Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-3_04-cv-01043/USCOURTS-cand-3_04-cv-01043-9/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 442
Nature of Suit: Civil Rights Employment
Cause of Action: 42:2000e Job Discrimination (Employment)

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United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

MICHELLE ROBERSON,

Plaintiff,

v.

KAISER FOUNDATION

HOSPITALS, et al.,

Defendants.

NO. C04-1043 TEH 

ORDER SETTING CASE

MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE

AND EXTENDING TIME FOR

PLAINTIFF TO FIND NEW

COUNSEL

On February 10, 2006, the Court granted Jaynelle Bell’s motion to withdraw as

counsel for Plaintiff Michelle Roberson. The Court further instructed Ms. Roberson to file

by March 31, 2006, either a notice of appearance of new counsel or a notice that she intended

to prosecute this case without an attorney.

The Court received a letter from Ms. Roberson, dated March 22, 2006, informing the

Court that she has been unable to retain counsel in part because Ms. Bell has not returned her

phone calls regarding return of her client files. Ms. Roberson also stated in her letter that she

intends to continue this case with or without an attorney. This letter is sufficient to comply

with the Court’s February 10, 2006 order, and the Court therefore will not dismiss this case

for failure to prosecute at this time.

In addition, because Ms. Roberson appears to have been diligently attempting to retain

counsel but has been unable to do so at least in part due to circumstances beyond her control,

the Court will grant Ms. Roberson an extension of time in which to find counsel. However,

this case, which was filed more than two years ago, cannot continue on hold indefinitely, and

this will therefore be the last extension of time granted to Ms. Roberson to find counsel. This

does not mean that Ms. Roberson must stop trying to find new counsel after the dates set in

this order. To the contrary, she shall remain free to try to obtain new counsel, but she must

Case 3:04-cv-01043-TEH Document 164 Filed 04/06/06 Page 1 of 2
United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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represent herself in any proceedings that occur while she is unrepresented by an attorney. 

This includes filing all required papers as well as making all required personal appearances.

To help move this case forward, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

1. The parties shall appear in person before this Court for a case management

conference on Monday, June 26, 2006, at 1:30 PM.

2. The parties shall also file a joint case management conference statement on or

before Monday, June 19, 2006. 

3. Ms. Roberson shall call Kathleen Hurly, counsel for Defendants, at

(415) 781-7900, no later than Thursday, June 1, 2006, to inform Ms. Hurly whether she has

obtained new counsel.

4. If Ms. Roberson has obtained new counsel, then she shall provide Ms. Hurly with

that attorney’s name and contact information, and Ms. Hurly shall meet and confer with the

new attorney to prepare the joint case management conference statement. In addition, if

Ms. Roberson has obtained new counsel, then Ms. Roberson need not appear in person on

June 26; it will be sufficient for her new attorney to appear on her behalf.

5. If, on the other hand, Ms. Roberson has not obtained new counsel by June 1, then

she shall meet and confer with Ms. Hurly directly about what she would like to tell the Court

in the joint case management statement. Ms. Hurly shall take the lead in coordinating the

preparation and filing of the joint statement. If necessary, the joint statement may include

separate statements from each party, but the statement shall be filed as a single document.

6. The Clerk shall serve a copy of this order by regular mail on Ms. Roberson. The

Clerk shall also send Ms. Roberson a copy of this district’s Handbook for Litigants Without a

Lawyer to help her prepare for self-representation if she is unable to find an attorney.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: 04/06/06 

THELTON E. HENDERSON, JUDGE

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

Case 3:04-cv-01043-TEH Document 164 Filed 04/06/06 Page 2 of 2