litigation and litigation
Attorney who missed deadline to see son’s pro baseball debut gets no sympathy on appeal
A California attorney was unable to reinstate his client’s case when a federal appeals court dismissed his plea for missing a court date – that he was in Illinois to see his son’s professional baseball debut.
The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco affirmed the dismissal of the lawsuit filed by California Attorney Jerry L. Steering on behalf of his client Mathew Rendon.
How Appealing noted the unpublished statement dated November 9th.
Steering had missed the deadline to file a response to a motion to dismiss the case that he had filed on Rendon’s behalf. The client, known as the “BB Gun Bandit,” was suing Orange County, Calif., under the Prison Rape Elimination Act for a strip search that allegedly involved sexual assault, according to an appeal brief in the case.
The appeals court did not mention the attorney’s name, but the trial judge, who dismissed the case on September 20, 2021, identified him as Steering. U.S. District Judge Josephine L. Staton of the Central District of California, an appointment by former President Barack Obama, said she had already granted an extension of time before Steering requested more time because he was “currently in Chicago to meet his son”. Americans play “to watch professional baseball.”
Steering initially tried to withhold a response to the dismissal request because he had a busy work schedule and the employee helping him learned his father had just two weeks to live.
The 9th Circuit found no abuse of power. The attorney’s “apology for missing a deadline that had already been extended by 90 days at his request was frivolous: the attorney chose to attend a ball game rather than timely submit his client’s response to the motion to dismiss.” , said the 9th district.
The 9th Circle’s opinion was that Steering’s son made his minor league debut. But How Appealing’s Howard Bashman noted that Steering’s son made his professional debut with the Joliet Slammers, which aren’t technically a minor league team. Instead, it is part of the independent league.
The 9th Circuit Panel justices consisted of Justice Gabriel P. Sanchez – a judge appointed by President Joe Biden – and Justice M. Miller Baker of the U.S. Court on International Trade (seated by appointment) and Justice Patrick J. Bumatay – two appointments by President Joe Biden President Donald Trump.
Steering did not immediately respond to ABA Journal’s request for comment via email and phone message.
