Golden Eagle Resources II, LLC v. Rice Drilling D, LLC

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO EASTERN DIVISION

GOLDEN EAGLE RESOURCES II, LLC, : : Plaintiff, : Case No. 2:22-cv-02374 : v. : Chief Judge Algenon L. Marbley : RICE DRILLING D, LLC, : Magistrate Judge Kimberly A. Jolson : Defendant. :

ORDER This matter comes before this Court on the parties’ Joint Motion to Stay (ECF No. 32) this case, pending a decision on the summary judgment motions currently before this Court in TERA II, LLC v. Rice Drilling D, LLC, No. 2:19-cv-02221. Plaintiff’s claim in this case turns, in part, on whether certain oil and gas leases grant a lessee the right to produce gas from the Point Pleasant formation. (Joint Mot. to Stay at 3, ECF No. 32). This same question is at issue in TERA II, and, therefore, the parties believe a stay will promote judicial economy. (See id. at 3, 4). The parties also represent that a stay will not result in hardship for either party. (Id. at 4). The authority of a federal court to stay proceedings is well-established as “incidental to the power inherent in every court to control the disposition of the causes on its docket with economy of time and effort for itself, for counsel, and for litigants.” See Landis v. North Am. Co., 299 U.S. 248, 254 (1936); see also Hill v. Mitchell, 30 F. Supp. 2d 997, 1000 (S.D. Ohio 1998) (“[T]he Court has the inherent power to stay proceedings pending the resolution of the same or related issues in another forum.”). For the reasons stated above and for good cause shown, this Court GRANTS the parties’ Joint Motion to Stay (ECF No. 32), and this case is STAYED pending a decision on the summary judgment motions in TERA IJ, LLC v. Rice Drilling D, LLC, No. 2:19-cv-2221. The parties are ORDERED to file a status report within seven (7) days of the Court’s decision in that case. IT IS SO ORDERED.

ALGENO : < aoe Ia CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE DATED: April 4, 2023