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Ray v. City of Bossier City10/24/2003
Under the provisions of La. C.C.P. art. 1601, a continuance may be granted in any case if there is good ground therefor. The trial court has great discretion in granting or denying a motion for a continuance under this provision; that discretion will not be disturbed on appeal in the absence of a clear abuse of discretion. Demopulos v. Jackson, 33,560 (La. App. 2d Cir. 06/21/00), 765 So. 2d 480. Whether a trial court should grant or deny a continuance depends on the particular facts of each case. Some factors to consider are diligence, good faith, and reasonable grounds. Id. Fairness to both parties and the need for orderly administration of justice are proper considerations in deciding whether to grant or deny a continuance. Gilcrease v. Bacarisse, 26,318 (La. App. 2d Cir. 12/07/94), 647 So. 2d 1219, writ denied, 95-0421 (La. 03/30/95), 651 So. 2d 845.
Under the circumstances of this case, we find that the trial court abused its discretion in not granting a continuance to allow plaintiffs a reasonable time to file counter affidavits, depositions, and other documents. In the instant case, although defendants have an important interest in having this case resolved, there is no indication that the continuance was sought for purposes of delaying resolution of this matter. The summary judgment motions were served on plaintiffs' attorney on October 28 with a hearing date to be 17 days later, on November 14. Under the procedural rules, plaintiffs had only 13 days to file counter affidavits and other evidence to show that genuine questions of material fact existed. On November 12, plaintiffs formally asked the trial court for an extension/continuance.
Although the lawsuit had been pending almost a year and a half, it was not until September 12, 2002, that the IA investigation report was ordered to be produced to plaintiffs. In brief, defendants recognize that this IA report is essential to the resolution of this lawsuit. Thereafter, in a letter dated October 1, 2002, plaintiffs' counsel requested from defendants' attorney a date to take the deposition of Gerald Huddleston, an officer prominently mentioned in the IA report. The only response to this request was the filing of the motions for summary judgment. We further note that defendants supported their summary judgment motions with the IA report which included transcriptions of all the statements taken during that investigation.
Eight of plaintiffs' thirteen exhibits filed in this court are excerpts from depositions; out of the eight depositions, only three of the people deposed were not of parties to this action. These three depositions included only short excerpts of testimony from John Cox, John Jeter, and Alyssa Marlowe. Cox's deposition merely alluded to the allegation that Mike Halphen "liked to party" and offered speculation about rumors of him drinking alcohol and then driving. John Jeter's deposition simply referred to the unrelated misconduct of another police officer and the lack of disciplinary action being taken against that officer. Alyssa Marlowe's deposition discussed an allegation that Halphen had bought her a beer on one occasion, at which time she was under 21 years of age. As to these three exhibits, we agree with defendants' brief "that (they) are, in fact, immaterial to a resolution of the legal questions presented by this case." The rest of plaintiffs' exhibits included a copy of the Internal Affairs report, which was also included within defendants' exhibits, two letters written by counsel for plaintiffs to the defense counsel, the trial court's written reasons for judgment, and the judgment itself.
The remaining five exhibits submitted by plaintiffs were excerpts from the depositions of the parties
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