Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-arwd-4_23-cv-04078/USCOURTS-arwd-4_23-cv-04078-3/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Atlantic Track and Runway Services, LLC
Defendant
John Dunn
Defendant
Davevon Henderson
Plaintiff
Rick Swope
Defendant

Document Text:

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

WESTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS

TEXARKANA DIVISION 

DAVEVON HENDERSON PLAINTIFF

v. Case No. 4:23-cv-04078 

ATLANTIC TRACK AND RUNWAY

SERVICES, LLC, RICK SWOPE, &

JOHN DUNN DEFENDANTS

ORDER

Before the Court is Plaintiff’s Opposed Motion for Extension of Discovery Deadline. 

ECF No. 49. The Court finds the matter ripe for consideration. 

On August 18, 2023, Plaintiff filed his Complaint. ECF No. 2. On March 26, 2024, 

Defendant Atlantic Track and Runway Services, LLC (Defendant “ATRS”) propounded its first 

set of discovery requests to Plaintiff. The requests included 20 Interrogatories, 15 Requests for 

Production of Documents, and 25 Requests for Admission. Responses to these requests were due 

on or before April 25, 2024. ECF No. 46, p. 2. On April 25, 2024, Plaintiff’s counsel requested 

a two-week extension of time to provide responses to the discovery. Before counsel for 

Defendant ATRS could respond to this request for an extension, Plaintiff’s counsel forwarded 

responses to Defendant ATRS’s discovery requests. Id. 

On May 24, 2024, counsel for Plaintiff sent documents identified as Plaintiff’s Objections 

and Responses to Defendant ATR’s First set of Interrogatories and Requests for Production. ECF 

No. 46, p. 9; ECF No. 45-3. On May 30, 2024, counsel for Plaintiff informed ATRS that “we 

have been unable to contact or communicate with Plaintiff Henderson for a period of months.” 

ECF No. 46-1, p. 3. 

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On June 6, 2024, Defendant ATRS filed a Moton to Compel and Request for Sanctions

(ECF No. 45) arguing that Plaintiff’s responses to all their discovery requests were “woefully 

deficient” containing mostly boilerplate objections and objections which have no legal basis 

under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. ECF No. 46, p. 3. Defendant ATRS further argued 

that sanctions should be imposed against counsel for Plaintiff because they have “abused the 

judicial system, engaged in deceptive behavior, and stall[ed] this matter for weeks.” ECF No. 

46, p. 10.

On July 7, 2024, the Honorable Barry A. Bryant, United States Magistrate Judge for the 

Western District of Arkansas, issued an Order denying Defendant ATRS’s request for sanctions, 

but granting its request to compel discovery with respect to all discovery requests submitted to 

Plaintiff. ECF No. 48. Judge Bryant further ordered Plaintiff to fully respond to all discovery 

requests at issue on or before July 21, 2024, which is the deadline for discovery in the instant 

action. Id.

On July 19, 2024, Plaintiff filed the instant motion seeking an extension of the discovery 

deadline. ECF No. 49. Plaintiff states that he finally responded to his counsel on June 18, 2024,

and offered the following reason for failing to engage in discovery: 

due to the “stress of this case, my daughter passing (May 2023), and having to 

move (approximately four residential moves across three states since being 

stabbed), took a toll on me” and that he had engaged in a voluntary program that 

required his participation and presence for 6 months. [Plaintiff] was in the rehab 

program for six months and was not available to participate in discovery.

Id. at 2. For this reason, Plaintiff requests a 120-day extension of the discovery deadline. 

Upon consideration, the Court ORDERS that Plaintiff must provide the Court with proof 

of his participation in a rehabilitation program for the past 6 months. Plaintiff must provide this 

evidence to the Court on or before July 26, 2024, at which time the Court will make a 

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determination if Plaintiff has shown good cause to warrant an extension of the discovery 

deadline. 

IT IS SO ORDERED, this 19th day of July, 2024. 

 /s/ Susan O. Hickey 

 Susan O. Hickey 

 Chief United States District Judge

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