We advised Attorney Lerner on May 4, 2007 by phone that Markle filed the motion without Mr. Lerner’s signature. Mr. Lerner has advised us that he had not been retained to represent the defendants in this action.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
MIAMI DIVISION
CASE NO. 07-CIV-60072 COOKE/BROWN
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GLENN DRAGO, on behalf of himself and )
all others similarly situated, )
)
Plaintiff, )
)
)
v. ))
PETER VUCICEVICH, STEVE SULJA, )
ANDREW DeVRIES, and SULJA BROTHERS )
BUILDING SUPPLIES Ltd., )
)
)
Defendants. )
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PLAINTIFFS’ OPPOSITION TO PRO HAC VICE
MOTION OF RICHARD W. MARKLE
Plaintiff respectfully submits this memorandum of law in opposition to the Motion of Richard W. Markle (“Markle”) to Appear Pro Hac Vice.
The application should be denied for three important reasons.
First, Markle’s motion was not signed or filed by any attorney admitted in this District as required by Rule 4B of the Special Rules Governing the Admission and Practice of Attorneys.
Second, Markle filed the motion without complying with Local Rule 7.A.1.3. That rule requires a movant to certify that he has conferred with the opposing party before filing a motion, except in a limited category of motions not applicable here. Markle never sought our consent to the motion. We so informed Markle by letter faxed on May 4, 2007.
Third, we oppose the motion on substantive grounds: Markle has already appeared in this action and withdrawn. As discussed below, Markle told the Court that he represented the defendants, but then withdrew without notice to or approval from the Court.
On April 12, 2007, Markle sought more time to respond to the complaint. See DE#10, April 12, 2007. The Court directed Markle to answer by May 1, 2007, noting that “[n]o additional extensions will be given.” DE#12, April 13, 2007.
On April 26, 2007, Markle wrote to us stating that he was withdrawing as counsel for defendants. See Ex. A hereto. We told Markle that he should seek formal withdrawal.
See Ex. B.
Nevertheless, Markle stated he was not representing the defendants and would be notifying the Court. See Ex. C. Markle concluded: “Good luck in your endeavors.” Markle never notified the Court of his withdrawal and omits any mention of it in his pro hac vice motion.
Mr. Markle has shown little reason to believe he will adhere to this District’s rules. He allowed defendants to default in responding to the complaint. We will be moving for a default judgment shortly. Markle is also operating alone. He appears to be merely using the name and office of another lawyer in this District without written permission.
We advised Attorney Lerner on May 4, 2007 by phone that Markle filed the motion without Mr. Lerner’s signature. Mr. Lerner has advised us that he had not been retained to represent the defendants in this action.
CONCLUSION
Markle’s Motion to Appear Pro Hac Vice should be denied.
Dated: May 10, 2007 Respectfully submitted,
VIANALE & VIANALE LLP
By: s/ Kenneth J. Vianale
Kenneth J. Vianale
Florida Bar No. 0169668
Julie Prag Vianale
Florida Bar No. 0184977
2499 Glades Road, Suite 112
Boca Raton, FL 33431
Telephone: (561) 392-4750
Facsimile: (561) 392-4775
kvianale@vianalelaw.com
DAVID R. CHASE, P.A.
1700 East Las Olas Boulevard
Penthouse 2
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
Phone: (954) 920-7779
Fax: (954) 923-5622
Attorneys for Plaintiff
Case 0:07-cv-60072-MGC Document 23-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 05/10/2007 Page 3 of 4
-4-
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I HEREBY CERTIFY that I filed the foregoing on May 10, 2007 using the Court’s CMECF
system, which will send a copy to the following parties:
N/A
I further certify that a true and correct copy of the foregoing was furnished via U.S. Mail,
this 10th day of May, 2007, to the parties as listed below:
Richard W. Markle
P.O. Box 541182
Houston, Texas 77254
Allan M. Lerner
2888 E. Oakland Park Blvd.
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 33306
Tel: 954-563-8111
s/ Julie Prag Vianale
Fla. Bar No. 0184977
2499 Glades Road, Suite 112
Boca Raton, FL 33431
Telephone: (561) 392-4750
Facsimile: (561) 392-4775
kvianale@vianalelaw.com |
