Ali et al v. Trump et al

Filing 95

ORDER granting 85 Motion to stay proceedings pending the Ninth Circuit's resolution of the appeal in Hawaii v. Trump. In addition, the court ORDERS the parties to file a joint status report within 10 days of the Ninth Circuit's ruling in Hawaii v. Trump so that the court may reevaluate the stay at that time. Because this action is now stayed, the court DIRECTS the Clerk to remove the pending motions (Dkt. ## 58 , 94 ) from the court's calendar. After the stay is lifted, the parties may renote these motions for the court's consideration if appropriate at that time. Signed by Judge James L. Robart. (PM)

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE 8 9 JUWEIYA ABDIAZIZ ALI, et al., 10 Plaintiffs, 11 v. CASE NO. C17-0135JLR ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR STAY 12 DONALD TRUMP, et al., 13 Defendants. 14 15 I. 16 INTRODUCTION Before the court is Defendants’ motion to stay these proceeding pending 17 resolution of the appeal of the preliminary injunction in Hawaii v. Trump, No. CV 18 17-00050 (D. Haw.). (Mot. (Dkt. # 85)); see also Hawaii v. Trump, No. 17-15589 (9th 19 Cir.). The court has considered Defendants’ motion, Plaintiffs’ opposition to the motion 20 (Resp. (Dkt. # 92)), Defendants’ reply (Reply (Dkt. # 93)), the relevant portions of the 21 // 22 // ORDER - 1 1 record, and the applicable law. Being fully advised, 1 the court GRANTS Defendants’ 2 motion. 3 4 II. BACKGROUND This lawsuit arises out of President Donald J. Trump’s recent issuance of two 5 Executive Orders on immigration: Executive Order No. 13,769 (“EO1”) and Executive 6 Order No. 13,780 (“EO2”). 2 On January 30, 2017, Plaintiffs filed a putative class action 7 complaint challenging Section 3 of EO1. (Compl. (Dkt. # 1).) On March 6, 2017, 8 President Trump issued EO2, which expressly revoked EO1. See EO2 ¶ 13. Following 9 the President’s issuance of EO2, Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint incorporating new 10 allegations and claims with respect to EO2. (FAC (Dkt. # 52).) On March 10, 2017, 11 Plaintiffs filed a motion seeking a temporary restraining order (“TRO”) against 12 enforcement of certain provisions of EO2, including Section 2(c). (TRO Mot. (Dkt. 13 # 53).) On March 15, 2017, the court held a hearing on Plaintiffs’ motion for a TRO. 14 (Min. Entry (Dkt. # 78).) 15 Later that day, in a separate suit, the federal district court in Hawaii enjoined the 16 enforcement of Sections 2 and 6 of EO2. See Hawaii v. Trump, No. CV 17-00050 (D. 17 Haw.), Dkt. ## 219-20. On March 17, 2017, this court stayed Plaintiffs’ motion for a 18 TRO in part because the federal district court in Hawaii entered a nationwide injunction 19 that provided Plaintiffs with the relief they sought. (3/17/17 Order (Dkt. # 79).) The 20 1 21 22 No party has requested oral argument, and the court determines that oral argument is not necessary for its disposition of this motion. See Local Rules W.D. Wash. LCR 7(b)(4). 2 EO2 expressly revoked EO1 effective March 16, 2017. See EO2 § 13. ORDER - 2 1 court also noted that “the Ninth Circuit’s rulings on EO2 in Hawaii v. Trump will likely 2 have significant relevance to—and potentially control—the court’s subsequent ruling 3 here.” (Id. at 10.) Accordingly, the court concluded that “granting a stay of Plaintiffs’ 4 TRO motion while the nationwide injunction remains in place . . . pending the outcome 5 of appellate proceedings in [the Hawaii] case would facilitate the orderly course of 6 justice.” (Id.) 7 Defendants now seek a stay—not just of Plaintiffs’ motion for a TRO—but of the 8 entire case pending resolution of the appeal in Hawaii v. Trump. (See Mot.) Plaintiffs 9 oppose a stay. (See Resp.) The court now considers Defendants’ motion. 10 III. ANALYSIS 11 The court “has broad discretion to stay proceedings as an incident to its power to 12 control its own docket.” Clinton v. Jones, 520 U.S. 681, 706 (1997); see also Landis v. 13 N. Am. Co., 299 U.S. 248, 254 (1936). This power applies “especially in cases of 14 extraordinary public moment,” when “a plaintiff may be required to submit to delay not 15 immoderate in extent and not oppressive in its consequences if the public welfare or 16 convenience will thereby be promoted.” Clinton, 520 U.S. at 707. In determining 17 whether to grant a motion to stay, “the competing interests which will be affected by the 18 granting or refusal to grant a stay must be weighed.” Lockyer v. Mirant Corp., 398 F.3d 19 1098, 1110 (9th Cir. 2005) (citing CMAX, Inc. v. Hall, 300 F.2d 265, 268 (9th Cir. 20 1962)). Those interests include: (1) “the possible damage which may result from the 21 granting of a stay,” (2) “the hardship or inequity which a party may suffer in being 22 required to go forward,” and (3) “the orderly course of justice measured in terms of the ORDER - 3 1 simplifying or complicating of issues, proof, and questions of law which could be 2 expected to result from a stay.” Id. Here, the court finds that these factors weigh in favor 3 of granting Defendants’ motion pending resolution of the appeal of the preliminary 4 injunction in Hawaii v. Trump. 5 A. The Orderly Course of Justice 6 The court begins with the last factor—the orderly course of justice and judicial 7 economy. District courts often stay proceedings where resolution of an appeal in another 8 matter is likely to provide guidance to the court in deciding issues before it. See Landis, 9 299 U.S. at 254. When considering a stay pending the resolution of another action, the 10 court need not find that the two cases involve identical issues; a finding that the issues are 11 substantially similar is sufficient to support a stay. See Landis, 299 U.S. at 254; see also 12 Leyva v. Certified Grocers of Cal., Ltd., 593 F.2d 857, 863-64 (9th Cir. 1979) (stating 13 that the court’s authority to stay one proceeding pending the outcome in another “does 14 not require that the issues in such proceedings are necessarily controlling of the action 15 before the court”). Here, the appeal in Hawaii v. Trump involves many issues that 16 overlap with the present litigation. Indeed, both cases involve constitutional and statutory 17 challenges to Sections 2 of EO2. (See FAC ¶ 98; id. at 45 (Prayer for Relief); Prop. TRO 18 (Dkt. # 53-1) at 2 (seeking an injunction of Section 2 of EO2); Hawaii v. Trump, No. CV 19 17-00050 DKW-KSC, 2017 WL 1011673, at *17 (D. Haw. Mar. 15, 2017) (issuing a 20 nationwide TRO regarding Sections 2 and 6 of EO2). 21 22 Defendants argue that waiting for the Ninth Circuit’s decision in the Hawaii case will likely provide guidance to the court in resolving discovery disputes relevant to ORDER - 4 1 Plaintiffs’ claims. (Mot. at 7-8.) First, Defendants argue that Plaintiffs are seeking 2 internal government records that Defendants do not believe are relevant because under 3 Kleindienst v. Mandel, 408 U.S. 753, 770 (1972), Defendants need only demonstrate a 4 “facially legitimate and bona fide reason” for the Executive’s exclusion of aliens. (Mot. 5 at 6.) Plaintiffs contend that the Ninth Circuit has already resolved the issue of whether 6 internal government documents are relevant to Plaintiffs’ claims when it rejected 7 application of the Mandel standard in Washington v. Trump, 847 F.3d 1151, 1162 (9th 8 Cir. 2017). (Resp. at 3 n.4.) However, in the Hawaii appeal, Defendants argue that the 9 federal district court in Hawaii misread the Ninth Circuit’s stay ruling in Washington. 10 (See Mot. at 1 (citing appellants’ brief).) Plaintiffs disagree with this position, but the 11 salient point for purposes of Defendants’ stay motion is that resolution of the Hawaii 12 appeal is likely to provide guidance to this court on that issue. 13 Further, even if the Ninth Circuit determines in Hawaii that Mandel does not 14 provide the applicable standard and that courts may look beyond the four corners of EO2, 15 the Ninth Circuit’s decision is likely to provide guidance on the scope of that review. 16 Although the Ninth Circuit is not considering discovery issues on appeal, it is likely to 17 decide legal issues that will impact the court’s resolution of the parties’ discovery 18 disputes here by clarifying “the applicable law or relevant landscape of facts that need to 19 be developed.” 3 See Washington v. Trump, No. C17-0141JLR, 2017 WL 1050354, at *5 20 3 21 22 Plaintiffs also argue that Defendants’ motion for a stay is actually a pretext for Defendants’ categorical opposition to producing any discovery at all. (See Resp. at 5-6.) Defendants take the position that limited, if any, discovery is permitted on Plaintiffs’ claims. (See Mot. at 7 (“Defendants do not believe these [internal government] records are relevant to ORDER - 5 1 (W.D. Wash. Mar. 17, 2017) (quoting Hawaii v. Trump, No. CV 17-00050 DKW-KJM, 2 2017 WL 536826, at *5 (D. Haw. Feb. 9, 2017)). 3 In addition, Defendants argue that the Ninth Circuit’s ruling in Hawaii v. Trump 4 will assist the court in other aspects of the litigation as well. (Mot. at 8.) For example, 5 Defendants have moved for dismissal under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) 6 and 12(b)(6) (see MTD (Dkt. # 94)) and Plaintiffs have moved for class certification 7 (MFCC (Dkt. # 58)). 4 For the same reasons that the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Hawaii 8 would be helpful in resolving Plaintiffs’ TRO motion, see Ali v. Trump, No. C17- 9 0135JLR, 2017 WL 1057645, at *5 (W.D. Wash. Mar. 17, 2017), the Ninth Circuit’s 10 decision is also likely to be helpful to the court in resolving Defendants’ motion to 11 dismiss and Plaintiffs’ motion for class certification. Further, failing to stay this case 12 could result in “inconsistent rulings” that would need to be “disentangle[d]” later. 13 Washington, 2017 WL 1050354, at *5. For example, if the court determined that 14 discovery of internal government documents is relevant to Plaintiffs’ claims and 15 proportional to the needs of the case, see Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1), but the Ninth Circuit’s 16 decision is inconsistent with that ruling, then the parties would have wasted resources on 17 irrelevant discovery, and the court may have wasted time and resources on irrelevant 18 19 20 21 Plaintiffs’ claims because, under the applicable law, Defendants need only demonstrate a “facially legitimate and bona fide reason” for the Executive’s exclusion of foreign nationals.” (citing Mandel, 408 U.S. at 770 and Fiallo v. Bell, 430 U.S. 787, 792-96 (1977)).) Defendants ground their discovery argument in case law, and although the court does not consider the merits of that issue now, the court does not view Defendants’ argument for a stay as a pretext to avoid discovery. 4 22 The court previously stayed consideration of Plaintiffs’ motion for class certification until after the Ninth Circuit’s ruling in Hawaii v. Trump. (4/5/17 Order (Dkt. # 91) at 3.) ORDER - 6 1 discovery disputes over those materials. In short, the Ninth Circuit’s decision could 2 change “the applicable law or the relevant landscape of facts that need to be developed” 3 in such a way that this court’s intervening rulings would be nullified or need to be 4 reconsidered. See Washington, 2017 WL 1050354, at *5. 5 Finally, Plaintiffs argue that the issues in the two cases are not perfectly matched 6 and that the Ninth Circuit’s resolution of the appeal in Hawaii will leave various issues 7 unresolved before this court. (See Resp. at 3-4.) Resolution of the Hawaii appeal, 8 however, need not “settle every question of . . . law” to justify a stay. Landis, 299 U.S. at 9 256. It is sufficient that the Hawaii appeal is likely to “settle many” issues and 10 “simplify” others, id., such that a stay will facilitate the orderly course of justice and 11 conserve resources for both the court and the parties. See Fairview Hosp. v. Leavitt, 12 No. 05-1065RWR, 2007 WL 1521233, at *3 n.7 (D.D.C. May 22, 2007) (granting a stay 13 pending the resolution of another matter that would likely settle or simply issues even 14 though it “would not foreclose the necessity of litigation in [the stayed] case”); In re 15 Literary Works in Elec. Databases Copyright Litig., No. 00 CIV 6049, 2001 WL 204212, 16 at *3 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 1, 2001) (same). The court concludes that a stay, therefore, is most 17 “efficient for [the court’s] own docket and the fairest course for the parties.” Leyva, 593 18 F.2d at 863. Accordingly, this factor weighs in favor of granting Defendants’ motion. 19 B. Possible Damage to Plaintiffs if a Stay is Imposed 20 Plaintiffs assert that a stay will delay resolution of discovery disputes that 21 Defendants already concede will arise in any event and necessarily delay the overall 22 resolution of the case. (Resp. at 6-7.) The court is unconvinced that Defendants’ ORDER - 7 1 proposed stay will necessarily delay the ultimate outcome of this case. As noted 2 previously, both the present case and the appeal in Hawaii v. Trump involve challenges to 3 Section 2 of EO2. Given this similarity, if the court were to proceed with the parties’ 4 potential discovery disputes here, there is a fair possibility—irrespective of how the 5 Ninth Circuit resolves the Hawaii v. Trump appeal—that this court’s rulings would be out 6 of sync with the latest controlling authority once the Ninth Circuit issues its decision. At 7 that point, the parties would likely seek reconsideration, and the court would be faced 8 with deciding the same issues a second time. Thus, contrary to Plaintiffs’ assertions, 9 denying a stay will not necessarily resolve the litigation more quickly. 10 Plaintiffs also express concern about the potential length of any stay. The court is 11 sensitive to this concern but notes that the Ninth Circuit ordered expedited briefing in the 12 Hawaii appeal and conducted oral argument on May 15, 2017. See Hawaii v. Trump, No. 13 17-15589 (9th Cir.), Dkt. ## 14, 18. Plaintiffs also raise the concern that the stay may 14 continue through an appeal to the United States Supreme Court. (Resp. at 7.) Although 15 that may be accurate, litigation is inherently uncertain and the Hawaii litigation could end 16 prior to reaching the United States Supreme Court. Further, the court will require the 17 parties to submit a joint status report within 10 days of the Ninth Circuit’s ruling in the 18 Hawaii appeal so that the court can reassess the continued appropriateness of the stay at 19 that time. Due to the expedited nature of the appeal before the Ninth Circuit, the court 20 finds that the potential harm to Plaintiffs is insufficient to warrant denying Defendants’ 21 motion. 22 // ORDER - 8 1 C. Possible Hardship or Inequity to Defendants if a Stay is Not Imposed 2 Defendants assert that, in the absence of a stay pending further guidance from the 3 Ninth Circuit, they will endure hardship due to “[t]he sheer volume of discovery” that 4 Plaintiffs anticipate serving on Defendants. (Mot. at 9.) Plaintiffs respond that it is well 5 established that “being required to defend a suit, without more, does not constitute a 6 ‘clear case of hardship or inequity.’” (Resp. at 7 (quoting Lockyer, 398 F.3d at 1112 and 7 Landis, 299 U.S. at 255).) 8 9 However, neither this lawsuit nor the discovery Plaintiffs seek is typical. The Supreme Court has declared that “the high respect that is owed to the office of the Chief 10 Executive . . . is a matter that should inform the conduct of the entire proceeding, 11 including the timing and scope of discovery, . . . and the Executive’s constitutional 12 responsibilities and status are factors counseling judicial deference and restraint in the 13 conduct of litigation against it.” Cheney v. U.S. Dist. Court for D.C., 542 U.S. 367, 385 14 (2004) (alterations and internal citations omitted). Plaintiffs’ anticipated discovery 15 requests are likely to raise multiple discovery disputes. (See JSR at 2-4, 6 (relevance 16 objections), 7 (privilege issues).) In the context of this case, the “high respect” owed to 17 the Executive warrants a stay that will protect Defendants from the burden of 18 resource-intensive discovery while the Ninth Circuit addresses issues that will likely 19 inform the appropriateness, scope, and necessity of that discovery. See id.; see also 20 Clinton, 520 U.S. at 707 (stating that the power to stay proceedings applies “especially in 21 cases of extraordinary public moment”). Thus, the court concludes that this factor 22 ORDER - 9 1 weighs heavily in favor of granting Defendants’ motion for a stay pending the outcome of 2 the appeal in Hawaii v. Trump. 3 D. Summary of the Factors 4 The court’s evaluation of the relevant factors weighs in favor of staying these 5 proceedings pending the resolution of the appeal in Hawaii v. Trump. Awaiting the Ninth 6 Circuit’s opinion in that case will promote the orderly course of justice and judicial 7 economy. In addition, Defendants have demonstrated they face hardship or inequity in 8 the absence of a stay in light of the breadth of Plaintiffs’ anticipated discovery and the 9 unique nature of this case involving the Chief Executive. Clinton, 520 U.S. at 707; 10 Cheney, 542 U.S. at 385. The appeal’s fast track mitigates any harm to Plaintiffs. 11 Indeed, the Ninth Circuit has already conducted oral argument. Accordingly, the stay is 12 likely to be of short duration. Further, denying the stay will not necessarily move this 13 litigation along faster because the court may then need to revisit any rulings it makes in 14 the absence of a stay following the Ninth Circuit’s decision. Finally, the court orders the 15 parties to file a joint status report within 10 days of the Ninth Circuit’s ruling so that the 16 court may evaluate the continued appropriateness of any stay at that time. 17 IV. 18 CONCLUSION Based on the foregoing analysis, the court GRANTS Defendants’ motion for a 19 stay in these proceedings (Dkt. # 85) pending the Ninth Circuit’s resolution of the appeal 20 in Hawaii v. Trump. Should circumstances change such that lifting the stay is warranted, 21 any party may move to lift the stay. In addition, the court ORDERS the parties to file a 22 joint status report within 10 days of the Ninth Circuit’s ruling in Hawaii v. Trump so that ORDER - 10 1 the court may reevaluate the stay at that time. Because this action is now stayed, the 2 court DIRECTS the Clerk to remove the pending motions (Dkt. ## 58, 94) from the 3 court’s calendar. After the stay is lifted, the parties may renote these motions for the 4 court’s consideration if appropriate at that time. 5 Dated this 22nd day of May, 2017. 6 7 A 8 JAMES L. ROBART United States District Judge 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 ORDER - 11

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