Madrid v. Pease et al

Filing 26

ORDER Staying Defendants' Obligation to Respond to Second Amended Complaint Until Further Order of the Court, signed by Magistrate Judge Barbara A. McAuliffe on 9/11/17. (Gonzalez, R)

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 8 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 9 10 JOHN MADRID, Case No. 1:15-cv-00770-LJO-BAM-PC ORDER STAYING DEFENDANTS’ OBLIGATION TO RESPOND TO SECOND AMENDED COMPLAINT UNTIL FURTHER ORDER OF THE COURT Plaintiff, 11 12 v. 13 P. PEASE, et al., 14 Defendants. 15 16 Plaintiff John Madrid is a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis in this 17 civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. This matter was referred to a United States 18 Magistrate Judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B) and Local Rule 302. 19 On September 1, 2017, Defendants filed a motion to stay this case. (ECF No. 23.) 20 Defendants assert that after Plaintiff’s state-court lawsuit concerning the same claims raised in 21 this federal suit was dismissed as premature under California law, Plaintiff filed the instant 22 lawsuit. Defendants further assert that this lawsuit arises from the same incident as Plaintiff’s 23 state-court suit, and that he requests the same relief against the same Defendants. Defendants 24 argue that Plaintiff filed his state-court lawsuit prematurely, warranting dismissal, and causing 25 Defendants to incur unnecessary fees ($13,010) and costs ($546) in defending the lawsuit. 26 According to Defendants, Plaintiff still owes Defendants Burnes ($2,575) and Thatcher 27 ($1,050) on judgments from small-claims lawsuits that they brought against him arising out of 28 the incident at issue in this lawsuit. Defendants seek for the Court to order Plaintiff to pay the 1 1 $546 in costs that Defendants incurred in defending the state-court lawsuit before allowing this 2 federal lawsuit to proceed. See Hacopian v. U.S. Dep’t of Labor, 709 F.2d 1295, 1297 (9th Cir. 3 1983) (affirming court’s inherent power to dismiss for nonpayment of costs in prior action). 4 Defendants also seek an order staying their requirement to answer Plaintiff’s second 5 amended complaint in this case until their motion to stay the action pending the payment of costs 6 is decided. See Sorensen v. Head USA, Inc., No. 06-CV-1434-BTM-CAB, 2006 WL 6584166, at 7 *1 (S.D. Cal. Oct. 13, 2006) (citing Butler v. Judge of United States District Court, 116 F.2d 8 1013, 1015 (9th Cir. 1941)) (explaining that although a motion to stay is not a responsive 9 pleading, courts often consider them prior to the filing of an answer; denying motion for default). 10 The Court takes no position on the merits of Defendants’ motion to stay the action pending the 11 payment of costs. However, the Court finds that judicial efficiencies and the interests of justice 12 are best served by considering the motion prior to the filing of an answer in this case. 13 Good cause appearing, it is HEREBY ORDERED that Defendants’ obligation to file a 14 responsive pleading to the second amended complaint is STAYED. Defendants are relieved of 15 their obligation to file a responsive pleading until further order of the Court. 16 17 18 IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: /s/ Barbara September 11, 2017 A. McAuliffe _ UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 2

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