Phyllis Schafly Revocable Trust et al v. Cori et al

Filing 120

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER / ORDER LIFTING STAY : IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiffs' Motion to Lift Stay is GRANTED. (Doc. No. 110 ). IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the stay originally entered in this case on November 15, 2017, is HEREBY LIFTED. (Doc. No. 82 ). IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the parties shall confer and propose a scheduling plan to the Court on or before May 19, 2020. ( Joint Scheduling Plan due by 5/19/2020.). Signed by District Judge John A. Ross on 5/12/20. (KKS)

Case: 4:16-cv-01631-JAR Doc. #: 120 Filed: 05/12/20 Page: 1 of 2 PageID #: 3780

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
EASTERN DIVISION
PHYLLIS SCHLAFLY REVOCABLE
TRUST, et al.,
Plaintiffs,
v.
ANNE CORI, et al.,
Defendants.

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Case No. 4:16-cv-01631-JAR

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
This matter is before the Court on Plaintiffs’ motion to lift the stay. (Doc. No. 110). The
Court originally stayed this case on November 15, 2017, due to the existence of related lawsuits
in various jurisdictions that had issues that overlapped with issues before this Court. (Doc. No.
82). Most recently, the Court continued the stay on January 24, 2020, because two of the related
cases—the Madison County lawsuit and the St. Louis County probate case—were set for trial and
were to be heard in the near future. Because of the imminence of those trials, the Court found it
appropriate to keep the stay in place for a “short period of time.” (Doc. No. 107).
In their motion, Plaintiffs argue that the progress in the related lawsuits warrant that the
stay be lifted. Specifically, Plaintiffs assert that the trial date for the Madison County lawsuit is
now no longer imminent due, in part, to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and that the St. Louis
County probate case has since settled. Given that this case has been stayed for a substantial period
of time and that the Madison County lawsuit will likely be continued to at least August 2020,
Plaintiffs argue that the Court should allow this case to proceed on its merits. In response,
Defendants argue that proceeding with this case while the Madison County lawsuit is ongoing
creates the risk of inconsistent rulings. Further, Defendants contend that—although the probate
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Case: 4:16-cv-01631-JAR Doc. #: 120 Filed: 05/12/20 Page: 2 of 2 PageID #: 3781

case has settled—Bruce Schlafly has since filed an abuse of process lawsuit against Defendant
Anne Cori in St. Louis County alleging that her claims of incapacity and undue influence in the
probate action were baseless. Defendants argue that to the extent those issues were removed from
the probate action that they have been given new life in the abuse of process lawsuit. Defendants,
therefore, argue that continuing the stay is appropriate and that the stay should remain in place “at
the very least” until judgment is entered in the Madison County lawsuit.
After careful consideration, the Court finds that the stay should be lifted. The Court
continued the stay in this case because it believed that related lawsuits were imminently going to
trial and would soon be resolved. After reviewing the parties’ briefings, it is clear that is no
longer the case. Because the pending litigation that justified the temporary stay is no longer
imminent or has since settled, the Court believes that the just course is to allow this case to
progress on the merits.
Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiffs’ Motion to Lift Stay is GRANTED. (Doc.
No. 110).
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the stay originally entered in this case on
November15, 2017, is HEREBY LIFTED. (Doc. No. 82).
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the parties shall confer and propose a scheduling
plan to the Court on or before May 19, 2020.

JOHN A. ROSS
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Dated this 12th day of May, 2020.

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