Lawyers, Help Your Judges Out!

Listen, you're in federal court.

You are all big corporations (McArthur Dairy, Dean Foods) so you have good lawyers to represent you.

You have filed a summary judgment motion, which is a carefully-defined pleading with technical and substantive requirements and important consequences if granted.

Yet you have left Judge Cooke with the following:

Rather than articulating independent legal arguments for summary judgment, McArthur and Dean Foods elected to “incorporate by reference the arguments sets [sic] forth in the memorandum in support of their motion to dismiss (ECF No. 18) and their reply in support of their motion to dismiss (ECF No. 22).” (Mem. in Support of Mot. for Summ. J. 6 n.4 (ECF No. 31)). Ordinarily, an order granting or denying a motion for summary judgment identifies the relevant factual findings related to the issues ripe for summary disposition. Unfortunately, in this case, McCowtree has failed or otherwise refused to respond to merits of the motion, with factual contentions or otherwise, and McArthur and Dean Foods have not concisely set forth all facts which are material to the resolution of the claims. The record pleadings, specifically the Complaint, Counterclaims, and answers and affirmative defenses thereto, provide even less clarity as they raise numerous issues of material fact.

Come on folks, don't you want the Judge to rule in your favor?