Cantley v. Radiancy, Inc. et al

Filing 30

ORDER STAYING CASE, signed by Magistrate Judge Jennifer L. Thurston on 5/9/2016. Joint status report due every 60 days. All pending dates and hearings are VACATED. (Hall, S)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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APRIL CANTLEY, individually and behalf
of all other similarly situated,

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Plaintiff,
v.
RADIANCY, INC., et al.,
Defendants.

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) Case No.: 1:15-cv-01649 - LJO – JLT
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) ORDER STAYING CASE
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At the hearing on the motion to change venue, the Court learned that in the similar matter,

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Mouzon, et al., v. Radiancy, Inc., et al., case number 1:15-cv-1142 CKK, proceeding in the United

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States District Court in the District of Columbia, Defendants have filed a motion to dismiss. This

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motion is based upon statute of limitations grounds, which, if successful, would fully dispose of that

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case. The Mouzon parties have fully briefed the motion to dismiss and they have been awaiting a

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decision by the court for several months.

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Clearly, if the D.C. court dismisses the Mouzon action, this would moot the change of venue

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currently confronting the Court. Alternatively, if the Court grants the transfer request and then the

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D.C. court grants the motion to dismiss in Mouzon, the Cantley matter would be orphaned in D.C.

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without any justification for proceeding in that forum. Thus, the Court finds that staying the matter

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pending the D.C. court’s decision would resolve that conundrum.

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A district court has the inherent power to stay its proceedings. This power to stay is
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“incidental to the power inherent in every court to control the disposition of the causes on its docket

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with economy of time and effort for itself, for counsel, and for litigants.” Landis v. North American

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Co., 299 U.S. 248, 254 (1936); see also Gold v. Johns–Manville Sales Corp., 723 F.2d 1068, 1077 (3d

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Cir.1983) (holding that the power to stay proceedings comes from the power of every court to manage

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the cases on its docket and to ensure a fair and efficient adjudication of the matter at hand). This is

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best accomplished by the “exercise of judgment, which must weigh competing interests and maintain

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an even balance.” Landis, 299 U.S. at 254–55. In determining whether to issue a stay, courts consider

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the potential prejudice to the non-moving party; the hardship or inequity to the moving party if the

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action is not stayed; and the judicial resources that would be saved by simplifying the case or avoiding

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duplicative litigation if the case before the court is stayed. CMAX, Inc. v. Hall, 300 F.2d 265, 268

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(9th Cir.1962).

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The Court finds the parties’ and the Court’s resources would be preserved if the matter was

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stayed pending a determination of whether the Mouzon matter will be dismissed. Moreover, the Court

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is unaware of any hardship or inequity that would result thereby. Thus, the Court ORDERS:

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The case is STAYED;

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2.

Every 60 days, the parties SHALL file a joint report setting forth the status of the

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matter and detailing whether the Court should lift the stay;
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Within 10 days of the decision on the pending motion to dismiss issued in the Mouzon

matter, counsel SHALL file a joint report setting forth the outcome of the motion to dismiss;
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All pending dates and hearings are VACATED.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

May 9, 2016

/s/ Jennifer L. Thurston
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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