Judge: Mark H. Epstein, Case: 20STCV03819, Date: 2023-01-30 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 20STCV03819    Hearing Date: January 30, 2023    Dept: R

The court is inclined to GRANT the application to shorten time on the motion to withdraw, but DENY the request for a continuance.  Defense counsel states that defendant has not paid the bill for a while and that there has been an utter breakdown in communications.  That (especially the breakdown) seems like good cause to advance the hearing date for the motion to withdraw.

However, it is not cause to continue the trial.  The trial date has been set for some time.  Right now, the court cannot tell whether the need to continue is based on defendant’s unilateral actions.  A party cannot give themselves a continuance in that manner.  Nor is the court sure why this motion was not made until last Thursday.  Presumably the problems between defendant and his counsel have been brewing for some time.  In short, this looks more like deliberate conduct by defendant to obtain a continuance than an unavoidable issue.

Absent some reason to reconsider that position articulated at today’s hearing, the FSC remains on calendar for February 6, 2023 and the trial remains on calendar for February 14, 2023.  The parties are reminded on the court’s Final Status Conference rules, which require a number of joint submissions that must be filed later this week.  The failure to do so could well result in an order barring the offending party from calling witnesses (other than himself or herself) and from introducing evidence or from objecting to jury instructions.  The court is not confident it will be available to hear the case on February 14, 2023, and if not, then the court might allow new FSC materials to be based on the new FSC date.  The discovery and motion deadlines will not, however, be extended.