Ex Parte Motion for Preliminary Impoundment & Request for Hearing for Permanent Impoundment

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So what does all this mean?

An ex parte motion is when one party in a legal proceeding makes a request to the court without the other party knowing anything about it. Typically, court proceedings in the United States are open to the public with the idea that public scrutiny will help ensure that all the proceedings are conducted fairly and honestly. So an attempt by Danny Shelton to prevent the public from having access to the lawsuit was quite out of the ordinary.

The court granted the motion for a temporary sealing or impoundment of certain court documents, and a hearing date was set to consider whether the lawsuit should be sealed or impounded permanently.

The Motion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS Three Angels Broadcasting Network, Inc., an Illinois non-profit corporation, and Danny Lee Shelton, individually, Plaintiffs, v. Gailon Arthur Joy and Robert Pickle, Defendants.   Case No. ______________________ EX PARTE MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY IMPOUNDMENT AND REQUEST FOR A HEARING ON THE ISSUE OF PERMANENT IMPOUNDMENT Pursuant to Local Rule 7.2, Plaintiffs Three Angels Broadcasting Network, Inc. and Danny Lee Shelton move this Court ex parte for a preliminary order impounding the attached Complaint as well as Defendants' Answers or other responsive pleadings and request a subsequent hearing with all parties present on the issue of whether these materials should be permanently impounded as follows:   1. Plaintiffs' Complaint alleges various causes of action, including defamation, as described in greater detail in the attached Memorandum.   2. With their Complaint, Plaintiffs file this Ex Parte Motion, the purpose of which is to preserve the issue of whether these materials should be permanently impounded in order to prevent this litigation from resulting in the republication of the defamatory statements about Plaintiffs as detailed in their Complaint, as well as the publication of additional defamatory statements about Plaintiffs in Defendants' responsive pleadings, until such time as the Court has [page 2] an opportunity to examine the pleadings and conduct a hearing on the issue of permanent impoundment.   3. Plaintiffs seek this preliminary order of impoundment in advance of serving the Complaint on Defendants.   4. If this preliminary relief is granted, Plaintiffs will serve the Complaint, this Motion and the supporting Memorandum on Defendants, along with a copy of the Preliminary Order of Impoundment, a draft of which is attached.   5. At the hearing, Plaintiffs will seek an order permanently impounding these materials until the conclusion of this litigation, whereupon the materials may be retrieved by the parties or their respective counsel.   6. As grounds for this Motion, Plaintiffs submit the attached Memorandum.   7. Undersigned counsel are available to appear on an ex parte basis before the Court at its convenience if the Court should deem such an appearance necessary. WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs move this Court ex parte to order that the Complaint and Defendants' Answers or other responsive pleadings be preliminarily impounded until such time as the Court has an opportunity to conduct a hearing with all parties present on the issue of permanent impoundment and that the Court, following said hearing, order that these materials be permanently impounded until the conclusion of this litigation. [page 3]       RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, For the Plaintiffs Three Angels Broadcasting Network, Inc. and Danny Shelton, By their attorneys,   Dated: April   5  , 2007     [signed]     J.P.P.                 John P. Pucci, BBO#000000 J. Lizette Richards, BBO#000000 Fierst, Pucci & Kane, LLP 64 Gothic Street Northampton, MA 01060 Tel:   413-000-0000 Fax:   413-000-0000

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