Smith v. James

Opinion

SUONUITTEHDE RSTNA DTIESTS RDIICSTTR OIFC TF LCOORUIRDTA

CASE NO. 22-80590-CIV-SMITH

JOSEPH SMITH,

Plaintiff,

v.

SHAUN JAMES, et al.,

Defendants. _______________________________________/

ORDER STAYING CASE This matter is before the Court on Defendants’ Motion to Stay Proceedings Pending Appeal (“Motion”) [DE 142]. On September 29, 2023, this Court granted in part and denied in part Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment. On October 24, 2023, Defendants filed a Notice of Appeal (“Notice”), the entirety of which stated: Defendants Mark Sohn, Shaun James, Andrew Berben, and Cory Herny appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, from the United States District Court, Southern District of Florida, an order entered in the above action on September 29, 2023 (dk. 128), wherein the District Court denied in part Defendants’ Joint Motion for Summary Judgment (dk. 56). Specifically, this is an interlocutory appeal of the District Court’s denial of defendants’ request for qualified immunity, as presented in the Joint Motion.

(Notice of Appeal [DE 133]). Defendants’ Notice did not seek a stay of this Court’s proceedings pending the outcome of their interlocutory appeal. On November 14, 2023, Defendants filed the instant Motion seeking a stay of this Court’s proceedings over Plaintiff’s objection. The Court notes that “denial of [qualified immunity] is an immediately appealable collateral order, provided that it concerns solely the pure legal decision of (1) whether the implicated federal constitutional right was clearly established and (2) whether the alleged acts violated that law.” Koch v. Rugg, 221 F.3d 1283, 1294 (11th Cir. 2000) (internal marks and citation omitted) (emphasis added). Here, the Court's Order denying summary judgment in part is based on a finding that there is a dispute of material facts regarding Defendants’ assertion of reasonable suspicion requiring the summons of a K-9 officer to the scene of a traffic stop and the sufficiency of the evidence regarding the K-9 officer’s alert to the presence of drugs. Notwithstanding the foregoing, upon consideration, the Court will stay the proceedings pending resolution of Defendants’ interlocutory appeal. Accordingly, it is ORDERED THAT Defendants’ Motion to Stay Proceedings Pending Appeal [DE 142] is GRANTED. DONE AND ORDERED in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on this 17th day of November 2023.

RODNEY SMITH UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE ce Counsel of record