Flaxman v. Ferguson

Opinion

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4 5 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT AT SEATTLE 7 ABRAHAM FLAXMAN et al, CASE NO. C23-1581 8

Plaintiff(s), ORDER DENYING MOTION TO DISMISS 9 v. AND GRANTING MOTION TO EXTEND DISCOVERY DEADLINES 10 BOB FERGUSON et al,

11 Defendant(s).

12 This matter comes before the Court on Defendants’ motion to dismiss (Dkt. No. 12), and 13 Defendants’ motion for extension of certain deadlines (Dkt. No. 13). The Court, having reviewed 14 the pleadings and the balance of the docket, denies as moot Defendants’ motion to dismiss (Dkt. 15 No. 12) and grants Defendants’ motion for extension of deadlines (Dkt. No. 13). 16 I. FIRST MOTION TO DISMISS 17 Plaintiffs filed this action on October 16, 2023. Dkt. No. 1. Defendants filed the subject 18 motion to dismiss on November 9, 2023. Dkt. No. 12. Plaintiffs subsequently filed an amended 19 complaint on November 27, 2023. Dkt. No. 15. Plaintiffs briefly responded to the motion to 20 dismiss, arguing it is moot due to Plaintiffs’ filing of an amended complaint. Dkt. No. 17. 21 Defendants subsequently filed a motion to dismiss the amended complaint, which is noted for 22 January 5, 2024. Dkt. No. 19. 23 24 1 Because an amended complaint and a motion to dismiss the amended complaint have been 2 filed, the Court finds Defendants’ first motion to dismiss (Dkt. No. 12) is moot and denies it on 3 that basis.

5 The Court entered an order setting early case deadlines as to inter alia a Federal Rule of 6 Civil Procedure 26(f) conference, initial disclosures, and a discovery plan. Dkt. No. 11. 7 Defendants request an extension of the discovery-related deadlines because the pending motion to 8 dismiss1 raises issues of ripeness and abstention. Dkt. No. 13 at 2. According to Defendants, they 9 should not be subject to discovery until the Court has ruled on these potentially dispositive issues. 10 Id. Plaintiffs argue the Court should deny Defendants’ motion and expedite discovery because 11 they allege unconstitutional suppression of protected speech. Dkt. No. 16 at 2. 12 “A court may relieve a party of the burdens of discovery while a dispositive motion is 13 pending.” Williams v. Washington, No. 2:23-CV-914-TL-DWC, 2023 WL 5579589, at *1 (W.D. 14 Wash. Aug. 29, 2023). “Where discovery will not affect the 12(b) decision, staying discovery 15 ensures the defendant’s motion is properly addressed and advances ‘the goals of efficiency for the 16 court and litigants.’” Id. (quoting Little v. City of Seattle, 863 F.2d 681, 685 (9th Cir. 1988)). 17 Here, the pending motion to dismiss (Dkt. No. 19), if granted, could result in dismissal of 18 all claims against Defendants. In addition, discovery is irrelevant to Defendants’ Federal Rule of 19 Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) argument, because that challenge concerns subject-matter jurisdiction. 20 Nor is discovery required to counter Defendants’ challenge under Federal Rule of Procedure 21 12(b)(6), because the Court will assume all facts alleged by Plaintiffs in their amended complaint 22

23 1 The complaint and motion to dismiss that were operative at the time this motion (Dkt. No. 13) was filed have been superseded by subsequent filings. Supra. However, because the same legal questions are still at issue, and because Plaintiffs responded to the motion after filing their amended complaint, the Court analyzes this motion as if it 24 referenced the amended complaint (Dkt. No. 15) and currently pending motion to dismiss (Dkt. No. 19). 1 are true and evaluate the legal sufficiency of Plaintiffs’ claims. See, Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 2 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007); Aschcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009). 3 Because the pending motion to dismiss could result in dismissal of all claims against

4 Defendants, and because the motion can be decided without discovery, the Court finds a stay of 5 discovery is appropriate. 7 For these reasons, Defendants’ motion to dismiss (Dkt. No. 12) is DENIED as moot. 8 Defendants’ motion to extend deadlines (Dkt. No. 13) is GRANTED. All discovery is STAYED 9 until resolution of Defendants’ motion to dismiss (Dkt. No. 19). 10 11 Dated this 12th day of December, 2023. 12 A 13 Kymberly K. Evanson 14 United States District Judge

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