Animal Blood Bank, Inc. v. Hale

Full title: ANIMAL BLOOD BANK, INC., et al., Plaintiffs, v. ANNE S. HALE, Defendant

Court: United States District Court, E.D. California

Date published: Aug 9, 2011

No. 2:10-cv-02080-KJM-KJN (E.D. Cal. Aug. 9, 2011)

Opinion

No. 2:10-cv-02080-KJM-KJN.

August 9, 2011

ORDER

KENDALL NEWMAN, Magistrate Judge

On August 3, 2011, plaintiffs Animal Blood Bank, Inc. and Michael and Patricia Kaufman (the "plaintiffs") filed a "Notice of Filing Bankruptcy Upon The Record As To Defendant Anne. S. Hale".¹ (Dkt. No. 44.) It appears that defendant Hale filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in January 2011, and thus that the automatic stay presumably is in effect with regard to this civil action currently pending against defendant Hale.

1 This action proceeds before the undersigned pursuant to Eastern District of California Local Rule 302(c)(1) and 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1).

Several motions are pending in this case.² One such motion, plaintiffs' "Motion To Compel Further Responses To Plaintiffs' Requests For Production And To Compel Compliance With The Court's July 8, 2011 Order," is set for hearing before the undersigned on August 25, 2011. (Dkt. No. 38.) The Pretrial Scheduling Order currently in effect establishes August 31, 2011, as the discovery cutoff date. (Dkt. No. 30.)

2 Defendant's counsel's Motion To Withdraw As Attorney And Modify Pretrial Scheduling Order (Dkt. No. 41) is set to be heard by District Judge Mueller on August 31, 2011.

Given defendant's apparent Chapter 7 bankruptcy (Dkt. No. 44) and the likelihood that the automatic stay applies to this case, it appears that the undersigned cannot properly hear plaintiffs' motion to compel on August 25, 2011. Given the close proximity of the discovery cutoff date (August 31, 2011), however, to avoid prejudice to plaintiffs, the undersigned will not immediately vacate the August 25, 2011 hearing date.

Instead, the undersigns orders plaintiffs to file a short statement (the "Statement"), no longer than three pages in length, addressing: (a) plaintiffs' position(s) regarding whether defendant Hale's apparent Chapter 7 bankruptcy automatically stays this civil case; and (b) whether plaintiffs contend the undersigned can properly hear plaintiffs' motion to compel on August 25, 2011.³ Defendant may, but is not required to, file her own Statement regarding defendant's positions on these two issues. The Statement(s) shall be filed as soon as possible, but in no event later than August 15, 2011.

3 If plaintiffs contend that, for some reason, this case has not been automatically stayed such that the undersigned can properly hear plaintiffs' motion to compel on August 25, 2011, plaintiffs' Statement should include citations to legal authority supporting the position.

After receipt of the Statement(s), the undersigned will issue an order clarifying whether the undersigned will hear plaintiff's motion to compel on August 25, 2011.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

DATED: August 8, 2011