Opinion
No. 16-1125-STA-egb
08-11-2017
ALF, a minor child b/n/f JENNIFER FREEMAN, JENNIFER FREEMAN, AND MICHAEL FREEMAN, Plaintiffs, v. SHERITA JONES, et al., Defendants.
ORDER CLOSING CASE ADMINISTRATIVELY
Based upon the statements of the parties at the status conference on August 11, 2017, the Court finds that this matter should be closed administratively pending the outcome of the underlying criminal matter.
Administratively closing a case is a case-management tool used by district courts to obtain an accurate count of active cases. Citifinancial Corp. v. Harrison, 453 F.3d 245 (5th Cir. 2006). That is, the court may close a case administratively for statistical purposes. See Corion Corp. v. Chen, 964 F.2d 55, 56-57 (1st Cir. 1992) (Administrative closings comprise a familiar, albeit essentially ad hoc, way in which courts remove cases from their active files without making any final adjudication.) See also Lehman v. Revolution Portfolio L.L.C., 166 F.3d 389 (1st Cir. 1999) ("This method is used in various districts throughout the nation in order to shelve pending, but dormant, cases."). Lehman "endorsed the judicious use of administrative closings in circumstances in which a case, though not dead, is likely to remain moribund for an appreciable period of time." Id. at 392 n. 3.
Consequently, the Clerk of Court is DIRECTED to close the case for statistical purposes. Nothing contained in this order shall be considered as a dismissal or disposition of this action. Should further proceedings become necessary, either party may initiate that proceeding in the same manner as if this order had not been entered.
Defendants' motion to stay (ECF No. 25) is DENIED as unnecessary.
All dates, including the trial of this matter, shall be removed from the calendar.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
s/ S. Thomas Anderson
S. THOMAS ANDERSON
CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Date: August 11, 2017