Knowles v. Clavel Corporation

Background

Defendant’s pre-motion letter was filed after its deadline to respond to the Complaint had passed. The Court had directed the parties to submit supplemental letters addressing the missed deadline. Plaintiff’s letter stated that he planned to request a certificate of default and referred to what Plaintiff’s counsel viewed as Defendant’s counsel’s pattern of overlooking deadlines and court orders. Defendant acknowledged that it had failed to timely file the pre-motion letter and asked the Court to excuse the deficiency.

Court’s Analysis

The Court treated Defendant’s letter as a motion for an extension of time under Rule 6(b)(1)(B) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Because the request came after the deadline, Defendant had to show that its failure to act resulted from “excusable neglect.” The Court considered the relevant circumstances, including prejudice to Plaintiff, the reason and length of the delay, and whether Defendant acted in good faith.

Defendant attributed the delay to “sloppiness on the part of counsel.” The Court concluded that this explanation was not culpable in these circumstances, particularly because the error did not appear to have been made in bad faith. The delay was only one day, and the Court found no resulting prejudice to Plaintiff. The Court also considered the strong preference for resolving disputes on their merits.

Ruling

Judge John P. Cronan granted a retroactive extension of Defendant’s deadline to respond to the Complaint through April 3, 2025, and accepted Defendant’s pre-motion letter as timely filed. The Court ordered Plaintiff to respond to the pre-motion letter by April 11, 2025. The Court cautioned counsel for both parties that it was not inclined to tolerate further sloppy performance by the lawyers in the case.