Morris v. Neutron Holdings

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI WESTERN DIVISION

JANAE MORRIS, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) vs. ) Case No. 4:20-CV-00876-DGK ) NEUTRON HOLDINGS, INC. ) d/b/a LIME, ) ) Defendant. )

ORDER GRANTING IN PART MOTION TO STAY

This lawsuit arises out of Plaintiff’s accident while riding on a Lime brand scooter. Now before the Court is Defendant’s Motion to Stay Case (Doc. 8) pending Defendant’s filing a motion to compel arbitration and the Court’s ruling on it. Defendant suggests granting the motion will preserve judicial resources as well as help the parties avoid unnecessary expenses associated with litigating this action. In a subsequent filing (Doc. 11), Defendant indicates it needs an additional twenty days to file the motion to compel. It also notes the parties are working together to schedule the Court-mandated early mediation and have agreed on a mediator. Plaintiff has not filed any response or requested an extension of time to file a response, and the deadline to do so has passed. “[T]he power to stay proceedings is 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.” Landis v. N. Am. Co., 299 U.S. 248, 254 (1936); Contracting Nw., Inc. v. City of Fredericksburg, 713 F.2d 382, 387 (8th Cir. 1983) (holding a district court has the “inherent power” to stay litigation “to control its docket, conserve judicial resources, and provide for a just determination of the cases pending before it”). A stay should be entered only where it is a proper exercise of the court’s discretion, Rhines v. Weber, 544 U.S. 269, 276 (2005), and the proponent of the stay bears the burden of establishing the need for a stay. Nken v. Holder, 556 U.S. 418, 433-34 (2009). In the present case, the Court finds both parties will benefit by a stay of all deadlines except

those related to Court-mandated early mediation. Accordingly, all deadlines except those related to Court-mandated early mediation are stayed for ninety days. The Motion to Stay Case (Doc. 8) is GRANTED IN PART. Defendant’s Second Motion for Extension of Time to File a Responsive Pleading (Doc. 11) is DENIED AS MOOT. IT IS SO ORDERED. Date: December 8, 2020 /s/ Greg Kays GREG KAYS, JUDGE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT