Real v. Walker et al

Filing 62

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Kendall J. Newman on 7/25/12; ORDERING that Defendants' 61 request for a stay of this action pending a decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on defendants' interlocutory appeal, is GRANTED. This action is STAYED until further order of this court. Plaintiff's 56 request for a stay, which is construed as a request for relief from the court's order 47 , pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b), shall remain pending for decision until the stay in this action is lifted. (Kastilahn, A)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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RANDY REAL,
Plaintiff,

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No. 2:09-cv-3273 GEB KJN P

vs.
JAMES WALKER, Warden, et al.,
Defendants.

ORDER
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On March 30, 2012, this court granted in part, and denied in part, defendants’

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motion to dismiss plaintiff’s 120-page First Amended Complaint. (See Dkt. No. 47.) The court

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dismissed eight of the eighteen-named defendants, and most of plaintiff’s twenty-two claims, but

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granted plaintiff leave to file a Second Amended Complaint clarifying his remaining claims, as

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narrowly circumscribed by the court. The court expressly deferred ruling on defendants’

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qualified immunity defenses until such time that plaintiff filed a Second Amended Complaint.

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On June 22, 2012, defendants filed an interlocutory appeal in the Ninth Circuit

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Court of Appeals, challenging the deferral of this court’s consideration of defendants’ qualified

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immunity defenses. On July 2, 2012, this court directed defendants to address whether their

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interlocutory appeal deprives this court of jurisdiction. Defendants timely filed a response, in

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which they concede that their appeal only partially divests this court of jurisdiction, specifically,
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over plaintiff’s due process and First Amendment claims, which defendants have appealed on

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qualified immunity grounds, but not over plaintiff’s Eighth Amendment and conspiracy claims,

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which defendants have not appealed. Nevertheless, defendants request a stay of this entire action

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in the district court pending a decision by the Court of Appeals, based on the “interrelated nature

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of the divested and remaining claims, [and to] . . . conserve judicial resources, the resources of

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the litigants, and prevent piecemeal litigation.” (Dkt. No. 61 at 7.)

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“[A]n appeal from an interlocutory order does not divest the trial court of

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jurisdiction to continue with other phases of the case.” Plotkin v. Pacific Tel. & Tel. Co., 688

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F.2d 1291, 1293 (9th Cir. 1982); City of Los Angeles, Harbor Div. v. Santa Monica Baykeeper,

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254 F.3d 882, 885-6 (9th Cir. 2001). Nevertheless, “[t]he filing of a notice of appeal is an event

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of jurisdictional significance -- it confers jurisdiction on the court of appeals and divests the

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district court of its control over those aspects of the case involved in the appeal.” Griggs v.

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Provident Consumer Discount Co., 459 U.S. 56, 58 (1982). Moreover, it is “generally

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understood that a federal district court and a federal court of appeals should not attempt to assert

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jurisdiction over a case simultaneously.” Id.

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A motion to stay unappealed aspects of an appealed order is ordinarily directed

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first to the district court. Fed. R. App. P. 8(a)(1)(A). “The authority to hold an order in abeyance

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pending review allows an appellate court to act responsibly.” Nken v. Holder, 556 U.S. 418, 427

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(2009). A trial court has inherent authority to manage its docket, and may stay an action pending

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resolution of independent proceedings that bear upon the case. Mediterranean Enterprises, Inc. v.

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Ssangyong Corp., 708 F.2d 1458, 1465 (9th Cir.1983). A stay is warranted if it would be the

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“fairest course for the parties.” Leyva v. Certified Grocers of California Ltd., 593 F.2d 857, 864

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(9th Cir. 1979). “[T]he factors regulating the issuance of a stay are generally [as follows]: (1)

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whether the stay applicant has made a strong showing that he is likely to succeed on the merits;

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(2) whether the applicant will be irreparably injured absent a stay; (3) whether issuance of the

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stay will substantially injure the other parties interested in the proceeding; and (4) where the
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public interest lies.” Hilton v. Braunskill, 481 U.S. 770, 776 (1987) (citations omitted).

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However, “[s]ince the traditional stay factors contemplate individualized judgments in each case,

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the formula cannot be reduced to a set of rigid rules.” Id. at 777.
In the present case, the court finds that a stay of the instant action in the district

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court, pending a decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on defendants’ interlocutory

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appeal, will promote the fairest resolution for all parties, without significant harm to any party.

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The court notes, however, that the very reasons offered by defendants in support of their request

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for a stay – i.e., the interrelated nature of plaintiff’s claims, the conservation of judicial and

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litigant resources, and the prevention of piecemeal litigation – were the same reasons underlying

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this court’s decision to authorize the further narrowed amendment of plaintiff’s complaint before

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addressing the matters that defendants have now appealed. Because this court is required to

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construe, in the light most favorable to pro se prisoner plaintiffs, the allegations of often lengthy

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and difficult-to-decipher complaints against multiple defendants, this court determined that the

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fairer, and more efficient, course in the instant case was to accord plaintiff the opportunity to re-

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allege his narrowed claims in Second Amended Complaint, which defendants could then move to

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dismiss based, inter alia, on their further clarified qualified immunity defenses.

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Accordingly, for the foregoing reasons, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

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1. Defendants’ request for a stay of this action (Dkt. No. 61), pending a decision

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by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on defendants’ interlocutory appeal, is granted.

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2. This action is stayed until further order of this court.

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3. Plaintiff’s request for a stay, filed June 15, 2012 (Dkt. No. 56), which is

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construed as a request for relief from the court’s order filed March 30, 2012 (Dkt. No. 47),

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pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b), shall remain pending for decision until the

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stay in this action is lifted.

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DATED: July 25, 2012

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_____________________________________
KENDALL J. NEWMAN
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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real3273.stay.

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