Estate of Carl A. Jacobson v. Roper

• Court: District Court, D. Utah
• Decided: November 23, 2021
• Docket: 4:19-cv-00043
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF UTAH

CARL A. JACOBSON, MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER DENYING MOTION Plaintiff, FOR EXTENSION OF TIME AND v. ORDER EXTENDING TIME TO FILE MOTION TO SUBSTITUTE SHON ROPER, et al., PARTY

Defendants. Case No. 4:19-cv-00043-DN-PK

District Judge David Nuffer Magistrate Judge Paul Kohler

Robert B. Sykes (counsel for deceased Plaintiff Carl A. Jacobson)1 filed a motion seeking extension of time to file a motion under FED. R. CIV. P. 25(a)(1) to substitute Plaintiff (“Motion”).2 Because Mr. Sykes lacks standing to file his Motion, the Motion is DENIED.3 However, because good cause exists to extend the deadline to file a motion to substitute Plaintiff, the deadline is extended to January 13, 2022. DISCUSSION Under FED. R. CIV. P. 25(a)(1), a motion for substitution must be filed by a “party or by the decedent’s successor or representative . . . within 90 days after service of statement notice the [party’s] death.”4 Defendants filed a Statement of Notice of Death (“Notice”) regarding Plaintiff

1 Statement of Notice of Death (“Notice”), docket no. 71, filed Aug. 27, 2021. 2 Motion to Extend Time for Substitution of a Party (“Motion”), docket no. 75, filed Nov. 18, 2021. 3 Defendants have not filed a response to Mr. Sykes’s Motion, and the time for Defendants’ response has not yet passed. However, a response is not necessary to, and could not affect, the disposition of the Motion. 4 FED. R. CIV. P. 25(a)(1). on August 27, 2021. Therefore, assuming proper service of the Notice,5 a motion to substitute Plaintiff must be filed by no later than November 29, 2021.6 Mr. Sykes’s Motion indicates that there have been delays in the appointment of a personal representative of Plaintiff’s estate.7 Plaintiff’s daughters were initially appointed as

personal representatives of the estate on September 27, 2021, but resigned their appointments on October 22, 2021.8 Mr. Sykes subsequently petitioned the probate court to be named as the estate’s successor personal representative.9 But the petition remains pending and Mr. Sykes believes that it will not be ruled on for another 15 to 30 days.10 Because Plaintiff’s estate does not currently have a personal representative, and will most likely not have a successor personal representative appointed in time to file a motion to substitute Plaintiff by the November 29, 2021 deadline, Mr. Sykes’s Motion establishes good cause to extend the deadline.11 However, Mr. Sykes’s Motion is fundamentally deficient.

5 A statement noting death must be “served on the parties as provided in Rule 5 and on nonparties as provided in [FED. R. CIV. P.] 4.” Id. at 25(a)(3). It is unclear from the record whether Defendants served the Notice on nonparties, such as Plaintiff’s estate, under Rule 4. 6 Ninety days from August 27, 2021, is November 25, 2021. Because November 25, 2021, is a legal holiday, “the period continues to run until the end of the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday,” which is November 26, 2021. Id. at 6(a)(1)(C). However, the court is closed on November 26, 2021. https://www.utd.uscourts.gov/court-info/court-holidays (last visited Nov. 23, 2021). Therefore, the deadline is extended by local rule “to the next day the court is open for business,” which is November 29, 2021. DUCivR 6-1. 7 Motion at 2. 8 Id. 9 Id. 10 Id. 11 FED. R. CIV. P. 6(b)(1)(A). “Good cause comes into play in situations in which there is no fault—excusable or otherwise.” Utah Republican Party v. Herbert, 678 Fed. App’x 697, 700 (10th Cir. 2017). “In such situations, the need for an extension is usually occasioned by something that is not within the control of the movant.” Id. at 700-701. “It requires the moving party to show the deadline cannot be met despite the movant’s diligent efforts.” Id. at 701. “As an agency relationship, the attorney-client relationship terminates upon the death of the client.”12 Because Plaintiff is deceased, Mr. Sykes does not represent any party to this action.13 And Mr. Sykes is not, himself, a party to this action. Therefore, Mr. Sykes lacks standing to file his Motion.14 The Motion must be DENIED.

Nevertheless, Mr. Sykes’s Motion raises legitimate concerns that Plaintiff’s estate will be prejudiced if the deadline to file a motion to substitute Plaintiff is not extended.15 The district court has inherent authority to “control the disposition of the causes on its docket.”16 FED. R. CIV. P. 6(b)(1)(A) further provides that “for good cause,” the district court may extend a deadline “with or without motion or notice if the court acts . . . before the original time . . . expires.”17 Under the circumstances, good cause exists to extend the deadline to file a motion to substitute Plaintiff by 45 days. Therefore, the deadline to file a motion to substitute Plaintiff under FED. R. CIV. P. 25(a)(1) is extended to January 13, 2022.

12 Anderson v. Eaton Corp., No. 2:10-cv-00905-TS, 2012 WL 6217434, *1 (D. Utah Dec. 13, 2012); see also Kasting v. Am. Family Mut. Ins. Co., 196 F.R.D. 595, 598 (D. Kan. 2000). 13 Anderson, 2012 WL 6217434, *1; Kasting, 196 F.R.D. at 598. 14 Anderson, 2012 WL 6217434, *1; Kasting, 196 F.R.D. at 598. 15 Motion at 2-3. 16 Anderson, 2012 WL 6217434, *2 (quoting Landis v. N. Am. Co., 299 U.S. 248, 254 (1936)). 17 FED. R. CIV. P. 6(b)(1)(A). ORDER IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Mr. Sykes’s Motion!* is DENIED. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the deadline to file a motion to substitute Plaintiff under FED. R. Civ. P. 25(a)(1) 1s extended to January 13, 2022. Signed November 23, 2021. BY THE COURT

Paul!Kohler United States District Judge

'8 Docket no. 75, filed Nov. 18, 2021.