Osny Sorto-Vasquez Kidd et al. v. Chad T. Wolf et al.

CourtDistrict Court, C.D. California
DecidedJanuary 20, 2026
Docket2:20-cv-03512
StatusUnknown

This text of Osny Sorto-Vasquez Kidd et al. v. Chad T. Wolf et al. (Osny Sorto-Vasquez Kidd et al. v. Chad T. Wolf et al.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, C.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Osny Sorto-Vasquez Kidd et al. v. Chad T. Wolf et al., (C.D. Cal. 2026).

Opinion

O 1

2 3 4 5 6 7 United States District Court 8 Central District of California 9 10

11 OSNY SORTO-VASQUEZ KIDD et al., Case № 2:20-cv-03512-ODW (JPRx)

12 Plaintiffs, ORDER DENYING DEFENDANTS’ 13 MOTION TO STAY PARTIAL FINAL v. 14 JUDGMENT ON KNOCK AND TALK CHAD T. WOLF1 et al., CLAIMS PENDING APPEAL [552] 15

16 Defendants. 17 18 19 I. INTRODUCTION 20 Pending before the Court is Defendants’ Motion to Stay Partial Final Judgment 21 as to the Knock and Talk Class Claims pending the adjudication of their appeal. (Mot. 22 Stay Partial Final J. (“Motion” or “Mot.”), Dkt. No. 552.) For the following reasons, 23 the Court DENIES Defendants’ Motion.2 24 25 26

1 Pursuant to Rule 25(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Alejandro Mayorkas and Tae D. 27 Johnson substituted in as Defendants in this case for Chad Wolf and Matthew T. Albence. 28 2 Having carefully considered the papers filed in connection with the Motion, the Court deemed the matter appropriate for decision without oral argument. Fed. R. Civ. P. 78; C.D. Cal. L.R. 7-15. 1 II. BACKGROUND 2 The parties are familiar with the factual and procedural background leading up 3 to the filing of the instant Motion and the Court does not needlessly repeat it here. 4 Rather, the Court incorporates by reference the detailed factual and procedural 5 background in its Order Granting Plaintiffs’ Motion for Partial Summary Judgment 6 and Denying Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment. (Order Mots. Summ. J. 7 (“MSJ Order”) 2–7, Dkt. No. 506.) The Court summarizes only the procedural history 8 relevant to the disposition of the present Motion. 9 On May 15, 2024, the Court granted Plaintiffs Inland Coalition for Immigrant 10 Justice and the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights Los Angeles’s Motion for 11 Partial Summary Judgment as to the Knock and Talk Class’s First, Second, and Third 12 Causes of Action (the “Knock and Talk Class Claims”). (Id. at 25–26.) 13 On May 23, 2025, a year after the Court granted Plaintiff’s Motion for Partial 14 Summary Judgment, Defendants requested that the Court enter partial final judgment 15 on the Knock and Talk Class Claims pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16 (“Rule” or “Rules”) 54(b). (Ex Parte Appl., Dkt. No. 538.) On June 24, 2025, the 17 Court entered Partial Final Judgment. (Partial Final J., Dkt. No. 542.) On July 29, 18 2025, Defendants appealed. (Notice Appeal, Dkt. No. 547.) 19 Defendants now move to stay Partial Final Judgment as to the Knock and Talk 20 Class Claims pending the resolution of their appeal. (Mot.) 21 III. LEGAL STANDARD 22 “A stay is not a matter of right, even if irreparable injury might otherwise 23 result.” Nken v. Holder, 556 U.S. 418, 433 (2009) (quoting Virginian R. Co. v. United 24 States, 272 U.S. 658, 672 (1926)). Instead, it is “an exercise of judicial discretion,” 25 and “dependent upon the circumstances of the particular case.” Id. (quoting Virginian 26 R. Co., 272 U.S. at 672–73). “The party requesting a stay bears the burden of 27 showing that the circumstances justify an exercise of that discretion.” Id. at 433–34. 28 1 A district court has discretion to stay a prior order, pending appeal, if (1) “the 2 stay applicant has made a strong showing that he is likely to succeed on the merits”; 3 (2) the applicant will be “irreparably injured absent a stay”; (3) “issuance of the stay 4 will substantially injure the other parties interested in the proceeding”; and (4) the stay 5 is in the “public interest.” Id. at 434 (quoting Hilton v. Braunskill, 481 U.S. 770, 776 6 (1987)). The first two factors are “the most critical.” Id. The third and fourth factors 7 merge when the government is a party. Id. at 435. 8 IV. DISCUSSION 9 Defendants argue that a stay is warranted because they are likely to succeed on 10 appeal, will suffer irreparable harm absent a stay, and the balance of equities and 11 public interest favor suspending the Court’s partial judgment. (Mot. 3–12.) 12 A. Likelihood of Success on the Merits 13 Defendants argue that they are likely to prevail on the merits because Plaintiffs 14 lack standing. (Id. at 5–7.) Defendants also contend that the Court misapplied Fourth 15 Amendment jurisprudence. (Id. at 7–10.) Finally, Defendants argue that they are also 16 likely to prevail on the merits of Plaintiffs’ Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”) 17 claim. (Id. at 10–11.) 18 1. Standing 19 Defendants contend that Plaintiffs lack standing to seek prospective relief 20 because their alleged future injury is speculative and indistinguishable from the injury 21 rejected by the Supreme Court in City of Los Angeles v. Lyons, 461 U.S. 95 (1983). 22 (Mot. 5–7; Reply 2–4, Dkt. No. 556.) Plaintiffs respond that they have established 23 standing because they challenge an ongoing enforcement practice that creates a real 24 risk of future injury. (Opp’n 6–13, Dkt. No. 555.) 25 To establish Article III standing, a plaintiff must allege an injury that is 26 “concrete and particularized,” “actual or imminent,” and likely to be “redressed by a 27 favorable” judicial decision. Lujan v. Defs. of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560–61 (1992); 28 Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, 578 U.S. 330, 338–39 (2016). 1 “[O]rganizations are entitled to sue on their own behalf for injuries they have 2 sustained.” Havens Realty Corp. v. Coleman, 455 U.S. 363, 379 n.19 (1982). An 3 organization can establish an injury when it suffered from “both a diversion of its 4 resources and frustration of its mission.” Fair Hous. of Marin v. Combs, 285 F.3d 5 899, 905 (9th Cir. 2002). In other words, the organization “must show that the 6 defendant’s actions run counter to the organization’s purpose, that the organization 7 seeks broad relief against the defendant’s actions, and that granting relief would allow 8 the organization to redirect resources currently spent combating the specific 9 challenged conduct to other activities that would advance its mission.” Rodriguez v. 10 City of San Jose, 930 F.3d 1123, 1134 (9th Cir. 2019). 11 Here, Defendants’ “knock and talk” policy and practice perceptibly impaired 12 Plaintiffs’ ability to carry out their core missions, forcing them to divert resources 13 from their other activities. As Plaintiffs explain, Defendants’ systemwide practice 14 forced Plaintiffs to redirect staff time and considerable resources toward emergency 15 response, know-your-rights education, counseling, intake, and community outreach 16 aimed specifically at addressing the effects of the challenged conduct. (Opp’n 10–13.) 17 These activities consumed time and resources that Plaintiffs’ staff would otherwise 18 have devoted to “working on critical aspects of the position for which they were 19 originally hired.” (Id. at 12); Havens Realty, 455 U.S. at 379 (“Such concrete and 20 demonstrable injury to the organization’s activities—with the consequent drain on the 21 organization’s resources—constitutes far more than simply a setback to the 22 organization’s abstract social interests.”).

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Osny Sorto-Vasquez Kidd et al. v. Chad T. Wolf et al., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/osny-sorto-vasquez-kidd-et-al-v-chad-t-wolf-et-al-cacd-2026.