Koch v. Schapiro ( 2012 )

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
____________________________________
)
RANDOLPH S. KOCH, )
)
Plaintiff, )
)
v. ) Civil Action No. 08-1521 (PLF)
) Civil Action No. 09-2111 (PLF)
MARY L. SCHAPIRO, Chairman, ) Civil Action No. 10-0150 (PLF)
Securities and Exchange Commission, ) Civil Action No. 11-1645 (PLF)
et al., ) Civil Action No. 12-0301 (PLF)
)
Defendants. )
____________________________________)
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
This matter is before the Court on the motion of defendant, Mary L. Schapiro, in
Civil Action No. 08-1521 for a status conference so that the parties and the Court can discuss
how best to proceed in that case and the other related cases brought by plaintiff, Randolph S.
Koch, pending before this Court. The Court agrees that a status conference is appropriate and
will grant Ms. Shapiro’s motion.
On March 30, 2011, the Court stayed Civil Action Nos. 08-1521, 09-2111, and
10-0150 in their entirety. See Order at 2 (“Stay Order”), Mar. 30, 2011 [Dkt. No. 47, in Civil
Action No. 08-1521]. As the Court stated in its Stay Order, there is a pending dispositive motion
in each of those three cases:
In Civil Action No. 08-1521, a motion for summary judgment was
filed on August 26, 2010. In Civil Action No. 09-2111, a motion
to dismiss or, in the alternative, for summary judgment was filed
on June 4, 2010. In Civil Action No. 10-0150, a motion to dismiss
or, in the alternative, for summary judgment was filed on
September 27, 2010.
Id. at 1.
Mr. Koch has not yet responded to any of those pending motions. Instead, he has
filed multiple motions for extension of time, all of which the Court granted, because of ongoing
health problems. As the Court stated in its Stay Order: “In Civil Action No. 08-1521,
[Mr. Koch] has filed five motions for extension of time to respond to the dispositive motion. In
Civil Action No. 09-2111, [Mr. Koch] has filed seven motions for extension of time. In Civil
Action No. 10-0150, [Mr. Koch] has filed four motions for extension of time.” Stay Order at 1.
In view of Mr. Koch’s ongoing health problems and his multiple motions for
extension of time, the Court, on March 30, 2011, stayed Civil Action Nos. 08-1521, 09-2111,
and 10-0150 in their entirety. As the Court stated:
Because Mr. Koch, although a lawyer, is acting pro se in these
matters, the Court is sympathetic to his situation and certainly
hopes that his health improves. Nevertheless, he is the plaintiff in
these cases and at some point must either pursue his claims or
abandon them. Rather than put any pressure on Mr. Koch to do so
at the present time, however, the Court will stay these cases in their
entirety until Mr. Koch is healthy enough to respond adequately to
the pending motions.
Stay Order at 2. The Court therefore ordered that, “when he is able to do so, Mr. Koch will
simultaneously file in each case a motion to lift the stay imposed by this Order and a response to
the pending dispositive motions.” Id.
More than a year has gone by since the Court entered its Stay Order. Although
Mr. Koch has not filed a motion to lift the stay, he has filed two new cases, Civil Action
Nos. 11-1645 and 12-0301, now pending before this Court. That Mr. Koch was able to file two
new cases suggests that he now is able to respond adequately to pending motions. Yet Mr. Koch
again has requested an extension of time to respond to a motion to dismiss filed in Civil Action
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No. 11-1645, again on the basis of ongoing health motions. See Pl. Mot. for Extension of Time
at 1-10, Apr. 16, 2012 [Dkt. No. 7, in Civil Action No. 11-1645].
The time has come for Mr. Koch to pursue his cases or abandon them. See Stay
Order at 1. The Court therefore will set a status conference at which the parties and the Court
will address how best to proceed in all of the above-captioned cases before this Court; Mr. Koch
will be required to show cause why the Court’s Stay Order should not be lifted and why he
should not be ordered to file responses to all pending dispositive motions promptly. Mr. Koch
will be permitted to participate in this status conference by telephone, but, if he chooses to do so,
he must make the necessary arrangements with the Court’s courtroom deputy, Michelle Moon, at
(202) 354-3155, before the status conference.
Accordingly, it is hereby
ORDERED that the motion of defendant, Ms. Schapiro, for the setting of a status
conference [Dkt. No. 49, in Civil Action No. 08-1521] is GRANTED; it is
FURTHER ORDERED that the parties shall appear before the Court for a status
conference on May 4, 2012 at 9:30 a.m.; it is
FURTHER ORDERED that, at that status conference, Mr. Koch shall show cause
why the Court’s Stay Order should not be lifted and why Mr. Koch should not be required to file
responses to all pending dispositive motions promptly; and it is
FURTHER ORDERED that Mr. Koch shall be permitted to appear by telephone
for the status conference.
SO ORDERED.
/s/
PAUL L. FRIEDMAN
DATE: April 25, 2012 United States District Judge
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