Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-2_08-cv-00547/USCOURTS-caed-2_08-cv-00547-3/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Assurance Risk Managers, Inc.
Defendant
California Apartment Association
Defendant
Samantha Gumenick
Plaintiff
Lisa Isom
Defendant
Multifamily Captive Group, LLC
Plaintiff
Network Insurance Agents, Inc.
Defendant

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

----oo0oo----

MULTIFAMILY CAPTIVE GROUP,

LLC, A Maryland Corporation;

SAMANTHA GUMENICK, an

Individual, 

Plaintiffs,

v. NO. CIV. S-08-0547 FCD DAD

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

ASSURANCE RISK MANAGERS, INC.,

A Colorado Corporation; LISA

ISOM, an Individual; NETWORK

INSURANCE AGENTS, INC., a

California Corporation; and

CALIFORNIA APARTMENT

ASSOCIATION, a California

Corporation, 

Defendants.

___________________________/

----oo0oo----

This matter is before the court on plaintiffs’ motion to

continue the hearing on defendant California Apartment

Association’s (“CAA”) motion to dismiss and to extend the

deadline by which plaintiffs may file an opposition. Plaintiffs

contend that such a continuance is necessary because new counsel

Case 2:08-cv-00547-FCD-DAD Document 45 Filed 07/28/08 Page 1 of 3
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1 The court notes that defendants Assurance Risk Managers

and Lisa Isom join in defendant CAA’s pending motion to dismiss.

2

will be substituting into the case and will need additional time

to respond to defendant’s pending motion. Defendant CAA opposes

the motion.1 

Plaintiff Multifamily Captive Group, LLC, filed its

complaint against all defendants on March 10, 2008. Defendant

CAA filed a motion to dismiss the complaint on April 3, 2008. On

May 6, 2008, days before an opposition to the motion to dismiss

was due, plaintiffs filed a motion to amend the complaint, which

the court granted and which rendered the pending motion to

dismiss moot. The amended complaint, filed May 15, 2008, is

identical to the original complaint with the exception of the

addition of a new named individual plaintiff. Subsequently, on

May 22, 2008, defendant CAA filed a motion to dismiss plaintiffs’

amended complaint. On July 18, 2008, again only days before an

opposition to the motion to dismiss was due, plaintiffs filed a

request to continue the hearing based upon a pending substitution

of new counsel. To date, new counsel has not filed an appearance

for plaintiffs in this matter. 

This court possesses the inherent power to control its own

docket and calendar. Mediterranean Enterprises, Inc. v.

Ssangyong Corp., 708 F.2d 1458, 1465 (9th Cir. 1983) (citations

omitted). In this case, the court holds that a continuance is

not warranted. Plaintiffs’ current counsel has had more than

adequate time to respond to defendant CAA’s motion. Defendant

CAA filed a motion to dismiss plaintiff’s original complaint

almost four months ago. It subsequently filed a substantially

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similar motion to dismiss plaintiffs’ nearly identical amended

complaint over a month ago. Further, in light of this pending

request to continue, the court moved the hearing date for the

motion to dismiss by two weeks. 

Moreover, while plaintiffs’ current counsel contends that

their clients will be engaging new counsel to represent them in

this matter, there is no substitute counsel on record to date. 

As such, plaintiffs’ current counsel are the attorneys of record

and are responsible for comporting with the court’s deadlines in

the representation of their clients.

Therefore, in light of the facts before the court,

plaintiffs’ motion to continue the hearing on defendant CAA’s

motion to dismiss is DENIED. 

IT IS SO ORDERED.

DATED: July 28, 2008

 

FRANK C. DAMRELL, Jr.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Case 2:08-cv-00547-FCD-DAD Document 45 Filed 07/28/08 Page 3 of 3