Opinion
Civil Action No. 11-cv-01899-PAB-KLM
05-11-2012
GERALD LEE PATTERSON, Plaintiff, v. GEORGE SANTINI, M.D., CAMACHO, P.A., and FIVE JOHN/JANE DOES, Defendants.
MINUTE ORDER
ENTERED BY MAGISTRATE JUDGE KRISTEN L. MIX
This matter is before the Court on Defendants' Motion to Stay [Docket No. 32; Filed May 10, 2012] (the "Motion"). Defendants request that this matter be stayed pending a determination of whether they are entitled to qualified immunity. On March 28, 2012, the Court issued a Recommendation to the District Judge, which recommended finding that Defendants are not entitled to qualified immunity at this stage of the proceeding. See Rec., [#24] at 8. The Recommendation remains pending.
Qualified immunity "give[s] government officials a right, not merely to avoid 'standing trial,' but also to avoid the burdens of 'such pretrial matters as discovery . . . .'" Behrens v. Pelletier, 516 U.S. 299, 308 (1996) (citation omitted). Immunity questions should be resolved at the earliest possible stage of the litigation, thereby avoiding many of the associated burdens and costs. Albright v. Rodriguez, 51 F.3d 1531, 1534 (10th Cir. 1995). In light of the Court's obligation to "exercise its discretion so that officials [properly asserting qualified immunity] are not subjected to unnecessary and burdensome discovery or trial proceedings," Crawford-El v. Britton, 523 U.S. 574, 597-98 (1998),
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Motion is GRANTED as follows. This case is STAYED pending the resolution of the Recommendation [#24] and Defendants' Motion to Dismiss [#17].
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Scheduling Conference set for July 3, 2012, is VACATED.