Dominique v. Capreit, Inc.

Filing 39

ORDER granting 38 the Joint Motion to Temporarily Stay All Court Deadlines by 90 Days. The Clerk is directed to add a stay flag to the docket. The remaining deadlines in 37 the Case Management and Scheduling Order are STAYED for 90 days or until further Order of the Court. The parties shall file a status report with the Court on or before April 10, 2019. Signed by Magistrate Judge Carol Mirando on 1/10/2019. (APH)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
FORT MYERS DIVISION
STUART FRITZ DOMINIQUE, an
individual, and on behalf of all other
similarly situated individuals
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No: 2:18-cv-231-FtM-38CM

CAPREIT, INC.,
Defendant.
ORDER
This matter comes before the Court upon review of the Joint Motion to
Temporarily Stay All Court Deadlines By 90 Days filed on December 27, 2018. Doc.
38.

The parties request the Court stay all case management deadlines in this

matter for 90 days “to allow the [p]arties to negotiate a full settlement of this matter.”

Id. at 1. For the reasons stated below, the motion is granted.
On April 9, 2018, Plaintiff filed this class action case against Defendant, and
filed an Amended Collective Action Complaint on June 26, 2018, alleging violations
of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”).

See Docs. 1, 18.

Plaintiff alleges

Defendant failed to pay him and other employees overtime as required under the
FLSA. See Doc. 18 ¶¶ 7-15. On November 29, 2018, the Court entered a Case
Management and Scheduling Order (“CMSO”) setting the deadline for Plaintiff to
move for class certification for February 8, 2019; the discovery deadline for July 2,
2019; and a trial term beginning December 2, 2019. Doc. 37 at 1-2. The parties

seek to stay the CMSO deadlines for 90 days while they continue settlement
discussions. Doc. 38 at 1.
“The power to stay proceedings is incidental to the power inherent in every
court to control the disposition of the causes on its docket with economy of time and
effort for itself, for counsel, and for litigants.” Landis v. N. Am. Co., 299 U.S. 248,
254 (1936); see also Ricks v. Allied Interstate, LLC, No. 3:16-cv-00205-HES-PDB,
2016 WL 4505173, at *1 (M.D. Fla. July 11, 2016). This is best accomplished by the
“exercise of judgment, which must weigh competing interests and maintain an even
balance.” Landis, 299 U.S. at 255. A stay is proper where its scope is properly
limited and not “immoderate.” Ortega Trujillo v. Conover & Co. Communications,

Inc., 221 F.3d 1262, 1264 (11th Cir. 2000) (citing CTI-Container Leasing Corp. v.
Uiterwyk Corp., 685 F.2d 1284, 1288 (11th Cir. 1982)).
Here, the Court finds good cause to grant the motion and stay the CMSO
deadlines for 90 days. The parties are seeking the stay in order to attempt to fully
settle the case, thereby rendering discovery and all other CMSO deadlines
unnecessary. See Doc. 38 at 1. The parties state they have “agreed to engage in
targeted informal discovery and settlement discussions in an effort to resolve this
case[.]” Id. at 1-2. Further, the requested stay is limited in time and scope and not
“immoderate” as the stay is limited to 90 days and for the purpose of the parties
executing their informal discovery and settlement plan. See Ortega Trujillo, 221
F.3d at 1264.

Thus, based on the totality of the circumstances and because the

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parties jointly filed the motion, the Court will stay the CMSO deadlines for 90 days.
The parties shall file a status report on or before April 10, 2019.
ACCORDINGLY, it is
ORDERED:
1.

The Joint Motion to Temporarily Stay All Court Deadlines By 90 Days

(Doc. 38) is GRANTED.
2.

The Clerk is directed to add a stay flag to the docket.

3.

The remaining deadlines in the CMSO (Doc. 37) are STAYED for 90 days

or until further Order of the Court.
4.

The parties shall file a status report with the Court on or before April

10, 2019.
DONE and ORDERED in Fort Myers, Florida on this 10th day of January,
2019.

Copies:
Counsel of record

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