Brown v. Bi-Lo Holdings, LLC

Filing 47

ORDER granting in part and denying in part the parties' 46 Joint Motion to Stay Discovery and Other Proceedings. No further extensions will be granted. The Court will, however, stay the civil motions deadline, pending the Eleventh Circuit's resolution of Plaintiff's appeal. The parties shall file the appropriate motions within thirty (30) days of the issuance of the Eleventh Circuit's opinion. Signed by Judge J. Randal Hall on 7/20/2015. (jah)

IN THE UNITED

STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
BRUNSWICK DIVISION
*

ISAIAH BROWN,

Plaintiff,
*

v.

*

WINN-DIXIE STORES, INC.
BI-LO HOLDINGS, LLC,

CV 214-052

and
*
*
*

Defendants.

ORDER

In this action,
his

employment

Dixie")

with

and

PFLSA"),
in

Court

granted

Plaintiff's

interfered

("FMLA"),

him

for

all

violation

U.S.C.

violation

LLC

Act

in

29

Winn-Dixie

Leave

pay

compensation

Holdings,

Defendants

Family Medical
to

Defendant

Bi-Lo

"Defendants"),

failed

Plaintiff Isaiah Brown alleges that during

of

§ 201

the

FMLA

summary

claims

for

of

("Bi-Lo")
with

29

hours

the

rights

§

worked

Fair

FLSA.

his

Inc.

("Winn-

(collectively,

U.S.C.

et seg. , and
and

Stores,

and

Labor

under

2601
for

the

seq. ,

et

overtime

Standards

Act

retaliated against him
On

March

judgment

in

Defendants'

damages

as

barred by

20,

2015,

favor

judicial

on

this

all

of

estoppel,

but permitted his equitable claim for reinstatement to proceed.
(Doc.

32 at 35.)

The Court then directed the parties to meet and confer to

address

lingering

discovery

depositions of Defendants.

issues

-

30,

(See Docs.

specifically,

46.)

the

The parties

complied with the Court's directive and proposed a schedule in
which

discovery

would

dispositive motions
date.

(Doc.

to be

43.)

entered a formal,

conclude

on

August

25,

2015,

filed within twenty days

After

careful

with

after that

consideration,

the

Court

Amended Scheduling Order that memorialized the

parties'

plan

and

deadlines.

(Doc.

45.)

Two

days

later,

however,

the parties moved the Court to stay discovery and all

further proceedings until the United States Court of Appeals for
the

Eleventh

Circuit

issues

a

ruling

this Court's Order that granted,
summary judgment.
Court

GRANTS

IN

(Doc.
PART

46.)

and

on

in part,

is

proceedings

DENIES

well-established

either on its

IN

PART

that

a

motion for

Joint

the

Motion

to

(Id.)
district

own or on a

motion of

stay

the parties.

254

"[a]

variety of circumstances may justify a district court stay

the

resolution

Ortega Trujillo v.

1264

(11th Cir.

of

Co.,

299 U.S.

the Eleventh Circuit has held that

a

related

Conover & Co.

2000) .

& Elec.

may

248,

Moreover,

Water Works

court

e.g. , Landis v.

pending

Am.

this

of

See,

(1936) .

N.

Defendants'

appeal

For the reasons that follow,

Stay Discovery and Other Proceedings.
It

Plaintiff's

Indeed,

case

Commc'ns,

in
Inc.,

another

court."

221 F.3d 1262,

a stay "sometimes is authorized

simply as a means of controlling the district court's docket and
of

managing

cases

before

the

district

court."

Id.

Even so,

"[w]hen a district court exercises its discretion to stay a case

pending the resolution of related proceedings in another forum,
the district

court must

limit properly the scope of

the stay."

Id.

The

sole

Plaintiff

justification

has

briefed,

appealed,

the

for

the

issue

parties'

on appeal

motion

has

not

is

that

yet

been

and accordingly the parties have not received a ruling

on the propriety of

this

Court's

decision

entitled to judgment as a matter of

Plaintiff sought monetary relief.
This argument — which does

that

Defendants

were

law on all claims in which

(See Doc. 46,

UK 5,

6,

little more than identify important

dates on the docket — in no way addresses why the parties,
minimum,

to

engage

in

discovery.

the parties had nearly five
(Doc.

15.)

sought and received a ninety-day extension.
way

of

the

parties

yet

Amended

another

Scheduling

sixty

depositions.

(Docs.

Discovery

indicates

Plan

43,

Order,

days,
45.)

that

as

the

then

(Docs.

18, 30.)

By

Court

granted

the

requested,

Indeed,

the

Plaintiff

the

remaining

to

complete

parties'

depositions

been scheduled and will conclude by August 7, 2015.
2.)

at a

cannot complete discovery.

After pleadings were exchanged,
months

7.)

Joint

have

(Doc. 43 at

Based on these representations and the Court's finding that

ten months

is amply sufficient to complete discovery in a case

of this nature,
discovery.
The

the Court DENIES the parties'

request

to stay

No further extensions will be granted.
Court

will,

however,

STAY

the

civil

motions

deadline

pending the Eleventh Circuit's resolution of Plaintiff's appeal.
The

parties

SHALL

FILE

the

appropriate

motions

within

THIRTY

DAYS of the issuance of the Eleventh Circuit's opinion.

ORDER ENTERED at Augusta, Georgia,

this CxO ^ day of July,

2015.

DAL HALL

STATES

DISTRICT

DISTRICT

OF

JUDGE

GEORGIA