Beaulieu v. Jesson et al

Filing 42

ORDER: Defendants' motion for summary judgment (Doc. No. 12) is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. Defendants must file an amended motion for early summary judgment, motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, or responsive pleading within 90 days of the date of this order. Signed by Judge Donovan W. Frank on 10/5/2022. (las)

CASE 0:11-cv-02593-DWF-JFD Doc. 42 Filed 10/05/22 Page 1 of 2

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA
Wallace James Beaulieu,

Civil No. 11-2593 (DWF/JFD)

Plaintiff,
v.

ORDER

Lucinda Jesson, et al.,
Defendants.
This matter was stayed over a decade ago pending the resolution of Karsjens v.
Minnesota Department of Human Services, No. 11-cv-3659 (DWF/TNL). Judgment has
now been entered in Karsjens, and accordingly, the stay of this matter has now been
lifted.
At the time that the stay was imposed, Defendants’ motion for early summary
judgment (Doc. No. 12) remained pending, and that motion remains pending now that the
stay has been lifted. That said, since that time that Defendants’ motion for summary
judgment was filed, much about the state of the law relevant to this case has changed —
not least of which, judgment has been entered in Karsjens, a matter in which at least
some of the same claims appear to have been litigated. Plaintiff Wallace James Beaulieu
was a member of the class represented in Karsjens, and it therefore appears that the
doctrine of res judicata may partly bar litigation of some of the claims raised in the
complaint. Moreover, while new arguments may have become available to the

CASE 0:11-cv-02593-DWF-JFD Doc. 42 Filed 10/05/22 Page 2 of 2

defendants, several arguments made in the motion to for summary judgment may no
longer be applicable to this proceeding.
For those reasons, Defendants’ motion for early summary judgment will be denied
without prejudice. Defendants must file an amended motion for early summary
judgment, motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure,
or responsive pleading within 90 days of the date of this order. Defendants are cautioned,
however, that as a general matter, the filing of motions for summary judgment before the
parties have been afforded an opportunity to conduct discovery is disfavored in this
District, at least absent a compelling reason to deviate from that ordinary rule.
ORDER
Based on the foregoing, and on all of the files, records, and proceedings herein, IT
IS HEREBY ORDERED that:
1.

Defendants’ motion for summary judgment (Doc. No. 12) is DENIED

WITHOUT PREJUDICE.
2.

Defendants must file an amended motion for early summary judgment,

motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, or
responsive pleading within 90 days of the date of this order.
Dated: October 5, 2022

s/Donovan W. Frank
DONOVAN W. FRANK
United States District Judge

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