State Contracting & Engineering Corp. v. Condotte America, Inc.

368 F. Supp. 2d 1296, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22145, 2005 WL 1138910
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedMarch 30, 2005
Docket97-7014CIV
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 368 F. Supp. 2d 1296 (State Contracting & Engineering Corp. v. Condotte America, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State Contracting & Engineering Corp. v. Condotte America, Inc., 368 F. Supp. 2d 1296, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22145, 2005 WL 1138910 (S.D. Fla. 2005).

Opinion

OMNIBUS ORDER APPROVING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION AND DISCHARGING CHARGING LIEN

DIMITROULEAS, District Judge.

THIS CAUSE is before the Court upon the Report and Recommendation on Richard S. Ross’ Notice of Filing Charging Lien [DE 548], signed by Magistrate Edwin G. Torres on October 25, 2004. In *1298 reviewing the Report and Recommendation, the Court has considered the October 25, 2004 Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law [DE 549] of Magistrate Judge Edwin G. Torres, the October 26, 2004 Supplement to the Report and Recommendation [DE 551] of Magistrate Judge Torres, Magistrate Torres’ November 9, 2004 Order Denying Ross’ Motion for Reconsideration [DE 556], Ross’ Objections to the Report and Recommendation [DE 557], Plaintiffs Objections to the Magistrate’s Report and Recommendation [DE 552], Ross’ Response to the Plaintiffs Objections to the Magistrate’s Report and Recommendation [DE 560], Plaintiffs Response to Ross’ Objections to the Magistrate’s Report and Recommendations [DE 565], and Plaintiffs Motion for Enlargement of Time to File Amended Objections and to Respond to Ross’ Notice of Filing Citations and Supplementation in Support of his Objections to the Magistrate’s Report and Recommendation [DE 588]. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(C), the Court has conducted a de novo review of the entire court record herein, and is otherwise fully advised in the premises.

I. BACKGROUND 1

On October 25, 2004, Magistrate Judge Edwin G. Torres issued a Report and Recommendation (“R & R”) on Richard S. Ross’ Motion and Memorandum of Law to Adjudicate his Charging Lien [DE 548]. In that R & R, Magistrate Torres found, when sitting in equity, (1) an express or implied contract between Richard S. Ross (“Ross”) and Plaintiff State Contracting & Engineering Corporation (“SCEC”); (2) an express or implied understanding that payment to Ross was contingent upon and would be paid from the recovery obtained by SCEC in the above-styled matter; (3) that SCEC has disputed the amount of Ross’ fee under the contract; and (4) that Ross had timely filed a notice of lien. Additionally, Magistrate Torres found that Ross is entitled to a contingent fee payable from SCEC’s recovery in the above-styled matter in the amount of $1,094,483.34. 2 Accordingly, Magistrate Torres recommends that this Court grant Ross’ Motion to Adjudicate his Charging Lien [DE 493], and discharge with prejudice Ross’ January 7, 2003 Charging Lien [DE 446].

II. SCEC’S MOTION FOR ENLARGEMENT OF TIME TO FILE AMENDED OBJECTIONS

On October 25, 2004, Magistrate Torres entered his R & R [DE 548] on Richard S. Ross, Esq.’s Motion and Memorandum of Law to Adjudicate his Charging Lien [DE 493]. The next day, on October 26, 2004, Magistrate Torres entered a Supplement to the R & R [DE 550], which notified the parties that they had ten business days from the date of the R & R to file written objections. The October 26, 2004 Supplement further informed the parties that a failure to timely object would bar the parties from a de novo determination by this Court of an issue covered by the R & R *1299 and would bar the parties from attacking the factual findings accepted or adopted by this Court. Additionally, the October 26, 2004 Supplement notified the parties that no extension of time would be given unless the motion for an extension was accompanied by a motion for reconsideration or clarification of the R & R or Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law.

SCEC filed its Objections to the Magistrate’s R & R [DE 552] on November 4, 2004. On November 5, 2004, Ross filed a Motion for Reconsideration of the R & R to Adjudicate Richard Ross’ Charging Lien [DE 553]. On the same day, Ross filed a Motion for Enlargement of Time Within Which to File Objections to the R & R [DE 554] that requested a ten day extension from the date Magistrate Torres ruled on the Motion for Reconsideration in which to file objections to the R & R. On November 8, 2004, Magistrate Torres granted Ross’ Motion for Extension of Time [DE 555], and on November 9, 2004 Magistrate Torres denied Ross’ Motion for Reconsideration [DE 556]. In the November 9, 2004 Order Denying Ross’ Motion for Reconsideration [DE 556, p. 4] Magistrate Torres informed the parties that the deadline for filing objections or amended objections to the R & R would be November 16, 2004. The November 9, 2004 Order again notified the parties that a failure to timely object would bar the parties from a de novo determination by this Court of an issue covered by the R & R and would bar the parties from attacking the factual findings accepted or adopted by this Court on appeal. Ross filed his Objections to the Magistrate’s R & 'R [DE 557] on November 17, 2004. 3

On March 1, 2005, almost four months after the November 16, 2005 deadline for objections and amended objections, Ross filed a Notice of Filing Record Citations and Supplementation in Support of His Objections to Magistrate’s R & R [DE 587]. In essence, this Notice attempts to amend Ross’ November 17, 2004 Objections to Magistrate Torres’ R & R [DE 557] by including specific record citations as well as the specific basis for each of Ross’ objections to the Magistrates’ Findings of Fact [DE 549]. 4 On March 16, 2005, SCEC filed its Motion for Enlargement' of Time to File Amended Objections and to Respond to Ross’ March 1, 2005 Notice [DE 588]. In the Motion, SCEC requests the opportunity to file its own Amended Objections as well as to responding to Ross’ amendments.

When a party files timely and specific objections to a Magistrate’s finding of facts district courts have an obligation to conduct a de'novo review of the record with respect to the factual issues. Lo Conte v. Dugger, 847 F.2d 745, 749-50 *1300 (11th Cir.), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 958, 109 S.Ct. 397, 102 L.Ed.2d 386 (1998). Here, Magistrate Torres’ November 9, 2004 Order notified the parties that the deadline for objections and amended objections to the R & R was November 16, 2004. As discussed above, both parties filed timely Objections that the Court will consider below. However, the recent, yet dilatory, attempts by both parties to amend their Objections will not be considered by the Court.

The parties’ long-belated efforts to amend come four months after the November 16, 2004 deadline. During that four month period neither party requested leave of this Court to amend its original Objections, until exactly four months after the deadline. 5 The Court finds the delay inexcusable.

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Bluebook (online)
368 F. Supp. 2d 1296, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22145, 2005 WL 1138910, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-contracting-engineering-corp-v-condotte-america-inc-flsd-2005.