motion. See, e.g., Grayson v. Anderson, 816 F.3d 262, 269 (4th Cir. 2016) (“[N]eedless inefficiency would undermine a principal purpose of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ‘to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action and proceeding.’” (quoting Fed. R. Civ. .P. 1)). The Court is willing to provide Defendants with a modest word limit extension of 1,000 word, which will similarly be offered to Plaintiff for purposes of its reply brief. Finally, this Court has already set a hearing on Plaintiff's motion, which will provide Defendants an opportunity to expand on their briefing. The Motion for Leave to Exceed Word Count is therefore DENIED. The Court DIRECTS Defendants to file a single response to the pending motion, not exceeding 5,500 words. In light of the hearing set in an expedited manner at Plaintiff's request, the Court hereby DIRECTS Plaintiff to file any reply to Defendants’ response no later than Tuesday, June 11, 2024. IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Defendants’ Motion for Leave to Exceed Word Count, (Doc. No. 26), is DENIED. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendants to file a single response to the pending motion, not exceeding 5,500 words. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiffs reply brief in support of its motion shall be filed no later than Tuesday, June 11, 2024. IT IS SO ORDERED.

Signed: June 5, 2024

Frank D. Whitney ; < United States District Judge □□□