Russell Road Food and Beverage, LLC v. Galam et al
Filing
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ORDER that 135 Motion to Stay Case or Modify Scheduling Order is DENIED. Signed by Magistrate Judge Nancy J. Koppe on 3/21/14. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - MMM)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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DISTRICT OF NEVADA
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RUSSELL ROAD FOOD AND
BEVERAGE, LLC,
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Plaintiff(s),
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vs.
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MIKE GALAM, et al.,
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Defendant(s).
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Case No. 2:13-cv-00776-JCM-NJK
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO
STAY OR TO MODIFY THE
SCHEDULING ORDER
(Docket No. 135)
Pending before the Court is Plaintiff’s motion to stay or to modify the scheduling order.
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Docket No. 135. Defendants filed a response and Plaintiff filed a reply. Docket Nos. 137, 138. The
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Court finds this matter properly resolved without oral argument. See Local Rule 78-2. For the
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reasons discussed below, the motion is hereby DENIED.
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Courts have inherent power to stay the cases before them as a matter of controlling their own
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docket and calendar. See Landis v. North American Co., 299 U.S. 248, 254-55 (1936); see also
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Lockyer v. Mirant Corp., 398 F.3d 1098, 1110-13 (9th Cir. 2005) (reviewing Ninth Circuit law on
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issue, and finding a stay was inappropriate). The movant bears the burden of showing that a stay is
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warranted. See Clinton v. Jones, 520 U.S. 681, 708 (1997).
Plaintiff has not shown that the requested relief is appropriate here.1 Plaintiff argues first that
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this case should be stayed or slowed because separate litigation has been initiated in California that
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The motion seeks an indefinite stay or, in the alternative, a three month extension to the
deadlines in the scheduling order. This case is roughly two months from the close of discovery. See
Docket No. 114.
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may bear upon Mike Galam’s ownership interests. See Mot. at 4. Plaintiff further argues that, inter
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alia, the Galam Defendants’ standing to assert their counterclaims depends on a finding of
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ownership. See Reply at 4. Plaintiff’s showing is deficient. For example, “[a] stay should not be
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granted unless it appears likely the other proceedings will be concluded within a reasonable time in
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relation to the urgency of the claims presented to the court.” Leyva v. Certified Grocers of Cal., Ltd.,
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593 F.2d 857, 864 (9th Cir. 1979). Here, it appears that a case management conference has yet to
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occur in the California case and Plaintiff does not provide any indication what the schedule will
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likely be. See Mot. at 10 (“once the schedule is set in the Canico Ownership Dispute case in
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California, the parties may be able to more efficiently coordinate discovery” (emphasis added)); see
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also id. (noting that the California dispute may be arbitrated, and that the arbitration schedule would
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likely be known in less than three months). This shortcoming alone warrants denial of the motion as
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it relates to the California action. See, e.g., Fleming v. Coverstone , 2010 WL 4955546, *2 (S.D.
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Cal. Dec. 1, 2010).
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The Court also finds unpersuasive Plaintiff’s argument that this case should be stayed
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pending resolution of the preliminary injunction appeal, as the Ninth Circuit has repeatedly
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cautioned against delaying proceedings at the district court level in order to attempt to ascertain the
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views of the Ninth Circuit panel hearing a preliminary injunction appeal. See, e.g., DISH Network
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Corp. v. FCC, 653 F.3d 771, 776 (9th Cir. 2011) (quoting Sports Form, Inc. v. United Press Int’l,
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Inc., 686 F.2d 750, 753 (9th Cir. 1982) for the proposition that, inter alia, “our disposition of appeals
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from most preliminary injunctions may provide little guidance as to the appropriate disposition on
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the merits”).
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Accordingly, the motion to stay this case or continue the deadlines in the scheduling order is
hereby DENIED.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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DATED: March 21, 2014
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______________________________________
NANCY J. KOPPE
United States Magistrate Judge
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