Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-azd-2_06-cv-01676/USCOURTS-azd-2_06-cv-01676-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 480
Nature of Suit: Consumer Credit
Cause of Action: 15:1681 Fair Credit Reporting Act

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WO

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

Carmen Garcia,

Plaintiff,

v.

Trans Union LLC,

Defendant.

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No. CV-06-1676-PHX-SMM

ORDER

On October 5, 2006, this Court issued an Order Setting Rule 16 Preliminary Pretrial

Conference to counsel for Plaintiff, Jennifer Basola, and counsel for Defendant, Donald

Bradley. (Dkt. 14.) This Order expressly provided that a Preliminary Pretrial Conference

was scheduled to take place on December 4, 2006 at 10:00 a.m. In addition the Order

mandated:

 1. COUNSEL WHO WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR TRIAL

OF THE LAWSUIT FOR EACH PARTY SHALL

PERSONALLY APPEAR AND PARTICIPATE IN THE

PRELIMINARY PRETRIAL CONFERENCE. . . . .

2. IN ADDITION TO COUNSEL OF RECORD, EACH

PARTY, OR A REPRESENTATIVE OF EACH PARTY

(WHO IS NOT COUNSEL OF RECORD) WITH BINDING

SETTLEMENT AUTHORITY IF THE PARTY IS AN

ENTITY, SHALL BE PRESENT AT THE PRELIMINARY

Case 2:06-cv-01676-SMM Document 18 Filed 12/05/06 Page 1 of 5
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PRETRIAL CONFERENCE. NO PARTY OR COUNSEL

SHALL BE EXCUSED FROM PERSONALLY

APPEARING AT THE CONFERENCE WITHOUT PRIOR

PERMISSION OF THE COURT. See Fed. R. Civ.P. 16(f).

Dkt. 14 at ¶¶1-2 (emphasis and type style in original). 

On December 4, 2006, Donald Bradley and Philip Wooten, counsel for Defendant

Trans Union LLC, appeared for the Court-ordered Pretrial Conference, as did Patricia

Norris, Trans Union’s client representative. Clifford Levenson also appeared at the Pretrial

Conference. Mr. Levenson, an attorney who has not filed a notice of appearance in the

present case and is not counsel of record, stated that he was appearing “for Tracy Piasecki,”

a California attorney whose name appears on the Rule 26(f) Case Management Plan filed on

November 27, 2006, but who has not sought to be admitted pro hac vice, in violation of

LRCiv. 83.1(b)(3). See dkt. 15.

In contravention of the clear and unambiguous language of this Court’s order setting

the Preliminary Pretrial Conference (see dkt. 14 at ¶¶ 1-2), counsel of record for Plaintiff,

Jennifer Basola of the law firm Krohn & Moss Ltd., did not appear at the Preliminary Pretrial

Conference. Similarly, in violation of this Court’s order to appear, neither Plaintiff Carmen

Garcia nor a representative of Plaintiff Garcia appeared at the Preliminary Pretrial

Conference. See id. As a result of Ms. Basola’s and Plaintiff Garcia’s violation of this

Court’s Order Setting Pretrial Conference, (i) no appearance was made on behalf of Plaintiff

Garcia at the Pretrial Conference, (ii) the Pretrial Conference set for December 4, 2006 was

cancelled, and (iii) a new Pretrial Conference has been scheduled to take place on January

16, 2007 at 2:00 p.m. Because of their noncompliance with this Court’s October 5 Order,

Ms. Besola and Plaintiff Garcia will be sanctioned under Rule 16(f) of the Federal Rules of

Civil Procedure.

/ / / 

/ / / 

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Rule 16(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides as follows: 

(f) Sanctions. If a party or party’s attorney fails to obey a

scheduling or pretrial order, or if no appearance is made on

behalf of a party at a scheduling or pretrial conference, . . . the

judge, upon motion or the judge’s own initiative, may make

such orders with regard thereto as are just, and among others

any of the orders provided in Rule 37(b)(2)(B), (C), (D). In lieu

of or in addition to any other sanction, the judge shall require

the party or the attorney representing the party or both to pay

the reasonable expenses incurred because of any noncompliance

with this rule, including attorney’s fees, unless the judge finds

that the noncompliance was substantially justified or that other

circumstances make an award of expenses unjust. 

Fed.R.Civ.P. 16(f), emphasis added.

By failing to appear at the Preliminary Pretrial Conference on December 4, 2006 at

10:00 a.m., Ms. Besola and Plaintiff Garcia failed to obey this Court’s Order scheduling the

Pretrial Conference, therefore violating Rule 16(f) in two ways. See Dkt. 14 at ¶¶1-2. Mr.

Levenson’s appearance at the hearing did not constitute an appearance on behalf of Plaintiff

because he is not counsel of record. See LRCiv. 83.3(a). As a result of Ms. Besola’s and

Plaintiff Garcia’s noncompliance with this Court’s scheduling Order and failure to appear

on December 4, 2006, the Court was not authorized to proceed with the Preliminary Pretrial

Conference, even though Defendant’s counsel and client representative had incurred

substantial costs in order to timely appear at the Conference. 

The Court finds that noncompliance with the Court’s Order scheduling the Pretrial

Conference was not (and could not be) substantially justified because (i) The Court did not

receive a telephone call or Court filing from Ms. Besola or Plaintiff Garcia explaining the

reasons for their absence or seeking a continuance of the Conference due to an emergency;

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(ii) Neither Ms. Besola nor Plaintiff Garcia sent a representative of Ms. Garcia to the

Conference; and (iii) Ms. Besola should have known that, under this Court’s local rules, Mr.

Levenson was not authorized to appear at the Conference on Plaintiff’s behalf. See LRCiv.

83.3(a). The Court further finds that no circumstances make this award of monetary

sanctions unjust because Defendant’s counsel and client representative incurred significant

costs in order to attend the Preliminary Pretrial Conference, which was cancelled and

rescheduled due to Ms. Besola’s and Plaintiff Garcia’s unexcused failure to appear. 

For all of these reasons, the Court will imposes a monetary sanction against Ms.

Besola and Plaintiff Garcia, jointly and severally, in the amount of $1,412.81, the reasonable

expenses incurred because of their noncompliance with Rule 16(f), including attorney’s fees.

See Fed.R.Civ.P. 16(f).

The calculation of monetary sanctions is based on the following evidence presented

at the Preliminary Pretrial Conference after the Court determined that Ms. Besola and

Plaintiff Garcia had failed to appear in violation of Rule 16(f): (i) Mr. Bradley’s round-trip

airline ticket from Los Angeles to Phoenix cost $240.60; (ii) Ms. Norris’s round-trip airline

ticket from Chicago to Phoenix cost $432.21; (iii) Ms. Norris’s one-night hotel stay cost

$240.00; and (iv) the approximate amount of attorney’s fees expended by defense counsel

in preparation for the Pretrial Conference is $500.00.

Accordingly, 

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff’s counsel, Jennifer Basola, and Plaintiff

Carmen Garcia, jointly and severally, shall pay sanctions to Defendant’s counsel of record,

Donald Bradley, in the amount of $1412.81, the reasonable expenses incurred because of

their noncompliance with Rule 16(f), including attorney’s fees, no later than Thursday,

January 4, 2007.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a Preliminary Pretrial Conference is scheduled

to take place in Courtroom 605, 401 W. Washington Street, Phoenix, Arizona, on Tuesday,

January 16, 2007 at 2:00 p.m. With the exception of the time and date change, the provisions

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of this Court’s Order of October 5, 2006 shall remain binding on both parties and their

counsel.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, no later than December 18, 2006, counsel for

Defendant shall file proof of the costs incurred by Mr. Bradley and Ms. Norris to attend the

December 4, 2006 Preliminary Pretrial Conference. 

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Patricia Norris, client representative for

Defendant Trans Union, may appear telephonically at the Rule 16 Preliminary Pretrial

Conference scheduled to take place on January 16, 2007 at 2:00 p.m. Ms. Norris shall call

the Court on January 16, 2007 at 1:55 p.m. at 602-322-7555.

DATED this 4th day of December, 2006.

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