Take Me Out to the Ballgame, and Out of the Pretrial Conference

baseballA Texas lawyer is a big fan of the Texas Rangers baseball team. Make that a HUGE fan. So huge that he filed an “emergency motion for continuance” of a pretrial conference in a case that conflicted with Game 1 of the 2010 World Series between the Rangers and the San Francisco Giants. Here’s some of what he said:

1. The lawyer in charge of this matter for the defendant is Darrell W. Cook (hereinafter referred to as Darrell).

2. Since 1972, when Darrell was but a lad of thirteen, he has been a fan of the Texas Rangers Baseball Club (hereinafter referred to as “Rangers”)

3. As such he has developed a love of the Rangers that has gone generally unrequited for thirty-eight (38) years.

4. Darrell has been to more games than he can possibly recall, has been a season ticket holder in one form or another for over ten (l0) years and has either listened to or watched all or parts of thousands of baseball games played by the Rangers.

5. Everything between Darrell and the Rangers was business as usual this year:

a. Josh Hamilton was discovered drunken and covered in whip cream;

b. Ron Washington was discovered to have ingested a “controlled substance” during the 2009 All-Star break;

c. The top two starters for the Rangers at the beginning of the season, Rich Harden and Scott Feldman, looked like they were completely unfamiliar with the tasks assigned to them and made a mockery of their roles as leaders of the pitching staff; and

d. The team declared bankruptcy and was sold via an auction more befitting a used Buick than a major league baseball team.

6. So, when this setting was received Darrell was convinced he would be in attendance as it was unimaginable that anything the Rangers could do would interfere with such setting.

7. Then suddenly and without warning the Rangers began a steady march toward credibility. …

8. Thereafter the unthinkable occurred ….

The unthinkable, of course, was that the Rangers made it to the World Series. He concluded his motion by noting that “[t]he continuance is not sought merely for delay alone, but so that justice may be done.”

No denying the lawyer’s sincerity. I hope he got to go to the game.

— Emergency Motion for Continuance, City of Irving v. Villas of Irving, Ltd, Case No. T-01398471 01, Municipal Court, City of Irving, Texas, Oct. 25, 2010. Thanks to Thomas Samuel.

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