Roberts v. Hensley et al

Filing 56

ORDER granting unopposed motion to stay all proceedings pending plaintiff's discharge from acute psychiatric hospitalization and treatment 55 . The Court stays the action until June 30, 2017. Plaintiff must file a report as to his medical status on or before July 1, 2017. Signed by Magistrate Judge Barbara Lynn Major on 3/13/17. (All non-registered users served via U.S. Mail Service)(kas)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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TONY ROBERTS,

Case No.: 15cv1871-LAB (BLM)
Plaintiff,

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ORDER GRANTING UNOPPOSED
MOTION TO STAY ALL PROCEEDINGS
PENDING PLAINTIFF’S DISCHARGE
FROM ACUTE PSYCHIATRIC
HOSPITALIZATION AND TREATMENT

v.
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S. HENSLEY, et al.,

Defendants.

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[ECF No. 55]

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On March 3, 2017, the Court accepted on discrepancy a “Motion for Permission to Act as

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‘Next of Friend,’ or Alternatively, for Court to Act on its Own, and Stay all Proceedings Pending
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15cv1871-LAB (BLM)

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Mr. Roberts[’] Discharge from Acute Psychiatric Hospitalization and Treatment.” ECF Nos. 54 &

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55. The motion was signed by Tommy Boyden, appearing “Next of Friend” on behalf of Plaintiff

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Tony Roberts on February 23, 2017. ECF No. 55 at 2. Defendants have not opposed the instant

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motion. See Docket. For the reasons outlined below, the Court GRANTS a limited stay of the

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entire action.

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FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

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On August 21, 2015, Plaintiff, a prisoner incarcerated at the Richard J. Donovan

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Correctional Facility (“RJD”) proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis, commenced this action

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by filing a Complaint alleging civil rights violations pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

ECF

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No. 1. After Defendants filed a motion to dismiss part of Plaintiff’s Complaint and Plaintiff filed

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a notice of non-opposition [see ECF Nos. 22, 30], on July 21, 2016, the District Judge granted

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Defendants’ motion. ECF No. 31. On July 29, 2016, Plaintiff filed a First Amended Complaint

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(“FAC”), the operative pleading in this case. ECF No. 32. Plaintiff alleges in his FAC that

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Defendants, various dental officials employed at the California Men’s Colony (“CMC”) and RJD,

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were aware of his serious dental needs but “delayed providing dental treatment for

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approximately 48 months or more.” See id. at 2-3. Plaintiff claims that as a result, he developed

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a total of twenty-seven cavities, toothaches, headaches, mouth lesions, gum disease, and

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periodontal disease, which exposed him “to a serious risk for heart disease.” See ECF No. 31.

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On August 11, 2016, Defendants answered Plaintiff’s FAC, and on August 16, 2016, the Court

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issued a Scheduling Order Regulating Discovery and Other Pre-Trial Proceedings. ECF Nos. 33

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& 34.

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15cv1871-LAB (BLM)

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DISCUSSION

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In the instant motion, Mr. Boyden, on behalf of Plaintiff Roberts, asks the Court to stay

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the proceedings for four to five months or until Plaintiff’s discharge from acute care and

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treatment. ECF No. 55 at 3, 7. In support, Mr. Boyden declares that on February 20, 2017,

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Plaintiff Roberts “was admitted for psychiatric hospitalization for . . . treatment for suicidal

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ideations, and psychic features associated with auditory hallucinations.” Id., Exh. A, Declaration

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of Tommy D. Boyden (“Boyden Decl.”) at 9. Mr. Boyden further claims that Plaintiff is not able

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to draft documents, conduct legal research, file pleadings, or respond to the Court’s orders in

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light of his hospitalization and ongoing treatment, and argues that Plaintiff’s condition renders

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Plaintiff incapable of protecting his interests and prosecuting his lawsuit at this time. See id. at

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10; see also ECF No. 55 at 2. Mr. Boyden also contends that the length of the requested stay

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is minimal, and that if the stay is not granted, the parties’ time and resources would be wasted

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because Plaintiff “would be unable to assert his rights during the current period and would

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require revisiting issues that could be addressed in the first instance after the stay.” ECF No. 55

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at 6.

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A district court has discretionary power to “stay proceedings as an incident to its power

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to control its own docket.” Clinton v. Jones, 520 U.S. 681, 706 (1997) (citing Landis v. North

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American Co., 299 U.S. 248, 254 (1936)). In determining whether to grant a motion to stay,

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“the competing interests which will be affected by the granting or refusal to grant a stay must

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be weighed.” Lockyer v. Mirant Corp., 398 F.3d 1098, 1110 (9th Cir. 2005). These interests

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include: (1) the possible damage which may result from the granting of a stay, (2) the hardship

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or inequity which a party may suffer in being required to go forward, and (3) the orderly course
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of justice measured in terms of the simplifying or complicating of issues, proof, and questions

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of law which could be expected to result from a stay. Id. “[S]tays should not be indefinite in

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nature,” and in considering a stay order, the court should “balance the length of any stay against

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the strength of the justification given for it.” See Dependable Highway Exp., Inc. v. Navigators

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Ins. Co., 498 F.3d 1059, 1066 (9th Cir. 2007); Young v. I.N.S., 208 F.3d 1116, 1119 (9th Cir.

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2000). “The proponent of a stay bears the burden of establishing its need.” Clinton, 520 U.S.

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at 709.

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In balancing the competing interests of the parties, the Court concludes that Plaintiff has

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established that his medical condition and hospitalization render him unable to prosecute his

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case at this time, and that the requested stay is warranted. Having consulted with the Chambers

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of District Judge Larry A. Burns, the court GRANTS the unopposed motion to stay all

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proceedings pending Plaintiff’s discharge from acute psychiatric hospitalization. Accordingly, the

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Court stays the action until June 30, 2017. Plaintiff must file a report as to his medical status

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on or before July 1, 2017.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: 3/13/2017

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