Sixty-01 Association of Apartment Owners v. Public Service Insurance Company

Opinion

THE HONORABLE JOHN C. COUGHENOUR 1 2 3 4 5 6 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON 8 AT SEATTLE 9 SIXTY-01 ASSOCIATION OF CASE NO. C22-1373-JCC APARTMENT OWNERS, 10 ORDER 11 Plaintiff, 12 v. 13 PUBLIC SERVICE INSURANCE COMPANY, et al., 14 Defendants. 15 16 This matter comes before the Court on Public Service Insurance Company’s (“PSIC”) 17 motion seeking interlocutory appeal. (Dkt. No. 152.) However, in light of the Washington 18 Supreme Court’s recent order granting discretionary review in The Gardens Condo. v. Farmers 19 Ins. Exch., see Order Granting Petition for Review, Case No. 101892-4 (Wash. Aug. 15, 2023), 20 the Court DENIES without prejudice PSIC’s motion (Dkt. No. 152)1 and STRIKES the current 21 trial date in this matter, along with deadlines for dispositive motions, LCR 39.1 mediation, and 22 23

24 1 The Court does so because in previously granting partial summary judgment to Plaintiff—the 25 decision PSIC now seeks interlocutory appeal of—this Court relied on the Washington Court of Appeals’ interpretation and application of inverse efficient proximate clause language coupled 26 with an ensuing loss clause in The Gardens Condo. v. Farmers Ins. Exch. (See Dkt. No. 151 at 8 (citing 521 P.3d 957, 960 (Wash. Ct. App. 2022)). 1 pretrial motions. (See Dkt. No. 94.) Any other deadlines, including the discovery cut off, are 2 unchanged. 3 A district court has broad discretion to stay a proceeding, incidental to the inherent power 4 to control its own docket. Clinton v. Jones, 520 U.S. 681, 706 (1997) (citing Landis v. N. Am. 5 Co., 299 U.S. 248, 254 (1936)). This power includes staying an action “pending resolution of 6 independent proceedings which bear upon the case.” Mediterranean Enters., Inc. v. Ssangyong 7 Corp., 708 F.2d 1458, 1465 (9th Cir. 1983). The Washington Supreme Court’s decision in The 8 Gardens will likely control the scope of PSIC’s policy coverage. Hence, the Court finds a stay of 9 this matter appropriate.2 10 11 It is so ORDERED this 5th day of October 2023. A 12 13 14 John C. Coughenour 15 UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 16 17 18 19 20 21 2 The Court considered the following factors in staying this case: (1) “the possible damage which may result from the granting of a stay,” (2) “the hardship or inequity which a party may suffer in 22 being required to go forward,” and (3) “the orderly course of justice measured in terms of the simplifying or complicating of issues, proof, and questions of law which could be expected to 23 result from a stay.” Lockyer v. Mirant Corp., 398 F.3d 1098, 1110 (9th Cir. 2005). The Court 24 appreciates that staying this case during the pendency of the Washington Supreme Court’s consideration of The Gardens will delay any immediate resolution. But when viewed in light of a 25 likely direct appeal of this Court’s legal determinations, following a final judgment on the merits, the orderly course of justice for all involved suggest that any harm, hardship, or inequity 26 resulting from the stay described above will be minimal.