Martin Family Trust v. Heco/Nostalgia Enterprises Co.

*602 AMENDED ORDER IMPOSING SANCTIONS

This sanctioning matter involves a recurring problem caused by lawyers who disregard filing requirements in orders issued under Rule 16 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. On May 11, 1999, an Order to Show Cause (OSC) was issued in this case obligating Plaintiff to explain in writing why sanctions should not be imposed for its failure to file a status report as required by the Court’s Rule 16 Order Setting Status (Pretrial Scheduling) Conference filed March 16, 1999. 1 On May 28, 1999, Plaintiff filed a timely response to the OSC. Plaintiff did not request a hearing.

Plaintiffs response to the OSC indicates that its counsel misperceives both a federal judge’s sanctioning authority under Rule 16(f) and counsel’s obligation to strictly comply with a filing deadline prescribed in a Rule 16 order. 2 Rule 16(f) gives a federal judge authority to sanction a party or a party’s attorney who fails to obey a scheduling order. The rule provides in pertinent part: “If a party or party’s attorney fails to obey a scheduling or pretrial order ..., the judge, upon motion or the judge’s own initiative, may make such orders with regard thereto as are…