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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
ORLANDO DIVISION

DANIEL WALL-DESOUSA and SCOTT

WALL-DESOUSA,
Plaintiffs,
v.

Case No: 6:14-cv-1959-Orl-41DAB

FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF
HIGHWAY SAFETY AND MOTOR
VEHICLES, TERRY L. RHODES,
DIANNE DOWMAN and RICK SCOTT,
Defendants.
/
ORDER
THIS CAUSE is before the Court on Plaintiffs Motion to Expedite Defendants Response
and the Courts Ruling (the Motion to Expedite) (Doc. 19) filed on December 16, 2014.
On November 25, 2014, Plaintiffs, Daniel and Scott Wall-DeSousa, initiated this case by
filing the Verified Complaint (Doc. 1) and Motion for Preliminary Injunction (Doc. 2). Plaintiffs
allege that they were lawfully married as a same-sex couple in New York and that their marriage
certificate reflects their new marital surnameWall-DeSousa. (Compl. 2122). Plaintiffs
further allege that they were denied drivers licenses in their marital surname because section
741.212 of the Florida Statutes prohibits recognition of same-sex marriages. (Id. 35, 40).
Each Defendant was initially served on December 4, 2014. (See Doc. Nos. 7, 8, 9, 11). On
December 5, 2014, this Court entered an Order (Doc. 10), which required the Parties to brief the
Court on two issues: (1) whether the preliminary injunction entered in a parallel case, Brenner v.
Scott, 999 F. Supp. 2d 1278 (N.D. Fla. 2014), which will take effect on January 6, 2015, will render
moot Plaintiffs Motion for Preliminary Injunction; and (2) whether this case should be stayed

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pending the Eleventh Circuits resolution of Brenner. That Order required that Plaintiffs submit
their brief on or before December 23, 2014, and that Defendants submit their briefs on or before
January 10, 2015 (Defendants briefing deadline). (Id. at 45). On December 9, 2014, Plaintiffs
filed their Brief (Doc. 12), and on December 10, 2014, served Defendants with their Brief and the
December 5, 2014 Order, (see Doc. Nos. 1518).
Thereafter, Plaintiffs filed the Motion to Expedite on December 16, 2014. Therein,
Plaintiffs request that the Defendants briefing deadline be shortened to December 27, 2014. (Mot.
Expedite at 3). In support, Plaintiffs argue that, as a public school teacher in Brevard County,
Florida, Plaintiff Daniel Wall-DeSousa is required to have a valid Florida drivers license. (Id. at
2). In that vein, Plaintiffs point out that Plaintiff Daniel Wall-DeSousa is required to renew his
teaching certificate every five years, and in doing so, must possess a valid drivers license to pass
the accompanying background check. (Id.). Additionally, Plaintiffs argue that they filed their Brief
in an expedited manner, and therefore, Defendants should be required to do so as well. (Id. at 3).
As such, Plaintiffs note that Defendants briefing deadline was initially set for seventeen days after
Plaintiffs deadline. (Id.). Thus, Plaintiffs request that Defendants briefs be due on December 27,
2014, which is seventeen days after the date on which Plaintiffs served Defendants with their Brief.
(Id.).
As an initial matter, Plaintiffs are to be commended for filing their Brief in such a prompt
manner. Such conduct will serve to ensure that the merits of this case are resolved timely and
properly. Similarly, the Court is cognizant that, in their Brief and Motion to Expedite, Plaintiffs

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have alleged harms which, they argue, tend to favor expedited resolution of their Motion for
Preliminary Injunction. (See Pls.s Br. at 56; Mot. Expedite at 2). 1
Nonetheless, Defendants briefing deadline will not be shortened. In the Motion to
Expedite, Plaintiffs point out the Plaintiff Daniel Wall-DeSousas employer requires a valid
drivers license. Other than denoting that policy, Plaintiffs have neither demonstrated that Plaintiff
Daniel Wall-DeSousa is in danger of immediate termination nor shown that the employer has
threatened termination. Furthermore, Plaintiffs also note that Plaintiff Daniel Wall-DeSousa is
required to renew his teaching certificate every five years, for which he will need a valid drivers
license. Again, other than denoting that policy, Plaintiffs have failed to allege exactly when
Plaintiff Daniel Wall-DeSousa will have to renew his teaching certificate and whether that renewal
will occur in the near future. Furthermore, Defendants briefing deadline was specifically set for
January 10, 2015, to coincide with this Courts concerns of mootness, and at this point, that
deadline will not be altered.
Therefore, it is ORDERED and ADJUDGED that Plaintiffs Motion to Expedite (Doc.
19) is DENIED.
DONE and ORDERED in Orlando, Florida on December 22, 2014.

Copies furnished to:

Counsel of Record
1

Undoubtedly, these arguments would have been more appropriately made in the Motion
for Preliminary Injunction.

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