Opinion ID: 1111578
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Timeliness of Opposition Documents

Text: The patient maintains that the district court erred by incorrectly determining that his opposition materials were untimely filed pursuant to W.R.C.P. 6(c)(1) and by denying his motion for an enlargement of time to respond to the doctor's summary judgment motion. W.R.C.P. 56(c) provides: Unless the court otherwise orders, the motion and any response and other papers relating thereto shall be served pursuant to Rule 6(c). W.R.C.P. 6(c)(1) provides in pertinent part: [U]nless the court by order permits service at some other time, a party affected by the motion shall serve a response, if any, together with affidavits, if any, at least three days prior to the hearing on the motion or within 20 days after service of the motion, whichever is earlier. Unless the court by order permits service at some other time, the moving party shall serve a reply, if any, at least one day prior to the hearing on the motion or within 15 days after service of the response, whichever is earlier. Unless the court otherwise orders, any party may serve supplemental memoranda or rebuttal affidavits at least one day prior to the hearing on the motion. (Emphasis added.) The district court should not receive or consider untimely filed affidavits in summary judgment matters. Larsen v. Roberts, 676 P.2d 1046, 1047-48 (Wyo. 1984). To condone a practice which permits parties to simply ignore the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure would defeat the purpose for the rules. 676 P.2d at 1048. The district court originally set the hearing on the summary judgment motion for February 18, 1997. Instead of serving his opposing materials in accordance with W.R.C.P. 6, the patient waited until February 18, 1997, to file a written opposition to the doctor's summary judgment motion and a motion for an enlargement of time to respond. On March 12, 1997, the day before the rescheduled hearing, the patient filed and served additional documents in support of his opposition to the doctor's summary judgment motion. He included two affidavits in these documents which purported to oppose the summary judgment motion. The patient asserts that, when the district court rescheduled the hearing date, the deadlines imposed by W.R.C.P. 6(c)(1) also changed. The patient misinterprets this rule. An order which rescheduled a hearing and was entered after the responsive documents were due does not extend the response period. The patient relies on the language in W.R.C.P. 6(c)(1) which allows supplemental memoranda or rebuttal affidavits at least one day prior to the hearing. This, of course, assumes that adequate opposing materials were timely filed in the first place. With regard to the enlargement-of-time motion, we rely upon W.R.C.P. 6(b) which provides in pertinent part: (b) Enlargement. When by these rules or by a notice given thereunder or by order of court an act is required or allowed to be done at or within a specified time, the court, or a commissioner thereof, for cause shown may at any time in its discretion: (1) with or without motion or notice order the period enlarged if request therefor is made before the expiration of the period originally prescribed or as extended by a previous order; or (2) upon motion made after the expiration of the specified period permit the act to be done where the failure to act was the result of excusable neglect.... In denying the patient's motion for more time, the district court stated: 5. It is undisputed that [the patient's] original expert urologist ... died in April of 1996. Although [the patient] was apparently unaware of this fact until January of 1997, [the patient] should have known about this much earlier due to [the doctor's] requests for taking the deposition of [the expert witness]. Moreover, [the patient] has failed to show that he did not have adequate time to retain another expert. Considering all of the circumstances in this case, [the patient] has had more than enough time to provide responsive materials in opposition to [the doctor's] Motion for Summary Judgment. The Court specifically finds that [the patient] has failed to show either cause or excusable neglect sufficient to justify enlargement of time for filing responsive materials. Because the patient waited until the prescribed response period had expired to make his motion, he was required to show excusable neglect. W.R.C.P. 6(b)(2). This Court has defined excusable neglect as being that behavior which might be the act of a reasonably prudent person under the circumstances. Whitney v. McDonough, 892 P.2d 791, 794 (Wyo.1995). The patient maintains that the unknown death of an expert should be viewed as excusable neglect or at least compassion allowing a just resolution on the merits and not sanctionable lack of diligence. We disagree and echo the district court's findings that the patient should have known about the death of his expert much earlier than he did and that the patient failed to demonstrate that he did not have sufficient time in which to retain another expert. Accordingly, the patient failed to show excusable neglect which was sufficient to justify being granted an enlargement of time for filing responsive materials.