O'Connor v. Lafayette City Council

District Court, D. Colorado·Decided September 1, 2020·No. 1:19-cv-01066·Unknown

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO Judge William J. Martínez Civil Action No. 19-cv-1066-WJM-KLM ANDREW J. O’CONNOR, Plaintiff, v. LAFAYETTE CITY COUNCIL, and ALEXANDRA LYNCH, Mayor of Lafayette, Defendants. ORDER ON MOTIONS

This matter is before the Court on ten pending motions filed by Plaintiff Andrew J. O’Connor (ECF Nos. 88, 109, 112, 113, 115, 140, 141, 143, 144, & 145), and three motions filed by Defendants Lafayette City Council and Mayor of Lafayette Alexandra Lynch (ECF Nos. 92, 120, & 135). The Court’s rulings on these motions are set forth below. I. BACKGROUND This case arises out of Defendants’ alleged failure to appoint Plaintiff to a seat

on the Lafayette City Council in August 2018 and February 2019. (ECF No. 83.) Plaintiff brings claims against Defendants under the First Amendment, Title VII, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Court assumes familiarity with Plaintiff’s specific allegations, which are set forth in his Amended Complaint (id.). Plaintiff is proceeding pro se and filed his original Complaint in this action on April 11, 2019. (ECF No. 1.) For a case that has been pending for less than a year and a half, its procedural history is extensive. It seems that this is attributable primarily to the excessive amount of pleadings, motions, and other documents Plaintiff has filed. Most of Plaintiff’s filings, while often captioned differently, seek the same or similar relief—sanctions against Defendants’ counsel, for example—and are substantively

similar to, if not copy-pasted verbatim (at least in part) from previously filed documents. As indicated above, this Order will address thirteen pending motions. The Court will address Defendants’ motions first, as each bears on the procedural deficiencies of several of Plaintiff’s own motions at issue here. In particular, the motions filed by Defendants currently before the Court are: (1) Defendants’ Motion to Strike Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 92); (2) Defendants’ Motion to Strike Plaintiff’s Motions to Compel Discovery, Plaintiff’s Third Amended Complaint, and Plaintiff’s Amended Response to Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss (“Defendants’ Second Motion to Strike”) (ECF No. 120); and (3) Defendants’ Motion to Strike Plaintiff’s Responses to

Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss (“Defendants’ Third Motion to Strike”) (ECF No. 135). Plaintiff’s motions currently before the Court are: (1) Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 88); (2) Plaintiff’s Motions to Compel Discovery (ECF Nos. 109, 112, 113, & 115); (3) Plaintiff’s Motions to Strike (ECF Nos. 140, 141, 143, & 145); and (4) Plaintiff’s Motion to Disqualify Counsel for Defendants (ECF No. 144). The parties’ motions will be addressed in turn.

2 II. ANALYSIS A. Defendants’ Motion to Strike Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 92) On March 23, 2020, Plaintiff filed a Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 88), and on March 26, 2020, Defendants filed their Motion to Strike Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 92). Defendants argue that Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment is procedurally improper and should be stricken because it fails to comply with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(c) and section III.E.3 of the Court’s Practice Standards. Rule 56(c) provides: (1) A party asserting that a fact cannot be or is genuinely disputed must support the assertion by: (A) citing to particular parts of materials in the record, including depositions, documents, electronically stored information, affidavits or declarations, stipulations (including those made for purposes of the motion only), admissions, interrogatory answers, or other materials. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c). Similarly, section III.E.3 of the Court’s Practice Standards states: All motions for summary judgment, including Early Motions for Partial Summary Judgment, must contain a section entitled “Movant’s Statement of Material Facts.” This Statement shall set forth in simple, declarative sentences, all of which are separately numbered and paragraphed, each material fact the movant believes supports movant’s claim that movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Each statement of fact must be accompanied by a specific reference to supporting evidence in the record. WJM Revised Practice Standards § III.E.3 (Dec. 1, 2019). The Court agrees with Defendants that Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment 3 fails to comply with these procedural requirements. First, Plaintiff does not provide any evidentiary support whatsoever for the factual allegations he makes in his Motion. (See ECF No. 88.) Additionally, Plaintiff’s Motion does not contain a section titled “Movant’s Statement of Material Facts,” and his allegations are not separately numbered and paragraphed. (See id.) Despite the fact that Plaintiff is proceeding pro se, he still must comply with all

applicable rules and procedures. Nielsen v. Price, 17 F.3d 1276, 1277 (10th Cir. 1994). The procedural deficiencies in Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment are significant, and not merely cosmetic, and the Court will accordingly grant Defendants’ Motion to Strike Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment. See Estes v. Fortunato, 2011 WL 832262, at *1–2 (D. Colo. Mar. 3, 2011); Neely v. Ortiz, 241 F. App’x 474, 478 (10th Cir. 2007) (citing Motley v. Marathon Oil Co., 71 F.3d 1547, 1552 (10th Cir. 1995)). Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 88) will be stricken. B. Defendants’ Second Motion to Strike (ECF No. 120) In Defendants’ Second Motion to Strike (ECF No. 120), Defendants ask the

Court to strike (1) Plaintiff’s Motions to Compel Discovery (ECF Nos. 113 & 115); (2) Plaintiff’s Third Amended Complaint (ECF No. 117); and (3) Plaintiff’s Amended Response to Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss (ECF No. 118). 1. Plaintiff’s Motions to Compel Discovery (ECF Nos. 113 & 115) Defendants argue that Plaintiff’s Motions to Compel Discovery (ECF Nos. 113 & 115) should be stricken because, among other reasons, they exceed the page limit prescribed by section III.C.1 of the Court’s Practice Standards. The Court agrees. Both Motions (ECF Nos. 113 & 115) are eighteen and one-half pages long, 4 exclusive of the signature block and certificate of service. As such, they are noncompliant with section III.C.1 of the Court’s Practice Standards, which requires that such motions be fifteen pages or less, absent prior leave of the Court, which Plaintiff did not seek or obtain. See WJM Practice Standards § III.C.1 (Dec. 1, 2019). The Court therefore will grant Defendants’ Second Motion to Strike (ECF No. 120) as to Plaintiff’s Motions to Compel (ECF Nos. 113 & 115), and Plaintiff’s Motions to Compel (ECF Nos.

113 & 115) will be stricken. Additionally, and for the same reason, Plaintiff’s previously filed Motions to Compel (ECF Nos. 109 & 112) will be stricken by the Court sua sponte. 2. Plaintiff’s Third Amended Complaint Defendants further argue that Plaintiff’s Third Amended Complaint (ECF No. 117) should be stricken because, among other reasons, Plaintiff failed to seek the Court’s leave to amend as required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a). The Court agrees with this argument as well. In its Order adopting U.S. Magistrate Judge Kristen L. Mix’s Recommendation on Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss, the Court granted Plaintiff leave to file one amended complaint. (ECF No.

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Related

Neely v. Ortiz
241 F. App'x 474 (Tenth Circuit, 2007)
Nielsen v. Price
17 F.3d 1276 (Tenth Circuit, 1994)