Giannini v. Cuellis
Giannini v. Cuellis
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
Plaintiff pro se, Alma Giannini, has sued defendants
Defendant Frank Cuellis filed a motion to dismiss the complaint on January 16, 1984. Plaintiff was to file a responsive memorandum by May 14, 1984. See Order (March 14, 1984). Plaintiff never filed her response, and by Order dated October 18, 1984 the Court directed that plaintiff file a response to the motion by November 19, 1984, or the Court would grant the motion by default.
On November 1, 1984 the Court received a letter from plaintiff, dated October 26, 1984, in which she stated that she was unable to meet the November deadline. She said that she had applied for a temporary release program and had sent all her legal materials home months ago in anticipation of being released from prison. She was not accepted for the release program, however, and said that she was appealing that decision, and would have a hearing on her appeal sometime in February 1985. She asked for an extension of time until after that appeal hearing, although the reason why she would then be able to respond to the motion was unclear.
On November 11, 1984 the Court received another letter, dated November 9, 1984, and apparently written before plaintiff received the Court’s November 8, 1984 Order, in which plaintiff stated that she had in fact mailed a response brief but that it was lost in the mail and she had lost her copy as well. She said that when she tried to rewrite the brief on November 8, she was ordered to go work at her job as “administrative law clerk” in the prison law library, and couldn’t work on her memorandum. She indicated however, that she would try to respond by November 14. The Court has received no memorandum from plaintiff.
Since that time, however, the Court has received numerous letters from plaintiff relating her many difficulties in preparing a responsive memorandum. Among other things, she has catalogued various medical ailments and states that she is unable to work on her brief because she is physically unable to walk up the hill to the law library at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility.
Given that plaintiff has not been able to file a response in the fourteen months since defendant filed the motion to dismiss, it seems unlikely that she will do so by June. Indeed, it is clear to this Court that there is no reasonable basis for believing that plaintiff will be able to meet any new deadline the Court might set for the filing of a responsive memorandum. The Court has already granted plaintiff long extensions of time to file her brief, and indicated in its Order of November 8, 1984 that no further extensions would be granted. Therefore, plaintiff's request for yet more time is denied.
In light of plaintiff’s many problems which have been brought to the Court’s attention, however, the Court will not grant defendant’s motion by default, but will relieve plaintiff of having to file a response brief and will consider the motion on the merits on the basis of defendant’s motion papers, filed in January 1984.
It is SO ORDERED.
. Giannini v. Lissio, 84 Civ. 8415 (JES), was consolidated with this action by Order dated November 29, 1984.
. Plaintiff states, inter alia, that she weighs three hundred pounds, has difficulty walking because one leg is shorter than the other, has a bad knee, has "foot problems," apparently walks with a cane, is sometimes confined to a wheel chair, is asthmatic, has blood pressure problems, and may be diabetic.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Alma GIANNINI v. P.O. Frank CUELLIS
- Status
- Published