Gary Atkins v. Raymond Mabus, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Gary Atkins appeals the district court’s order granting summary judgment to Raymond E. Mabus, Jr., Secretary of the Department of the Navy (the Navy), on Atkins’ claims for violations of the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552a, and denying Atkins’ request to enlarge time for discovery. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we reverse and remand.

1. The district court abused its discretion by refusing to permit further discovery. See Mackey v. Pioneer Nat Bank, 867 F.2d 520, 523 (9th Cir. 1989). Atkins’ failure to conduct discovery within the allotted time frame was the result of his counsel’s excusable neglect. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(b) (“When an act may or must be done within a specified time, the court may, for good cause, extend the time where ... the party failed to act because of excusable neglect.”). During the discovery period, counsel suffered a serious concussion that incapacitated him for weeks and limited his ability to work for months; he also began divorce proceedings. Due to both his impaired state and unrealistic recovery expectations, counsel did not seek assistance from other attorneys at his small law firm to help him comply with the discovery…