Bledsoe v. Jefferson County, Kansas et al

Filing 181

ORDER VACATING SCHEDULING CONFERENCE. Signed by Magistrate Judge James P. O'Hara on 1/6/2021. (amh)

Case 2:16-cv-02296-DDC-JPO Document 181 Filed 01/06/21 Page 1 of 2

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF KANSAS
FLOYD S. BLEDSOE,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. 16-cv-2296-DDC

JEFFERSON COUNTY, KANSAS, et al.,
Defendants.
ORDER VACATING SCHEDULING CONFERENCE
On November 19, 2020, the undersigned U.S. Magistrate Judge, James P. O’Hara,
entered an order setting this case for a scheduling conference to occur on February 17, 2021
(ECF No. 160). About a month later, the so-called Jefferson County Defendants filed an
interlocutory appeal of U.S. District Judge Daniel D. Crabtree’s order denying their motion
to dismiss (ECF No. 168) and more recently three groups of defendants have filed motions
to stay discovery and pretrial proceedings pending resolution of that appeal (ECF Nos. 172,
174, & 175). And just yesterday, plaintiff filed a motion asking Judge Crabtree to certify
the Jefferson County Defendants appeal as frivolous (ECF No. 179).
There is obviously a practical inter-relationship among the three motions to stay
(which will be decided by the undersigned magistrate judge) and the motion to certify the
appeal as frivolous (which will be decided by Judge Crabtree). Although the undersigned
does not presume to know how soon Judge Crabtree will rule on plaintiff’s motion to certify
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Case 2:16-cv-02296-DDC-JPO Document 181 Filed 01/06/21 Page 2 of 2

the appeal as frivolous, as things currently stand, that motion won’t be ripe until February
2, 2021.

There’s no doubt Judge Crabtree’s ruling could have an impact on the

undersigned’s decision on the motions to stay.

Under these circumstances, it’d be

inefficient for counsel for the multiple parties to begin conferring on the planning-meeting
report (currently due on February 8, 2021) that will guide the scheduling in this case.
Accordingly, the court vacates the current scheduling-conference setting and the planningreport deadline, mindful that both can and will be re-set quickly if need be.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated January 6, 2021, at Kansas City, Kansas.
s/ James P. O=Hara
James P. O=Hara
U.S. Magistrate Judge

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