United States District Court, D. Montana, Helena Division
OPINION AND ORDER
SAM E.
HADDON United States District Judge.
Introduction
Brian
John Temple ("Temple"), through privately engaged
counsel, David S. Freedman, Esq. ("Freedman"),
filed this action in Montana First Judicial District Court,
Lewis and Clark County, on May 3, 2013. Temple, at all times,
was represented by Freedman as his counsel of record, who
appeared and acted on Temple's behalf, including at the
summary judgment hearing held on October 20, 2016. Defendant
Peter Joseph Callahan ("Callahan"), through his
counsel Brendan J. Rohan, Esq., removed the case to this
court on May 20, 2015.
At the
conclusion of the October 20, 2016, hearing the Court ordered
entry of summary judgment dismissing Temple's claims.
Judgment in favor of Defendants Callahan and City of Helena
was entered October 20, 2016, and electronically served on
counsel of record that same day.
Several
months before the October 20, 2016, summary judgment hearing,
Freedman moved to withdraw as counsel for
Temple.[1] On February 17, 2016, the Court denied the
motion to withdraw for failure to comply with L.R. 7.1 and
L.R. 83.3 (a) or (b).[2] No additional or other request to withdraw
was filed. Freedman remained as counsel of record for Temple
after February 17, 2016, and continues in that role and with
all attendant responsibilities as of today.
Discussion
The
rules of this court[3] governing submission of motions and
substitution and withdrawal of counsel are L.R. 7.1, L.R.
83.3(a) and (b):
7.1 Motions
(a) Scope. Except for pleadings under
Fed.R.Civ.P. 7(a), pleadings in proceedings under 28 U.S.C.
§§ 2241, 2254, or 2255, or applications for a
temporary restraining order, Rules 7.1 and 7.2 apply to all
written requests that the court take or refrain from taking a
particular action, except where another rule provides
otherwise.
(c) Prerequisites to Filing a Motion.
(1) The text of the motion must state that other parties have
been contacted and state whether any party objects to the
motion. Parties that have not yet appeared in the action or
whose default has been entered need not be contacted.
83.3 Substitution and Withdrawal of Counsel.
(a) Substitution of Counsel. When a party
changes attorneys, a notice of substitution signed by the
incoming and the outgoing attorney must be filed by the
incoming attorney. The incoming attorney is responsible for
ensuring that he or she is added to the case for the correct
party or parties and is properly designated to receive
notices of electronic filing. When the incoming attorney
makes an appearance, the clerk must terminate electronic
service on the outgoing attorney. Substitution of counsel
...