EX PARTE REQUEST TO EXTEND DEADLINE FOR FILING REPLY TO OPPOSITION TO MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT; ORDER

CAROLYN K. DELANEY, Magistrate Judge.

The United States requests a brief extension of time to file its reply to Plaintiff, Ezell Anderson, Jr's Amended Opposition to the United States' Motion for Summary Judgment from October 5, 2016, to and including October 13, 2016.1 Good cause exists for this short extension because service of the Amended Opposition was made by regular mail on Thursday, September 29, 2016, and as of the date of this filling, counsel for the United States is not in receipt of the exhibits to the Amended Opposition, specifically a DVD referenced by Plaintiff as Exhibit B(1), "NSDAA Conference USDA OIG." (ECF No. 58 at 9-10). To provide a comprehensive Reply, the United States counsel requests the opportunity to review the DVD as it was not produced in discovery, and it is unclear what information is contained on the DVD.

The United States' request for an approximate one-week extension of the Reply deadline is based on the following:

1. The United States filed its Motion for Summary Judgment on August 19, 2016, with a hearing date of September 21, 2016. (ECF No. 51-1). Plaintiff's opposition was due on September 7, 2016. No opposition was timely filed by Plaintiff.

2. Per Order dated September 9, 2016, this Court noted that Plaintiff did not timely oppose the United States' Motion for Summary Judgment, but allowed Plaintiff an additional three weeks, to and including September 28, 2016, to file an opposition. (ECF No. 54).

3. On September 29, 2016, counsel for the United States was informed by way of ECF that an opposition to the United States' Motion for Summary Judgment had been filed. (ECF No. 57). This filing was eight pages, and did not include any exhibits referenced in the opposition. Most significantly, no proof of service on counsel for the United States was provided in the opposition.

4. On September 30, 2016, counsel for the United States was informed via ECF of an Amended Opposition to the United States' Motion for Summary Judgment. (ECF No. 58). This filing was thirty pages, and included a proof of service by regular mail dated September 29, 2016. (ECF No. 58 at 9).

5. The Amended Opposition filed at ECF No. 58 included twenty pages of exhibits, and in particular, Exhibit B(1) was a single piece of paper representing a photocopy of a DVD with the handwritten notation, "NDSAA Conference USDA OIG." (ECF No. 58 at 10). The Amended Opposition states in paragraph 11 that "Exhibit "B(1)" describe[sic] the same circumstances as found in this present matter concerning Mom's Choice, but in the instance of Exhibit "B(1)" the USDA stayed within the rules to invoke trafficking against the owner." (ECF No. 58 at 4, ¶ 11).

6. The DVD referenced as Exhibit B(1) was not produced in discovery, which closed in this case on July 22, 2016. (ECF Nos. 46, 48).

7. The DVD referenced as Exhibit B(1) was not mentioned at Plaintiff's deposition on May 17, 2016.

8. As of the time of the filing of this Ex Parte request, counsel for the United States is not in receipt of a paper version of the Opposition referenced as ECF No. 57, nor the Amended Opposition with the exhibits referenced as ECF No. 58.

9. The United States is prejudiced by plaintiff's serving the exhibits referenced in the Amended Opposition, namely the DVD referenced as Exhibit B(1), by regular mail on Thursday, September 29, 2016. Not only was Plaintiff a day late in filing the Opposition (ECF No. 57), the Amended Opposition was only received via ECF on Friday, September 30, 2016, which shortens the United States' time to file its reply from five business days to, at best, two business days.2

10. Accordingly, the United States respectfully requests that the deadline for filing its reply be extended from October 5, 2016 to October 13, 2016.3

ORDER

Having reviewed the ex parte request by the United States, and for good cause showing, it is ordered that the United States' reply to plaintiff's amended opposition to the Motion for Summary Judgment be filed on October 13, 2016. Hearing on the motion is continued to October 26, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. in courtroom no. 24.