We've noted before that parties routinely stipulate to extend the deadline to answer in D. Del. cases. You may have wondered—is there a limit to the number of times the parties can stipulate to extend the answer deadline?
Now we have the answer: Yes, at least for Judge Williams. Here is how he reacted when parties filed their ninth stipulation to extend the answer deadline:
ORAL ORDER: There have been nine (9) Stipulation and Proposed Orders entered in this case granting Defendant an extension of time for it to answer, move, or otherwise respond to the Complaint. See D.I. 20; D.I. 21; D.I. 22; D.I. 23; D.I. 24; D.I. 25; D.I. 26; D.I. 27; D.I. 28. The Court will deny any future stipulation and proposed orders requesting additional extensions of time to answer, move, or otherwise respond to the Complaint. The parties should either move the matter along, advise the Court of a settlement, or dismiss the case. IT IS ALSO HEREBY ORDERED that the parties shall file a joint status report on or before July 14, 2023. Ordered by Judge Gregory B. Williams on 6/27/2023.(etg) (Entered: 06/27/2023)
CommScope Technologies LLC v. AFL Telecommunications LLC, C.A. No. 21-377-GBW, D.I. 29 (D. Del. June 27, 2023).
The nine stipulations spanned July, 2022 through August 14, 2023.
But that wasn't all! The Court didn't mention it, but the case was actually filed March 15, 2021, and in addition to the nine stips to extend the answer deadline, the plaintiff previously filed seven unopposed motions to extend the deadline to serve the complaint.
It looks like the plaintiff only served the complaint after the Court did not grant one of the motions quickly enough (probably because the plaintiff forgot to use the "unopposed motion" docket item—a common mistake).
All told, the action sat without activity for nearly 2.5 years before Judge Williams' docket entry last week. That's definitely unusual, and I can't think of another case that sat that long with zero activity.
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