United States Fifth Circuit

Adverse summary judgment against plaintiffs on their claims of employment discrimination and unlawful retaliation by the City of Fort Worth is reversed in part as to the unlawful discrimination claims where the district court abused its discretion: 1) by unfiling plaintiffs' first Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(f) motion as a sanction for violation of a pretrial order prohibiting motions signed by a law firm; 2) in finding a second motion untimely; and 3) when it determined, with respect to the second motion, that even had it been timely filed, it would have been meritless.

Appellate Information

• Decided 10/31/2006
• Published 11/01/2006

Judges

• JERRY E. SMITH, Circuit Judge:, Before SMITH, WIENER, and OWEN, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Fifth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• William Christopher Haynes, Dallas, TX, for Culwell and Conrad.


• For Appellees:
  
• Carolyn Jo McFatridge, Elizabeth Tate Deirdorf, Fort Worth, TX, for Defendant-Appellee.