Olson v. Alick

After settlement negotiations broke down in Olson's (plaintiff's) discrimination suit against Alick's Drugs (defendant), Olson's attorneys withdrew, and Olson arrived five minutes late to a subsequent pretrial conference due to a work emergency, having already called opposing counsel; the judge dismissed the case under Rule 16(f) before Olson even arrived. The court treated Olson's prompt motion to reconsider as an extraordinary Rule 60(b) motion and denied it, partly based on a mistaken belief that Alick had opposed a trial postponement, and Olson appealed.