Federal Judge Sends Message In Unique Order to Attorneys On Acting Professional – What Was The Tip Amount?

US (ECWd) –

That old saying “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up”, once again holds true.

In the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, Eastern Division, Federal Judge R. David Proctor has issued an order that frankly could be applied in pretty much every courtroom across the country.

Anyone who has sat through a day of court hearings will hear a common theme, continuance.  Typically, those continuances are granted because the attorneys have spoken with each other and come to an agreement in advance. It’s called professional courtesy. While we agree with most of what the Judge says in his two-page order, we do see a lot of abuse with continuances that appear to do nothing for a case other than make money for the attorneys who get paid to appear.

However, in this particular case, the Judge issued a very unique order on a simple motion for to Extend the Responsive Pleading Deadline.

“There is generally no good reason that an extension such as this should be opposed, let alone denied. The Golden Rule—do unto others as you would have them do unto you—is not just a good rule of thumb for everyday life. It is a critical component of legal professionalism. Sadly, in recent years compliance with the rule is becoming rarer and rarer in the litigation arena. It is time to reverse that trend, even if it is only in this case.”

“Here, Plaintiff’s counsel’s conditioning of any agreement to an extension was wholly inappropriate, particularly in light of the looming Thanksgiving holiday. Such nonsense wastes time, damages professional relationships, and makes the lawyer withholding consent (or conditioning it) appear petty and uncooperative. Judges rightly expect lawyers to handle minor procedural issues like extensions without unnecessary conflict, and refusing to do so is unprincipled.”

The Judge drove his message home with an order that we found hilarious.

“Further, the court ORDERS that, on or before December 31, 2024, counsel for both Plaintiff and Defendants are to go to lunch together. Plaintiff’s counsel will pay the bill; Defendants’ counsel will leave the tip. The parties will discuss how they can act professionally throughout the rest of this case. Within ten (10) days of the lunch, the parties SHALL file a joint report describing the conversation that occurred at lunch and the amount of the tip.” (Emphasis NOT added by us)

A copy of the actual 2-page order can be downloaded at this link or viewed below.

The ordered report is not found in the Docket for public viewing.  We are looking into how to obtain the report ordered by the Judge as we believe any such ordered report by the court should be available for public viewing.

Alabama Federal Judge Lunch Order