Bloedorn v. Dr. Bruce Grube, et al

Filing 88

ORDER granting 72 Motion to Stay Discovery; granting 73 Motion for Extension of Time to File Response/Reply re 71 MOTION to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction, MOTION for Judgment on the Pleadings; denying 75 Motion to Compel. Responses due by 2/10/2012. Signed by Magistrate Judge G. R. Smith on 01/20/2012. (lmm)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
STATESBORO DIVISION
BENJAMIN BLOEDORN,
Plaintiff,
v.
No. CV 609-055
DR. BROOKS A. KEEL, in his
official capacity as President of
Georgia Southern University, et al.,
Defendants.

ORDER
One day in 2008 Benjamin Bloedorn, “an itinerant preacher who
frequently seeks out busy areas on college campuses to broadcast his
evangelical message for four to six hours at a time on continuous days,”
began preaching on a heavily trafficked grassy knoll located on Georgia
Southern University’s Statesboro, Georgia campus. Bloedorn v. Grube,
631 F.3d 1218, 1225 (11th Cir. 2011). GSU required a permit for
“outside speakers” like him, but he refused, so GSU arrested him for
trespassing. Those charges were later dropped. Bloedorn sued GSU
officials under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and § 1988, and this Court denied his
motion for a preliminary injunction against GSU’s speech policy

enforcement. Doc. 33, aff’d, Bloedorn, 631 F.3d at 1242. Afterwards,
this Court directed the parties to proceed with discovery. Doc. 46.
Bloedorn then moved to amend his “complaint to clarify important
facts and his legal theory,” doc. 47, and this Court granted it, doc. 53, but
also granted the defendants’ motion to stay discovery (doc. 48) pending
their motion to dismiss. Doc. 51. Defendants then amended GSU’s
speech policy prior to the amended complaint and thus sought a partial
dismissal of it. See doc. 57-1. The Court partially granted that motion,
doc. 63, and later dismissed a defendant outright. Doc. 64.
The remaining defendants again move to dismiss. Doc. 71. They
argue that they have further amended their speech policy to moot all of
plaintiff’s remaining claims. Doc. 71. They also move to stay discovery
while that motion is pending. Doc. 72. Bloedorn opposes and moves to
compel discovery. Doc. 75. The Court GRANTS the stay motion (doc.
72) and DENIES the compel motion (doc. 75) because throughout this
case plaintiff’s claims have been steadily whittled away via summary
disposition, thus sparing considerable discovery expense. And legal, not
factual issues, continue to drive this litigation. In fact, it appears that all
that is left for the Court to resolve is plaintiff’s challenge to GSU’s

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“forty-eight-hour” requirement (i.e., its speech policy’s rule that
“outside” speakers like Bloedorn must submit, no later than 48 hours
prior to the date on which they seek to reserve GSU’s forum for speech, a
request form). See doc. 71-1 at 3-4 (GSU’s revised “Speaker’s Policy”);
doc. 71 at 12-13 (GSU’s brief); doc. 87 (Bloedorn’s reply brief). 1 Finally,
the Court GRANTS in part Bloedorn’s motion to extend time (doc. 73)
within which to respond to defendant’s dismissal motion; his response
shall be due within 21 days.
This 20th day of January, 2012.
7-c
UNiTED STATES MAGI.STRAI'E JUDGE
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA

The Court is also mindful of the fact that GSU is a publicly funded institution and
plaintiff’s counsel may at some point file a 42 U.S.C. § 1988 fee petition premised
upon any “prevailing party” claim Bloedorn may care to make. That means taxpayer
dollars are implicated in discovery which may well be moot. And “excessive
discovery” costs, for that matter, are valid fee-petition objections. See, e.g., Bell v.
United Princeton Properties, Inc., 884 F.2d 713, 716 (3rd Cir. 1989); Jaquette v. Black
Hawk County, Iowa, 710 F.2d 455, 463 (8th Cir. 1983) (“Lack of proper judicial
supervision in the pretrial stage leads to excessive discovery. . . .”); American Canoe
Ass'n, Inc. v. U.S. E.P.A.,138 F.Supp.2d 722, 746 (E.D. Va. 2001).
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