Cyber Websmith v. Am. Dental Assoc., No. 09 C 6198, Slip Op. (N.D. Ill. Aug. 4, 2010) (Dow, J.).
Judge Dow granted the parties’ competing motions for extensions of fact discovery and the deadline for filing dispositive motions. While plaintiff’s motion to extend fact discovery was filed after fact discovery had closed, the Court granted the extension because defendant did not meet its discovery obligations until after the close of fact discovery and because both parties continued to conduct discovery after fact discovery closed.
The Court also extended the dispositive motion deadline thirty days beyond the close of discovery. The extension allowed defendant’s new counsel to “catch up” and both parties time to evaluate their positions after the close of fact discovery. Finally, the Court cautioned the parties’ counsel that they must appear at status conferences or face sanctions.