Blessett v. Jacoby et al

Filing 39

ORDER STAYING CASE, STAYED flag set. (Signed by Judge George C Hanks, Jr) Parties notified.(dperez, 3)

United States District Court
Southern District of Texas

ENTERED
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
GALVESTON DIVISION
JOE BLESSETT,
Plaintiff,
VS.
STETT M JACOBY, et al,
Defendants.

August 17, 2018
David J. Bradley, Clerk

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§ CIVIL ACTION NO. 3:18-CV-153
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ORDER STAYING CASE

The defendants have moved to dismiss this case under Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) (Dkt. 30 and Dkt. 31). The plaintiff, who is proceeding
pro se, has responded to the defendants’ motions and moved to strike those motions (Dkt.
36 and Dkt. 37). While those motions are pending, the Court will stay this case.
“The district court has a general discretionary power to stay proceedings before it
in the control of its docket and in the interests of justice.” McKnight v. Blanchard, 667
F.2d 477, 479 (5th Cir. 1982); see also Landis v. North Am. Co., 299 U.S. 248, 254–55
(1936) (“[T]he power to stay proceedings is incidental to the power inherent in every
court to control the disposition of the causes on its docket with economy of time and
effort for itself, for counsel, and for litigants.”). The entry of a stay is “an exercise of
judicial discretion, and the propriety of its issue is dependent upon the circumstances of
the particular case.” Nken v. Holder, 556 U.S. 418, 433 (2009) (quotation marks and
brackets omitted). Having examined the arguments in the defendants’ motions and the

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circumstances of this case,1 the Court will stay this case until it has reached a decision on
the defendants’ motions to dismiss.
The Court ORDERS that all proceedings and discovery in this case are STAYED
until the Court has rendered a decision on the defendants’ motions to dismiss.
SIGNED at Galveston, Texas, this 17th day of August, 2018.
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George C. Hanks Jr.
United States District Judge

Particularly noteworthy circumstances are this Court’s recent dismissals of two other lawsuits
filed by the plaintiff that are materially indistinguishable from this one. See Case Numbers 3:17CV-164 and 3:17-CV-370. Yet another lawsuit recently filed by the plaintiff stemming from the
same facts is pending. See Case Number 3:18-CV-137.
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