Opinion
1:23-cv-00539-JLT-CDB
07-31-2023
STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY, Plaintiff, v. ARMANDO MOSQUEDA, et al., Defendants.
ORDER STAYING PROCEEDINGS IN THIS MATTER AGAINST DEFENDANT JIOVANNI FERGUSON PURSUANT TO 11 U.S.C. § 362 ORDER REQUIRING PLAINTIFF TO FILE STATUS REPORT AS TO OTHER SERVED INDIVIDUAL DEFENDANTS AND READINESS TO PROCEED AS TO OTHER DEFENDANTS INTO SCHEDULING CONFERENCE 21-DAY DEADLINE (Doc. 8)
Plaintiff State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (“State Farm”) initiated this action with the filing of a complaint on April 6, 2023, against Defendants: (1) Armando Mosqueda; (2) Edward Mosqueda; and (3) Jiovanni Ferguson. (Doc. 1). Effective May 30, 2023, Defendants Armando and Edward Mosqueda waived service and their answers or pre-answer motions are due today (July 31, 2023). (Docs. 5, 6). State Farm has not filed a summons returned executed as to Defendant Ferguson and the time to do so has passed under Fed.R.Civ.P. 4(m).
On July 20, 2023, State Farm filed a notice of suggestion of bankruptcy indicating that on May 11, 2023, Defendant Ferguson filed for bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of California for relief under chapter 7 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (the “Bankruptcy Code”). (Doc. 8). The bankruptcy case is pending under case number 23-11003 (Jiovanni Ferguson). The case remains pending as the date of this Order.
Pursuant to Section 362 of the Bankruptcy Code, all actions against a defendant who has filed a bankruptcy petition are automatically stayed once the petition is filed. 11 U.S.C. § 362(a) (staying “the commencement or continuation, including the issuance or employment of process, of a judicial, administrative, or other action or proceeding against the debtor that was or could have been commenced before the commencement of the case under this title, or to recover a claim against the debtor that arose before the commencement of the case under this title.”); see also Sternberg v. Johnston, 595 F.3d 937, 943 (9th Cir. 2010). However, a suit against a co-defendant is not automatically stayed by the debtor's bankruptcy filing. In re Miller, 262 B.R. 499, 503 & n.6 (9th Cir. 2001) (citations omitted).
A scheduling conference is currently set for September 13, 2023. (Doc. 7). As noted above, neither Defendants Armando nor Edward Mosqueda have answered and no proof of service for Defendant Ferguson has been returned. Given this status, the Court will not vacate the scheduling conference yet, and shall order State Farm to file a status report within twenty-one (21) days indicating whether this action should proceed in some manner against Defendants Armando and Edward Mosqueda into the scheduling conference or if this matter should be stayed in its entirety. See Parker v. Bain, 68 F.3d 1131, 1137 (9th Cir. 1995) (“All proceedings in a single case are not lumped together for purposes of automatic stay analysis. Even if the first claim filed in a case was originally brought against the debtor, section 362 does not necessarily stay all other claims in the case. Within a single case, some actions may be stayed, others not. Multiple claim and multiple party litigation must be disaggregated so that particular claims, counterclaims, cross claims and third-party claims are treated independently when determining which of their respective proceedings are subject to the bankruptcy stay.”) (quotation and citation omitted).
Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:
1. All proceedings in this matter against Defendant Jiovanni Ferguson only are STAYED pursuant to Section 362(a) of Title 11, United States Code.
2. Within twenty-one (21) days of service of this order, State Farm shall file a status report as to Defendants Armando and Edward Mosqueda indicating whether this matter should be stayed in its entirety and all matters vacated, as described above in this order.
IT IS SO ORDERED.