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Capella Needs Extra Time & Still Can't Get it Right!

Capella University didn't have "enough time" to initially respond to the lawsuit so they had to request an extension. Even then, they couldn't comply with the requirements of the court and failed to file a document, "Certification of Interested Parties" that is required by the court (Local Rule 7.1-1). This document is supposed to list those with a financial interest in Capella University. Because Capella's attorney's botched their filing, they have already been threatened with sanctions! In noting Drinker Biddle's failure to follow court rules, a "Notice of Document Discrepancies" was issued that threatened sanctions against Capella for their failure to comply. Specifically, Capella's attorneys were told by the court that:

"Counsel is advised that any further failure to comply with the Local Rules may lead to penalties pursuant to Local Rule 83-7."

A complete copy of this order is available in .pdf format for your viewing pleasure.

In case you're wondering what the "penalties pursuant to Local Rule 83-7" are, we'll provide them here:

"L.R. 83-7 Sanctions - Violation of Rule. The violation of or failure to conform to any of these Local Rules may subject the offending party or counsel to:

(a) monetary sanctions, if the Court finds that the conduct was willful, grossly negligent, or reckless;

(b) the imposition of costs and attorneys’ fees to opposing counsel, if the Court finds that the conduct rises to the level of bad faith and/or a willful disobedience of a court order; and/or

(c) for any of the conduct specified in (a) and (b) above, such other sanctions as the Court may deem appropriate under the circumstances"

As this Capella University was threatened with the above sanctions based upon just their very first contact with the court (now, how dumb can they get?), we can't wait until the next time they botch a filing. We hope that the court locks 'em up and throws away the keys!