Opinion ID: 683972
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: errata/motion to strike

Text: 14 On September 13, 1993, the Appellant Parker M. Nielson, filed in this Court a document entitled Errata. In the Errata, Nielson asserts that the wildlife regulations (Exhibit D) cited by Gurley in his brief are a misrepresentation of the actual regulations. Nielson further contends in his Errata that Appellee Gurley and his counsel improperly omitted the portion of the Utah Administrative Code wildlife regulations regarding accidental trapping. 15 On October 4, 1993, counsel for Appellee/Cross-Appellant Dale Gurley, Dennis C. Ferguson, submitted a response to Appellant's Errata. In that response, counsel for Appellee Gurley asserts that his Exhibit D is an exact copy of excerpts from a wildlife proclamation as set out in the minutes of the Utah Wildlife Board. Gurley and his counsel contend that there is no material difference between the provisions of the proclamation referenced in Gurley's brief and the wildlife regulations as published in the Utah Administrative Code. In support of that assertion, Appellee Gurley's counsel submitted a comparison of certain of the applicable regulations both as published in the Code and as stated in the proclamation attached as Exhibit D. As to the omission of the accidental trapping provisions, counsel for Gurley asserts that it is not his responsibility to cite provisions which he deems to be inapplicable to the case at bar. 16 On October 8, 1993, Appellant Nielson filed his Motion To Strike, For Sanctions Against Dennis C. Ferguson And The Firm Of Williams And Hunt And For Reference To Disciplinary Panel. In that document, Appellant Nielson requests that this Court strike Exhibit D to the Brief of Appellee Dale Gurley in its entirety, strike the response of Dale Gurley to the Appellant's Errata and requests that this Court impose sanctions against Dennis C. Ferguson and the firm of Williams and Hunt for the filing of the response to his Errata. Appellant Nielson further requests that his Motion to Strike be assigned to and entertained by a single judge pursuant to Rule 27 of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure and that his Motion for Sanctions be referred to the disciplinary panel for investigation and formal disciplinary proceedings pursuant to Section 6.2 of our Circuit Plan for Attorney Disciplinary Enforcement. 17 The Appellant asserts in his Motion to Strike that Appellee Gurley misrepresented the facts and law surrounding the seizure of the trap and, as discussed in connection with the Errata, misrepresented the wildlife regulations by attaching a proclamation rather than the actual Utah Code. Appellant Nielson contends that he advised counsel for Appellee Gurley by letter concerning the discrepancies between the proclamation attached to his Exhibit D and the Utah Code but that no correction of such Exhibit D has been made by counsel for Appellee Gurley. Appellant Nielson further contends that Gurley's response to the Appellant's Errata is unauthorized and should be stricken on that basis as well. 18 It should first be stated that this Court will deny Appellant Nielson's request that his Motion to Strike be assigned to and entertained by a single judge pursuant to Rule 27 of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure. 19 In consideration of the merits of Nielson's Motion to Strike, we are of the opinion that Exhibit D to the Brief of Appellee Dale Gurley should not be stricken in that such Exhibit clearly indicates that the document is a proclamation of the wildlife board and it is apparent from a reading of such document that it is an explanation of the applicable wildlife regulations as found in the Utah Code. An examination of the pertinent sections indicates that, as asserted by counsel for Appellee Gurley, the provisions of the Utah Code are identical in all material respects to those of the proclamation and such additions and changes contained in the proclamation are in no way misleading. In addition, this Court finds nothing improper in Gurley's failure to cite the accidental trapping provisions to this Court on the assertion that such provisions are deemed inapplicable to the positions taken by Gurley in this case. 20 We also decline to strike the response to the Errata filed by counsel for Appellee Gurley. This Court is of the opinion that the contents of Nielson's Errata are such that Appellee Gurley should be entitled to respond thereto. Such response is especially appropriate in light of the allegations of misconduct leveled against counsel for Appellee Gurley in the Errata. 21 In light of the foregoing, this Court will decline to strike the response to Plaintiff's Errata, will decline to impose sanctions against counsel for Appellee Gurley, and will therefore decline to refer this issue to the disciplinary panel under the Plan for Attorney Disciplinary Enforcement. The Motion To Strike, For Sanctions Against Dennis C. Ferguson And The Firm Of Williams And Hunt And For Reference To Disciplinary Panel is denied in its entirety.