McCullough et al v. Contra Costa County et al

Filing 28

ORDER REQUIRING A JOINT LETTER re 14 MOTION to Stay DEFENDANTS' REQUEST FOR STAY OF ACTION filed by Joseph Jacinto, Contra Costa County, Matthew Ingersoll, Eric Van Scoy, Dillon Hume, Mitch Moschetti. Joint Letter due by 5/14/2014. Signed by Judge Kandis A. Westmore on 4/21/2014. (kawlc1, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 4/21/2014)

1
2

United States District Court
Northern District of California

3
4
5
6

MARIA MCCULLOUGH, et al.,
Plaintiffs,

7
8
9
10

v.

Case No.: CV 13-05425-TEH (KAW)
ORDER REQUIRING A JOINT LETTER
REGARDING DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO
STAY

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, et al.,
Defendants.

United States District Court
Northern District of California

11
12

On March 28, 2014, Defendants filed a motion to stay the action in light of Defendant

13

Deputy Dillon Hume’s status as an active servicemember, pursuant to the Servicemembers Civil

14

Relief Act, 50 App. U.S.C. § 522. (Defs.’ Mot., Dkt. No. 14 at 2.) Deputy Hume will be

15

unavailable until February 2015. (Dkt. No. 25.) Deputy Hume’s codefendants also request a stay

16

to avoid duplicative discovery and motions, and because they “cannot mount an effective defense

17

without the testimony of Deputy Hume.” (Defs.’ Mot. at 2.) Plaintiffs did not file an opposition

18

to the motion to stay.

19

On April 14, 2014, the parties appeared before the district court for a case management

20

conference, and informed the court that Deputy Hume was not central to the incident. (Dkt. No.

21

25.) On April 16, 2014, the district court referred the motion to stay, as well as all subsequent

22

discovery disputes, to the undersigned to determine whether any parts of this case could proceed

23

without causing undue prejudice to any party if it were stayed only as to Deputy Hume. Id.

24
25
26
27
28

On April 18, 2014, Defendants’ filed their reply brief and reiterated their request to stay
the entire action. (Defs.’ Reply, Dkt. No. 26 at 2.)
Accordingly, the Court orders the parties to file a joint letter, not to exceed 15, doublespaced pages, on or before May 14, 2014 that addresses the following issues:
1. Whether the parties are willing to stipulate to staying the case for all defendants;

1
2
3

2. Their positions regarding staying the action as to Deputy Hume, along with the legal
authority to support their position;
3. What Deputy Hume’s “limited involvement” was in the incident, to the best of the

4

parties’ knowledge at this juncture, as it is not evident from the face of the complaint

5

nor from the parties’ April 7, 2014 Joint CMC Statement (Dkt. No. 19);

6

4. Whether Deputy Hume is completely indemnified by Contra Costa County;

7

5. What parts of the case could proceed without causing undue prejudice to any party,

8

including the discovery process. The parties shall specify which discovery could be

9

conducted in Deputy Hume’s absence, what discovery could not be obtained, and what

10

United States District Court
Northern District of California

11
12
13
14
15
16

discovery is potentially duplicative;
6. How the pending motion to quash Deputy Hume’s summons (Dkt. No. 20), if granted,
would affect this action and Defendants’ motion to stay.
Upon review of the joint letter, the Court will determine whether a hearing is required or if
the motion may be decided without oral argument pursuant to Civil L.R. 7-1(b).
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATE: April 21, 2014

___________________________
KANDIS A. WESTMORE
United States Magistrate Judge

17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28

2