Bryan Leave of Absence
Filed 2026-03-26 · By Bennett D. Bryan (sometimes shortened to “BDB” in these pages), Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP · Document type Leave of Absence under USCR 16.1 (Uniform Superior Court Rule 16.1 — part of the Uniform Superior Court Rules, the procedural rulebook for Georgia Superior Court) View the PDF →
Legal shorthand used on this page: BCSD = Bibb County School District. USCR = Uniform Superior Court Rules (the procedural rulebook for Georgia Superior Court).
What is this document?
This is a standardized Georgia court form by which defense counsel Bennett D. Bryan tells the court and opposing counsel that he will be unavailable on specific dates in the summer of 2026 — and asks that nothing in this case be scheduled against him during those windows. It was filed on March 26, 2026 at 6:54 PM.
The filing blocks out five summer 2026 windows:
- June 3 – 8, 2026
- June 18 – 19, 2026
- June 30 – July 7, 2026
- July 23 – 27, 2026
- August 19 – 26, 2026
Nothing in the filing says why Bryan is unavailable on those dates. A leave-of-absence notice is not required to disclose the reason — it may be vacation, a bar-related conference, family obligations, a conflicting trial in another case, or any combination. Lawyers and judges traditionally respect the privacy of the reason so long as the form is followed.
At a glance
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Filed | March 26, 2026 (6:54 PM) |
| Filed by | Bennett D. Bryan, Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP |
| Document type | Leave of Absence under USCR 16.1 |
| Filed for | Defendant — Bibb County School District (BCSD) |
Deep dive — legal concepts, explained
What is a USCR 16.1 leave of absence?
Uniform Superior Court Rule 16.1 is the Georgia rule that lets an attorney formally reserve dates when they cannot appear in court. It exists because judges cannot be expected to track every lawyer’s vacation plans, and lawyers cannot be expected to accept hearings scheduled when they are unavailable.
Under USCR 16.1, a leave-of-absence notice must:
- Be filed in every case in which the lawyer is counsel of record that might be affected by the blocked-out dates,
- Identify the specific dates (up to 30 days per calendar year can be claimed as of right),
- Be served on opposing counsel and the court, and
- Be filed a minimum number of days in advance (30 days, or as local practice specifies).
Once the notice is filed and the objection window passes (see next section), the dates effectively become off-limits for scheduling in that case. The judge’s scheduling clerk will treat them as unavailable, and opposing counsel must work around them when proposing hearings, depositions, and discovery dates.
This is an everyday administrative tool — every active litigator files several per year — and it is generally non-controversial.
The 10-day objection window
USCR 16.1 gives the opposing party a short window (commonly treated as 10 days from service of the notice) to file a written objection. An objection is only sustained in narrow circumstances — for example, if the dates would collide with a previously-set trial, or if the volume of claimed leave days crosses the 30-day annual cap.
In practice, objections are rare. Lawyers tend to honor each other’s leave requests, because every lawyer knows that next month it will be their own vacation, their own conference, their own family event. Judges generally enforce the custom.
If no objection is filed within the window, the leave is deemed granted without any action from the judge. That means that by around the second week of April 2026, absent any objection from plaintiff’s counsel, Bryan’s five summer blocks are effectively locked in.
What summer 2026 blackouts mean for scheduling
The practical effect is that the court and the lawyers must work around these five windows when planning anything that requires Bryan’s participation — a hearing, a deposition, a status conference, a mediation. Between the five blackouts, Bryan is available for:
- Early- to mid-June (after June 8 and before June 18)
- The last week of June (after June 19 and before June 30)
- Most of July (after July 7, minus July 23 – 27)
- The first two-plus weeks of August (before August 19)
- Late August and onward (after August 26)
The blackouts cover roughly 21 days across three months — within the 30-day annual allowance and well within normal practice for a litigator heading into summer. There is nothing tactical or strategic about this filing in itself. It does not signal delay, does not ask for any extension of deadlines already set, and does not change any ruling or motion outcome.
What it does mean is that readers tracking the case should not expect substantive hearing activity during those windows. If the judge’s order on the pending Partial Motion for Summary Judgment (MPSJ — a request that the judge decide part of the case without a trial, in the moving side’s favor) comes down during one of those dates and schedules follow-up proceedings, the follow-up will be set around Bryan’s calendar.
Why this matters
This is the least dramatic filing in the docket, and that is precisely the point. A routine summer-leave notice by lead defense counsel confirms that the case is settling into normal litigation rhythm — lawyers planning their summers, filing the usual paperwork, working the case in the ordinary course rather than in crisis mode.
For the non-lawyer reader, it is also a useful window into how court calendars actually work: they are built around the human availability of the attorneys, not an abstract timeline.
Read the original
Part of Court Filings · Case No. 2025-CV-083495 · Bibb County Superior Court