Opinion
Case No. 2:12-cv-01988-GMN-NJK
05-09-2013
COLONEL ROBERT FRANK, et al., Plaintiffs, v. CITY OF HENDERSON, et al., Defendants.
ORDER STAYING DISCOVERY
(Docket No. 29)
Pending before the Court is Plaintiffs' motion to stay discovery pending resolution of Defendants' motion to dismiss or for summary judgment. See Docket 29; see also Docket No. 10 ("motion to dismiss"). Defendants do not oppose the motion to stay discovery. See Potter Aff. ¶ 7. For good cause shown and for the reasons discussed below, the Court hereby GRANTS the motion to stay discovery pending resolution of the motion to dismiss.
"The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure do not provide for automatic or blanket stays of discovery when a potentially dispositive motion is pending." Tradebay, LLC v. eBay, Inc., 278 F.R.D. 597, 601 (D. Nev. 2011). The case law in this District makes clear that requests to stay all discovery may be granted when: (1) the pending motion is potentially dispositive; (2) the potentially dispositive motion can be decided without additional discovery; and (3) the Court has taken a "preliminary peek" at the merits of the potentially dispositive motion and is convinced that the plaintiff will be unable to state a claim for relief. Id. at 602-603.
The Court finds these factors are present here. First, the motion to dismiss is potentially case-dispositive as it challenges all pending claims. Second, the motion to dismiss can be decided without additional discovery. Third, the Court has taken a preliminary peek at the merits of the motion to dismiss and believes Plaintiffs will be unable to state a claim for relief.
Conducting this preliminary peek puts the undersigned in an awkward position because the assigned district judge who will decide the motion to dismiss may have a different view of its merits. See Tradebay, 278 F.R.D. at 603. The undersigned's "preliminary peek" at the merits of that motion is not intended to prejudice its outcome. See id.
Accordingly, the motion to stay all discovery is hereby GRANTED. In the event that the motion to dismiss is not granted in full, the parties shall submit a joint status report to the undersigned within 14 days of the issuance of the order resolving the motion to dismiss. That status report shall indicate what discovery needs to be completed and shall provide a proposed plan for completing it.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
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NANCY J. KOPPE
United States Magistrate Judge