Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates, LLC et al

Filing 80

ORDER granting 43 and 52 motions to stay discovery. Discovery is stayed pending an order on the defendants' motions to dismiss. Signed by Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle on 6/11/2021. (DMP)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
TAMPA DIVISION
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
ex rel. CLARISSA ZAFIROV,
Plaintiff,

v.

Case No. 8:19-cv-1236-T-KKM-SPF

FLORIDA MEDICAL ASSOCIATES
LLC, et al.,
Defendants.
_______________________________________/
ORDER
The defendants move to stay discovery pending an order on their motions to
dismiss. (Docs. 43, 52). Relator Clarissa Zafirov opposes the defendants’ motions.
(Doc. 58).
For good cause, the court may stay discovery to protect parties from annoyance,
undue burden, or expense. Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c); Panola Land Buyers Ass’n v. Shuman, 762
F.2d 1550, 1558–59 (11th Cir. 1985). Before allowing discovery to begin, district courts
should attempt to resolve motions to dismiss to avoid unnecessary costs to litigants and
the court. See Chudasama v. Mazda Motor Corp., 123 F.3d 1353, 1367–68 (11th Cir. 1997).
This case, an unsealed action under the False Claims Act, was reassigned to the
undersigned. The defendants’ motions to dismiss were pending for months before the
undersigned inherited this case, and the parties may very well have proceeded with
discovery in the absence of a ruling on the stay motions. However, the Court finds good

cause to stay discovery until an order on the defendants’ motions to dismiss is entered.
Staying discovery will avoid expending the parties’ resources and judicial resources on
possible discovery disputes while the Court decides the motions to dismiss. And a stay
will allow the undersigned to better manage this inherited case. See Ortega Trujillo v.
Conover & Co. Commc’ns Inc., 221 F.3d 1262, 1264 (11th Cir. 2000) (“A stay sometimes
is authorized simply as a means of controlling the district court’s docket and of
managing cases before the district court.”).
The defendants’ motions to stay discovery (Docs. 43, 52) are GRANTED.
Discovery is STAYED pending an order on the defendants’ motions to dismiss. Within
ten days of the Court’s order on the defendants’ motion to dismiss, the parties must
meet and confer for the purpose of preparing and filing an amended Case Management
Report. The amended Case Management Report must be filed on the docket within five
days of the parties’ meeting.
ORDERED in Tampa, Florida, on June 11, 2021.

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