Empire Fire and Marine Insurance Company v. Washington et al

Filing 22

ORDER granting 21 Stipulated Motion to stay case; Joint Status Report due by 11/15/2017, signed by Judge Ricardo S Martinez.(RS)

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1 2 3 4 5 6 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 ) ) ) ) Plaintiff, ) v. ) ) QUEEN WASHINGTON AND JOHN DOE ) WASHINGTON, WIFE AND HUSBAND AND ) THE MARITAL COMMUNITY COMPRISED ) THEREOF; SHAWNIKA LAWRENCE AND JOHN) DOE LAWRENCE, WIFE AND HUSBAND AND ) ) THE MARITAL COMMUNITY COMPRISED THEREOF; MINDY WISCOMBE AND RUSSELL ) WISCOMBE, WIFE AND HUSBAND AND THE ) ) MARITAL COMMUNITY COMPRISED ) THEREOF; AND MARK MCCRUM AND ) PAMELA MCCRUM, HUSBAND AND WIFE ) AND THE MARTIAL COMMUNITY ) COMPRISED THEREOF, ) EMPIRE FIRE AND MARINE INSURANCE COMPANY 19 STIPULATED MOTION AND ORDER TO STAY PROCEEDINGS ) ) Defendants. 20 I. STIPULATION 21 22 CASE NO. 2:16-cv-01596-RSM 1. Pursuant to LCR 10(g) and LCR 7 (d)(1) and this Court’s inherent power to stay 23 proceedings, plaintiff Empire Fire and Marine Insurance Company (“Empire Fire”) and defendants 24 Mindy Wiscombe and Russell Wiscombe and their marital community, and Mark McCrum and 25 26 27 Pamela McCrum and their marital community, jointly request that the Court enter an Order staying all activity in this case until November 15, 2017. Empire Fire and the above-named defendants KARR TUTTLE CAMPBELL STIPULATED MOTION AND ORDER TO STAY -1 CASE NO. 2:16-cv-01596-RSM 701 Fifth Avenue, Suite 3300 Seattle, Washington 98104 Main: (206) 223 1313 Fax: (206) 682 7100 1 propose that the Court hold a conference to review the status of this action on November 15, 2017, 2 or as soon thereafter as practicable and convenient for the Court. 3 4 5 6 2. Empire Fire has brought this declaratory judgment action against defendants Mindy Wiscombe and Russell Wiscombe, and Mark McCrum and Pamela McCrum who have appeared in this action; and defendants Queen Washington and John Doe Washington and Shawnika 7 Lawrence and John Doe Lawrence, who were served in October 2016, but have not appeared in 8 this action. 9 10 11 3. This declaratory judgment action concerns the availability of insurance coverage for alleged bodily injury and other damages sustained by the Wiscombes and the McCrums arising from an automobile accident that occurred on November 30, 2012. The accident is alleged to have 12 13 14 been caused by Queen Washington or Shawnika Lawrence. 4. Before the accident occurred, Shawnika Lawrence rented a 2012 Mazda 6 from 15 Enterprise. In connection with the rental, Ms. Lawrence purchased Supplemental Liability 16 Protection (“SLP”) coverage, which is an excess liability policy issued by Empire Fire. 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 5. The rental vehicle was involved in the November 30, 2012 accident. The Wiscombes and McCrums allege that the rental vehicle impacted the rear of the vehicle driven by Mr. Wiscombe, causing his vehicle to be pushed into the vehicle occupied by the McCrums. The identity of the driver of the rental car at the time of the accident is in dispute. Was it Ms. Lawrence or Ms. Washington? 6. The McCrums and the Wiscombes sued Ms. Washington and Ms. Lawrence in an 24 underlying tort action in King County Superior Court, Cause No. 15-2-28349-9SEA. Trial in that 25 action is currently scheduled to occur on October 9, 2017. 26 27 KARR TUTTLE CAMPBELL STIPULATED MOTION AND ORDER TO STAY -2 CASE NO. 2:16-cv-01596-RSM 701 Fifth Avenue, Suite 3300 Seattle, Washington 98104 Main: (206) 223 1313 Fax: (206) 682 7100 1 2 3 4 5 6 7. Empire Fire and the appearing defendants seek a stay of this declaratory judgment action pending trial in the underlying tort action. Because coverage under the SLP policy depends on factual issues which will be resolved in the underlying action, staying this declaratory judgment action will avoid duplicative litigation and promote judicial economy. 8. “A district court has inherent power to control the disposition of the causes on its 7 docket in a manner which will promote economy of time and effort for itself, for counsel, and for 8 litigants.” CMAX, Inc. v. Hall, 300 F.2d 265, 268 (9th Cir. 1962); Lockyer v. Mirant Corp., 398 9 F.3d 1098, 1109 (9th Cir. 2005). Here, Empire Fire and the appearing defendants agree that a stay 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 is necessary to avoid duplicative litigation and promote economy of time and effort. SO STIPULATED this 13th day of July, 2017. KARR TUTTLE CAMPBELL /s/ ______________________ Jacquelyn A. Beatty, WSBA #17567 Barbara J. Brady, WSBA #20459 701 Fifth Avenue, Suite 3300 Seattle, WA 98104 Tel: 206-223-1313 Fax: 206-682-7100 Email: jbeatty@karrtuttle.com Email: bbrady@karrtuttle.com Attorneys for Defendant Empire Fire and Marine Insurance Company LAW OFFICE OF SAM ELDER PLLC OSERAN, HAHN, SPRING, STRAIGHT & WATTS, PS ____________________________ Paul Spencer, WSBA #19511 10900 N.E. 4th St., Suite 1430 Bellevue, WA 98004 Tel: 425-455-3900 Fax: 425-455-9201 pspencer@ohswlaw.com> Attorney for Defendants McCrum Samuel J. Elder, Jr. WSBA #26085 12716 N.E. 106th Lane Kirkland, WA 98033 Tel. 425-999-8170 Fax: 425-999-8172 sam@samelderlaw.com Attorneys for Defendants Wiscombe __________________________ 25 26 27 KARR TUTTLE CAMPBELL STIPULATED MOTION AND ORDER TO STAY -3 CASE NO. 2:16-cv-01596-RSM 701 Fifth Avenue, Suite 3300 Seattle, Washington 98104 Main: (206) 223 1313 Fax: (206) 682 7100 1 ORDER 2 3 Pursuant to the above Stipulated Motion, this case is STAYED. The parties shall file a 4 Joint Status Report on or before November 15, 2017. The Court will note a Status Conference 5 thereafter if necessary. 6 DATED this 14th day of July 2017. 7 8 9 10 11 A RICARDO S. MARTINEZ CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 KARR TUTTLE CAMPBELL STIPULATED MOTION AND ORDER TO STAY -4 CASE NO. 2:16-cv-01596-RSM 701 Fifth Avenue, Suite 3300 Seattle, Washington 98104 Main: (206) 223 1313 Fax: (206) 682 7100 1 2 3 4 5 6 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I, Daena V. Temkova, affirm and state that I am employed by Karr Tuttle Campbell in King County, in the State of Washington. I am over the age of 18 and not a party to the within action. My business address is: 701 Fifth Ave., Suite 3300, Seattle, WA 98104. On this day, I caused to be filed a true and correct copy of the foregoing by using the Court’s electronic filing system. I caused the same to be served on the parties listed below in the manner indicated. 7 8 9 10 11 Samuel J. Elder, Jr., WSBA #26085 Law Offices of Sam Elder, PLLC 12716 N.E. 106th Lane Kirkland, WA 98033 sam@samelderlaw.com Attorneys for Plaintiffs Mindy Wiscombe and Russell Wiscombe Via U.S. Mail Via Hand Delivery Via Electronic Mail Via Overnight Mail CM/ECF via court’s website Paul Spencer, WSBA #19511 Osaren Hahn, P.S. 10900 N.E. 4th St., Ste. 1430 Bellevue, WA 98004 pspencer@ohswlaw.com Attorneys for Plaintiffs Mark McCrum and Pamela McCrum Via U.S. Mail Via Hand Delivery Via Electronic Mail Via Overnight Mail CM/ECF via court’s website 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Washington that the foregoing is true and correct, to the best of my knowledge. Executed on this 13th day of July, 2017, at Seattle, Washington. s/Daena Temkova Daena V. Temkova Assistant to Jacquelyn A. Beatty and Barbara J. Brady 24 25 26 27 KARR TUTTLE CAMPBELL STIPULATED MOTION AND ORDER TO STAY -5 CASE NO. 2:16-cv-01596-RSM 701 Fifth Avenue, Suite 3300 Seattle, Washington 98104 Main: (206) 223 1313 Fax: (206) 682 7100

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