Defendants’ Unopposed Motion For Nunc Pro Tunc Extension To

Summary

Defendants' Unopposed Motion for Nunc Pro Tunc Extension to File an Answer to the Amended Complaint, filed May 27, 2022 as Document 160 in Navy SEALs 1-26, et al. v. Lloyd J. Austin, III, et al., Case No. 4:21-cv-01236-O, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. The motion asks for an extension up through and including June 3, 2022 to answer the amended complaint. It recounts that the amended complaint was filed January 24, 2022, that the court denied the motion to dismiss on May 7, 2022, and that the answer was therefore due May 20, 2022. Defendants' counsel states the due date was not recorded amid competing deadlines in over 20 related cases and apologizes for the oversight. The motion is signed by Department of Justice Civil Division counsel and states that plaintiffs' counsel do not oppose it.

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“Defendants’ Unopposed Motion For Nunc Pro Tunc Extension To.” Original at archive.org. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2022-06-03-plaintiffs-v-lloyd-j-austin-iii-in-his-individual-and-official/, SHA-256 a6fdb49e2eca59b7067905ffc11371e55be9a4934d73d1e7570eb66fb81f1a66.

Full text

Case 4:21-cv-01236-O Document 160 Filed 05/27/22 Page 1 of 3 PageID 5084

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS

NAVY SEALs 1-26, et al.,

Plaintiffs,
Case No. 4:21-cv-01236-O
v.

LLOYD J. AUSTIN, III in his individual and official
capacity as United States Secretary of Defense, et al.,

Defendants.

DEFENDANTS’ UNOPPOSED MOTION FOR NUNC PRO TUNC EXTENSION TO
FILE AN ANSWER TO THE AMENDED COMPLAINT
Defendants respectfully request an extension, nunc pro tunc, to file an Answer to the Amended

Complaint up through and including June 3, 2022. This is Defendants’ first such motion, and

Plaintiffs’ counsel do not oppose the relief sought. In support of this motion, Defendants submit the

following:

(1) Plaintiffs filed the Amended Complaint on January 24, 2022. ECF No. 84.

(2) Defendants moved to dismiss on February 7, 2022. ECF Nos. 106-08. (That was the

same day on which Plaintiffs moved for a class-wide preliminary injunction. ECF No.

104-05.)

(3) Following full briefing of the motion to dismiss, the Court denied the Motion to Dismiss

on May 7, 2022, directing the parties to file an updated discovery plan within two weeks

(on or before May 20, 2022). ECF No. 150.

(4) Accordingly, under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12 (a)(4), Defendants’ Answer was due May 20, 2022

as well.

(5) Unfortunately, in the press of other business, Defendants’ counsel failed to record the due

date for the Answer. Defendants’ litigation team is extremely busy, with competing

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Case 4:21-cv-01236-O Document 160 Filed 05/27/22 Page 2 of 3 PageID 5085

deadlines, in over 20 related cases across the country, many in various stages of emergency

litigation. Undersigned counsel deeply regrets the circumstances giving rise to this motion,

and apologizes to the Court and to Plaintiffs for this oversight. Defendants are working

diligently on an answer. The additional two weeks beyond the original deadline should be

sufficient, and should not affect any of the other deadlines in this matter. See ECF No.

158. As set forth below in the certificate of conference, Plaintiffs’ counsel does not oppose

the relief requested in this motion.

For the foregoing reasons, Defendants respectfully request an extension up through and

including June 3, 2022, in which to file an answer to the amended complaint.

Dated: May 27, 2022 Respectfully submitted,

BRIAN M. BOYNTON
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General

ALEXANDER K. HAAS
Director, Federal Programs Branch

ANTHONY J. COPPOLINO
Deputy Director

/s/ Amy E. Powell
ANDREW E. CARMICHAEL
AMY E. POWELL
Senior Trial Counsel
STUART J. ROBINSON
Senior Counsel
ZACHARY A. AVALLONE
CATHERINE YANG
Trial Attorney
United States Department of Justice
Civil Division, Federal Programs Branch
1100 L Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20005
Tel: (919) 856-4013
Fax: (202) 616-8470

2
Case 4:21-cv-01236-O Document 160 Filed 05/27/22 Page 3 of 3 PageID 5086

Email: Amy.Powell@usdoj.gov

Counsel for Defendants

CERTIFICATE OF CONFERENCE

Counsel for Defendants conferred with Plaintiffs’ counsel regarding this motion through email

on May 27, 2022. Plaintiffs’ counsel indicated that they do not oppose the relief requested in

Defendants’ motion.

/s/Amy E. Powell
AMY POWELL
Counsel for Defendants

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that on May 27, 2022, I electronically filed the foregoing document through

the Court’s ECF system, which automatically notifies counsel of record for each party.

/s/Amy E. Powell
AMY POWELL

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Our copy: gov.uscourts.txnd.355696.160.0.pdf
Original: archive.org