Lawsuit against county dismissed
Apr. 9—A former deputy with the Nez Perce County Sheriff's Office had a lawsuit against Nez Perce County officials dismissed because of inaction and missed deadlines.
U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill ordered March 25 for the lawsuit filed by George "JR" Gregory to be dismissed without prejudice, meaning it could be refiled, and the judgment was entered March 26. Winmill also denied an extension for a deadline requested by Gregory.
Gregory filed the lawsuit claiming unlawful termination in July 2023 with the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho in Moscow, against several officials in Nez Perce County. The lawsuit references an incident in which Gregory arrested a man in November 2022, who later had his charges dismissed, resulting in Gregory being placed on administrative leave. He was later terminated.
The lawsuit alleges Gregory's employment ended after he'd allegedly reported officers who were viewing pornography in September 2022. A response to the lawsuit denies he was unlawfully terminated, according to court documents.
Attorneys for Nez Perce County officials, Bentley Stromberg and Tully FitzMaurice, of Clements, Brown and McNichols in Lewiston, and Kristen Thompson, of Thompson Law Firm in Meridian, Idaho, were hired by Gregory.
A case management order was issued in October but Gregory's attorney experienced health issues in December.
In January, Stromberg notified the court of numerous deadlines that were missed and unsuccessful attempts to contact Gregory's attorney.
The court then asked for an order from Gregory to show cause why the case should continue by Feb. 9. Thompson, Gregory's attorney, notified the court Feb. 7 that she intended to withdraw and Gregory had been unable to find another attorney.
Nothing was filed by Feb. 9 and Gregory filed a letter, outside of an attorney and after the deadline, explaining the situation. Gregory wrote another letter Feb. 13 stating he might have found an attorney if he could get an extension on the deadline for discovery, which is evidence used in the case, according to court documents.
A motion was hand-delivered to Winmill's clerk, filed March 11, about not being able to get discovery to Stromberg before the March 15 deadline for those documents. Gregory wrote that he had given the necessary documents to Thompson, but has been unable to reach her.
He asked Winmill to "show me mercy by extending the deadlines in this case" so he can hire an attorney and get the required documents before the new deadline, according to the letter.
In a motion filed March 11, Stromberg noted Gregory had filed the motion himself and Thompson hasn't filed a motion to withdraw or a notice or substitution, by herself or by Gregory. Stromberg argues that Gregory's motions are improper and should be stricken from the record, according to court documents.
Winmill then ordered a dismissal of the lawsuit without prejudice. The order stated that Jan. 19 the court told Gregory to show cause why the case shouldn't be dismissed for failure to prosecute. and he hasn't done so.
Winmill cited areas of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure that authorizes the court to dismiss a case such as speedy resolution, the court's schedule, prejudice to defendants and unreasonable delay, according to court documents.
Winmill wrote that the case has been "stagnant" for more than four months and the March 15 deadline for discovery was also missed. Winmill stated that the court understands the health issues of Gregory's attorney and is "sympathetic" to the ways life can disrupt court proceedings, "but, in this case, the Court cannot chalk the delay up to an unavoidable, good faith oversight," according to court documents.
Winmill stated the four months of no movement on the case and "perhaps most importantly, over the course of that lengthy delay, Plaintiff's Counsel has not communicated with Defense Counsel regarding the status of this case, discovery matters, or her plan to withdraw," according to court documents.
Winmill also cited case law arguing that Gregory's issues aren't the responsibility of his attorney because he has time to get a new attorney and hasn't.
"The court concludes that the prosecution of this case has been unreasonably delayed," Winmill wrotet. "The Court will not extend the litigation deadlines based on a wing and a prayer that the plaintiff will be able to obtain substitute counsel."
Brewster may be contacted at kbrewster@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2297.
