Opinion
2:17-cv-00112-KJM-KJN
04-07-2023
United States of America, Plaintiff, v. John Donnelly Sweeney and Point Buckler Club, LLC, Defendants.
ORDER
Following the court's referral of this matter to Magistrate Judge Jeremy Peterson, see Prior Order (Jan. 26, 2023), ECF No. 223, defendant Point Buckler Club, LLC filed a notice of bankruptcy and claimed it triggered an automatic stay under 11 U.S.C. § 362, see Notice, ECF No. 234. The court ordered the parties to file a Joint Status Report (JSR) addressing their respective positions regarding a section 362 stay, Min. Order (Mar. 15, 2023), ECF No. 235, and they have done so, see JSR, ECF No. 237.
The court has reviewed the parties' joint statement and concludes this action is not automatically stayed for the reasons provided by the Government, see JSR at 2-6. This court has jurisdiction to determine whether the automatic stay applies. See Lockyer v. Mirant Corp., 398 F.3d 1098, 1106-07 (9th Cir. 2005). Because this lawsuit is brought by the United States to enforce the Clean Water Act, it falls within the statutory exception for the government's regulatory action See 11 U.S.C. § 362(b)(4) (Filing of petition does not operate as stay “of the commencement or continuation of an action or proceeding by a governmental unit . . . to enforce [its] police and regulatory power[.]”); JSR at 4 (collecting cases applying section 362(b)(4) in the context of federal environmental cases, including Clean Water Act civil enforcement actions).
This action is not stayed. The case remains referred to Judge Peterson, as explained in the court's prior order. See Prior Order (Jan. 26, 2023), ECF No. 223.
IT IS SO ORDERED.