“This tape will self-destruct in five seconds.”
So it did, week after week. Mr. Phelps of Mission Impossible never complained about the speed with which he had to absorb his assignment. He didn’t try to stop the tape or replay it, and he never confided to his handlers that he’d like an extension to the impending self-destruction.
Not everyone is as good at handling deadlines as Mr. Phelps, however. In any given year, tens of thousands of students protest that they forgot today was the day to hand in the homework assignment, or that they need just a little more time to finish a test that all their classmates have long since completed.
In any given year, hundreds of people spit out sour milk, look at the expiration date on the carton, and realize that they should have thrown it out months ago.
“You must act now!” “This offer won’t last long!” “Good for a limited time only!” “Hurry, hurry, hurry!” “10, 9, 8, 7,6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, blastoff!”
What is it that people don’t get about urgency?
Ask Oswald Brown and Melbert Christie – and their attorneys at the Arnold & Itkin law firm in Houston.
Brown and Christie won a $17,000 verdict for damages and injuries incurred in a car accident in Beaumont when they were hit from behind by another vehicle that in turn had been hit from behind by Justin Wade Potter, who was driving a rented Trans Lease truck for Matco Tools.
Three months after the jury verdict, however, a final judgment had still not been entered, at which point Trans Lease and Potter filed a motion to dismiss with prejudice.
“The Plaintiffs’ failure to pursue a final judgment within a reasonable period of thirty days should result in dispositive action to conclude this matter,” their motion argued. “As the Plaintiffs have permitted more than 100 days to pass without pursuing their judgment, a dismissal of the action and all claims against defendants should be granted.”
So they should be. Time’s up.