Opinion
Civil Action No. 08-cv-01009-AP.
October 31, 2008
ORDER
This administrative appeal is before me on Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction (Doc. 18). As an administrative appeal, the case would ordinarily be kept on the Court's "AP" docket, which I oversee, until fully briefed, at which point it would be drawn to a different judge for a determination on the merits. The Motion for Preliminary Injunction filed October 29, 2008, however, asserts ongoing irreparable injury unless Defendants are enjoined, among other things, from intercepting any government program payments payable to Plaintiffs during the pendency of the underlying administrative appeal. It is clear to me that the Motion for Preliminary Injunction and the overall merits of the appeal are intertwined, so that any resolution of the former by me as part of my AP docket duties could be a serious intrusion into the authority of the judge ultimately drawn to oversee the latter. Accordingly,
IT IS ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court forthwith draw this case to a district judge without waiting for the briefing on the merits of the administrative appeal to be concluded. The November 5, 2008 Hearing on the Motion for Court to Set Briefing Schedule is VACATED, as the new judge will set briefing on the underlying appeal as well.