A Birmingham lawyer -- and lifelong Auburn football fan -- asked a judge this week to hold off scheduling a trial so he and his family can go to the team's Jan. 10 national championship game, fearing he might not ever get another chance.

The judge understood his predicament.

Michael Mulvaney, one of the attorneys representing the Hartford Fire Insurance Co. in a civil case in federal court in Mobile, filed a motion Wednesday requesting that a trial scheduled for January begin on Jan. 17 or be continued to February in light of the championship game.

"As a life-long Auburn fan, I am asking the Court for grace and mercy to allow me to take my family (wife and 3 daughters) to the game, which is set for January 10, 2011. We have purchased non-refundable plane tickets and hotel rooms," Mulvaney writes in his motion. "We have not yet bought tickets to the game."

"Since the last National Championship Game for Auburn was 1957 (and I was born in 1965) it is fair to say that this is a once in a life-time opportunity," Mulvaney wrote. "Without Cam Newton (or Nick Saban as our coach) it is hard to imagine this ever happening again."

Along with his motion, Mulvaney filed a photo of his daughters -- Ellie, Grace, and Sellers -- wearing Auburn football jerseys that he said was taken seven years ago. He also filed a photo of his daughters taken last year.

Later on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Kristi DuBose, whose court is in Mobile, granted Mulvaney's request, ordering that the trial not be held on Jan. 7-11.

"The Court has a unique understanding of the predicament of Hartford's lead counsel. See Exhibit A," she said in her order.

Exhibit A attached to the judge's order was a photograph of a young girl in what appears to be an Auburn cheerleader outfit with a stuffed tiger sitting next to her. It is not clear who the girl is in the photograph.

Calls to clerks in DuBose's office requesting a comment from the judge were not returned today.

When asked about the reference to Nick Saban as the Auburn coach, Mulvaney said he was "hedging my bets in case the judge was an Alabama fan."

"But to set the record straight, I don't want Nick Saban for my coach," Mulvaney said. "I love Gene Chizik -- he is my coach."

Mulvaney said he was thankful for the judge's response: "Judge DuBose was incredibly gracious and incredibly cool to grant our motion. But of course she is -- she is an Auburn fan, what more would you need to know about her."

Attorneys for the other side in the case didn't object to a Jan. 17 trial date, but didn't want it to go into February.

David McKnight, one of the attorneys representing The Mitchell Co. Inc., the other side in the civil case, said he didn't personally mind Mulvaney's request. "I'm an Auburn fan, so I was actually rooting for Michael on that," he said.

McKnight has a son who plays football for Air Force and plans to attend the AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl in Shrevport, La., where that team will play Georgia Tech on Dec. 27.

Attorneys -- and Alabama fans -- last year made similar requests of judges for that team's national championship game in January. At least one was approved.

Mulvaney said he tried to be respectful in his request.

"I did not want to assume that my schedule is more important than anybody else," he said. "But for the love -- this is huge, this is Cam Newton and Auburn -- I had to ask."

Chuck Dauphin, an Alabama fan and another attorney for the other side in the case, said: "Courts did it for Alabama fans last year, so I think they need to do it for Auburn fans this year.

"It's great for the state."

Read the legal exchange:

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