1 ERIC W. SWANIS, ESQ. Nevada Bar No. 6840 2 GREENBERG TRAURIG, LLP 10845 Griffith Peak Drive, Suite 600 3 Las Vegas, Nevada 89135 Telephone: (702) 792-3773 4 Facsimile: (702) 792-9002 Email: swanise@gtlaw.com 5 LORI G. COHEN, ESQ. Admitted Pro Hac Vice 6 GREENBERG TRAURIG, LLP 3290 Northside Parkway 7 Atlanta, GA 30327 Telephone: (678) 553-2385 8 Facsimile: (678) 553-5386 Email: cohenl@gtlaw.com 9 C. WADE BOWDEN, ESQ. 10 Admitted Pro Hac Vice GREENBERG TRAURIG, LLP 11 777 South Flagler Drive, Suite 300 East West Palm Beach, FL 33401 12 Telephone: (561) 650-7922 Email: bowdenw@gtlaw.com 13 CHRISTOPHER J. NEUMANN, ESQ.* *Admitted Pro Hac Vice 14 GREENBERG TRAURIG, LLP 1144 15th Street, Suite 3300 15 Denver, Colorado 80202 Telephone: (303) 572-6500 16 Email: neumannc@gtlaw.com 17 C ounsel for Defendants 18 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 19
FOR THE DISTRI CT OF NEVADA 20 STEPHANIE SPILOTRO, as Guardian ad litem Case No. 2:19-cv-01586-RFB-BNW for JASON DUENAS, 21 STIPULATION AND [PROPOSED] Plaintiff, ORDER TO STAY 22
23 v.
24 C. R. BARD, INCORPORATED and BARD PERIPHERAL VASCULAR, INCORPORATED, 25
26 Defendants.
28 1 Plaintiff Stephanie Spilotro, as Guardian ad litem for Jason Duenas (“Plaintiff”) and 2 Defendants C. R. Bard, Inc. and Bard Peripheral Vascular, Inc. (“Defendants”) (Plaintiff and 3 Defendants are collectively referred to herein as the “Parties”) pursuant to Fed R. Civ. P. 26 and this 4 Court’s inherent powers, respectfully request that this Court enter an Order temporarily staying 5 discovery and all pretrial deadlines imposed by the Court, the Local Rules, and the Federal Rules of 6 Civil Procedure for ninety (90) days to permit the parties to finalize their settlement of all claims. 7 I. BACKGROUND 8 Plaintiff claims injuries related to the purported implantation of an Inferior Vena Cava 9 (“IVC”) filter allegedly manufactured by Defendants. (ECF No. 1). The Parties have conducted 10 various discovery, including depositions of the plaintiff’s guardian and medical providers, medical 11 records collection, and initial and supplemental disclosures, but have reached an agreement in 12 principle to resolve all claims. As such, the Parties hereby jointly move this Court to enter a stay of 13 all discovery and pretrial deadlines in this case for a period of ninety (90) days. 14 II. ARGUMENTS AND AUTHORITIES 15 A. This Court Has Authority to Grant the Requested Stay 16 Pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 6(b) and 26, and this Court’s inherent authority 17 and discretion to manage its own docket, this Court has the authority to grant the requested stay. Fed. 18 R. Civ. P. 6(b) (“When an act may or must be done within a specified time the court may, for good 19 cause, extend the time…”); Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a) (“A party or any person from whom discovery is 20 sought may move for a protective order in the court where the action is pending…The Court may, 21 for good cause, issue an order to protect a party or person from annoyance, embarrassment, 22 oppression, or undue burden or expense.”). Therefore, this Court has broad discretion to stay 23 proceedings as incidental to its power to control its own docket – particularly where, as here, a stay 24 would promote judicial economy and efficiency. Crawford-El v. Britton, 523 U.S. 574, 598 (1998); 25 Sierra Club v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 446 F.3d 808, 816 (8th Cir. 2006) (citing Clinton v. 26 Jones, 520 U.S. 681, 706 (1997)). 27 A stipulation to stay proceedings, like the Parties seek here, is an appropriate exercise of this 28 Court’s jurisdiction. See Landis v. N. Am. Co., 299 U.S. 248, 254-55 (1936) (explaining a court’s 1 power to stay proceedings is incidental to its inherent power to control the disposition of the cases 2 on its docket to save the time and effort of the court, counsel, and the parties.) 3 The 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 4 for itself, for counsel, and for litigants. How this can best be done calls for the exercise of judgment, which must weigh competing interests and maintain an even 5 balance. 6 Id. (citing Kansas City S. Ry. Co. v. United States, 282 U.S. 760, 763 (1931)); see also, CMAX, Inc. 7 v. Hall, 300 F.2d 268 (9th Cir. 1962) (district courts possess “inherent power to control the 8 disposition of the cases on its docket in a manner which will promote economy of time and effort for 9 itself, for counsel, and for litigants”); Garlock Sealing Tech., LLC v. Pittsburgh Corning Corp. (In 10 re Pittsburgh Corning Corp.), No. 11-1406, 11-1452, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 86193, at *11 (W.D. 11 Mo. June 21, 201) (noting a court’s power to stay proceedings is incidental to its power to control 12 the disposition of the cases on its docket). 13 Furthermore, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (26(c) and 26(d) also vest the Court with 14 authority to limit the scope of discovery or control its sequence and may grant a stay to allow parties 15 to negotiate a settlement. Britton, 523 U.S. at 598. 16 B. Good Cause Exists to Grant the Requested Stay 17 As noted herein, the Parties have reached a settlement in principle and are currently working 18 to finalize all necessary documentation regarding the same. As such, the Parties do not seek the stay 19 requested herein in bad faith but instead seek to stay all proceedings in the interest of efficiency and 20 judicial economy. Granting the stay here will unquestionably save the time and effort of this Court, 21 counsel, and the parties, and provide counsel with an opportunity to finalize the settlement of this 22 case without any additional litigation expense. 23 Facilitating the Parties’ efforts to resolve this dispute entirely through settlement is reasonable 24 and constitutes good cause for granting the requested stay. The Parties agree that the relief sought 25 herein is necessary to handle and resolve this case in the most economical fashion, and that the relief 26 sought in this stipulation is not for delay, but in the interest of efficiency. 27 // 28 // 1 I. CONCLUSION 2 For the foregoing reasons, the Parties respectfully request that this Court enter a stay of al 3 || activity in this case, for a period of ninety (90) days. If Plaintiffs have not filed dismissal paper 4 || within ninety (90) days from the stay being granted, the Parties request the opportunity to file a join 5 || status report regarding the status of the settlement. 6 IT IS SO STIPULATED. 7 Dated this 10™ day of February 2022. 8 WETHERALL GROUP, LTD. GREENBERG TRAURIG, LLP 9 By: _/s/ Peter C. Wetherall By: _/s/ Eric W. Swanis 10 PETER C. WETHERALL, ESQ. ERIC W. SWANIS, ESQ. Nevada Bar No. 4414 Nevada Bar No. 6840 1 9345 W. Sunset Road, Suite 100 GREENBERG TRAURIG, LLP Las Vegas, Nevada 89148 10845 Griffith Peak Drive, Suite 600 12 pwetherall@wetherallgroup.com Las Vegas, Nevada 89135 Email: swanise@gtlaw.com 13 Counsel for Plaintiffs LORI G. COHEN, ESQ. Admitted Pro Hac Vice 14 GREENBERG TRAURIG, LLP 3290 Northside Parkway 15 Atlanta, GA 30327 Email: cohenl@gtlaw.com 16 C. WADE BOWDEN, ESO.
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1 ERIC W. SWANIS, ESQ. Nevada Bar No. 6840 2 GREENBERG TRAURIG, LLP 10845 Griffith Peak Drive, Suite 600 3 Las Vegas, Nevada 89135 Telephone: (702) 792-3773 4 Facsimile: (702) 792-9002 Email: swanise@gtlaw.com 5 LORI G. COHEN, ESQ. Admitted Pro Hac Vice 6 GREENBERG TRAURIG, LLP 3290 Northside Parkway 7 Atlanta, GA 30327 Telephone: (678) 553-2385 8 Facsimile: (678) 553-5386 Email: cohenl@gtlaw.com 9 C. WADE BOWDEN, ESQ. 10 Admitted Pro Hac Vice GREENBERG TRAURIG, LLP 11 777 South Flagler Drive, Suite 300 East West Palm Beach, FL 33401 12 Telephone: (561) 650-7922 Email: bowdenw@gtlaw.com 13 CHRISTOPHER J. NEUMANN, ESQ.* *Admitted Pro Hac Vice 14 GREENBERG TRAURIG, LLP 1144 15th Street, Suite 3300 15 Denver, Colorado 80202 Telephone: (303) 572-6500 16 Email: neumannc@gtlaw.com 17 C ounsel for Defendants 18 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 19
FOR THE DISTRI CT OF NEVADA 20 STEPHANIE SPILOTRO, as Guardian ad litem Case No. 2:19-cv-01586-RFB-BNW for JASON DUENAS, 21 STIPULATION AND [PROPOSED] Plaintiff, ORDER TO STAY 22
23 v.
24 C. R. BARD, INCORPORATED and BARD PERIPHERAL VASCULAR, INCORPORATED, 25
26 Defendants.
28 1 Plaintiff Stephanie Spilotro, as Guardian ad litem for Jason Duenas (“Plaintiff”) and 2 Defendants C. R. Bard, Inc. and Bard Peripheral Vascular, Inc. (“Defendants”) (Plaintiff and 3 Defendants are collectively referred to herein as the “Parties”) pursuant to Fed R. Civ. P. 26 and this 4 Court’s inherent powers, respectfully request that this Court enter an Order temporarily staying 5 discovery and all pretrial deadlines imposed by the Court, the Local Rules, and the Federal Rules of 6 Civil Procedure for ninety (90) days to permit the parties to finalize their settlement of all claims. 7 I. BACKGROUND 8 Plaintiff claims injuries related to the purported implantation of an Inferior Vena Cava 9 (“IVC”) filter allegedly manufactured by Defendants. (ECF No. 1). The Parties have conducted 10 various discovery, including depositions of the plaintiff’s guardian and medical providers, medical 11 records collection, and initial and supplemental disclosures, but have reached an agreement in 12 principle to resolve all claims. As such, the Parties hereby jointly move this Court to enter a stay of 13 all discovery and pretrial deadlines in this case for a period of ninety (90) days. 14 II. ARGUMENTS AND AUTHORITIES 15 A. This Court Has Authority to Grant the Requested Stay 16 Pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 6(b) and 26, and this Court’s inherent authority 17 and discretion to manage its own docket, this Court has the authority to grant the requested stay. Fed. 18 R. Civ. P. 6(b) (“When an act may or must be done within a specified time the court may, for good 19 cause, extend the time…”); Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a) (“A party or any person from whom discovery is 20 sought may move for a protective order in the court where the action is pending…The Court may, 21 for good cause, issue an order to protect a party or person from annoyance, embarrassment, 22 oppression, or undue burden or expense.”). Therefore, this Court has broad discretion to stay 23 proceedings as incidental to its power to control its own docket – particularly where, as here, a stay 24 would promote judicial economy and efficiency. Crawford-El v. Britton, 523 U.S. 574, 598 (1998); 25 Sierra Club v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 446 F.3d 808, 816 (8th Cir. 2006) (citing Clinton v. 26 Jones, 520 U.S. 681, 706 (1997)). 27 A stipulation to stay proceedings, like the Parties seek here, is an appropriate exercise of this 28 Court’s jurisdiction. See Landis v. N. Am. Co., 299 U.S. 248, 254-55 (1936) (explaining a court’s 1 power to stay proceedings is incidental to its inherent power to control the disposition of the cases 2 on its docket to save the time and effort of the court, counsel, and the parties.) 3 The 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 4 for itself, for counsel, and for litigants. How this can best be done calls for the exercise of judgment, which must weigh competing interests and maintain an even 5 balance. 6 Id. (citing Kansas City S. Ry. Co. v. United States, 282 U.S. 760, 763 (1931)); see also, CMAX, Inc. 7 v. Hall, 300 F.2d 268 (9th Cir. 1962) (district courts possess “inherent power to control the 8 disposition of the cases on its docket in a manner which will promote economy of time and effort for 9 itself, for counsel, and for litigants”); Garlock Sealing Tech., LLC v. Pittsburgh Corning Corp. (In 10 re Pittsburgh Corning Corp.), No. 11-1406, 11-1452, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 86193, at *11 (W.D. 11 Mo. June 21, 201) (noting a court’s power to stay proceedings is incidental to its power to control 12 the disposition of the cases on its docket). 13 Furthermore, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (26(c) and 26(d) also vest the Court with 14 authority to limit the scope of discovery or control its sequence and may grant a stay to allow parties 15 to negotiate a settlement. Britton, 523 U.S. at 598. 16 B. Good Cause Exists to Grant the Requested Stay 17 As noted herein, the Parties have reached a settlement in principle and are currently working 18 to finalize all necessary documentation regarding the same. As such, the Parties do not seek the stay 19 requested herein in bad faith but instead seek to stay all proceedings in the interest of efficiency and 20 judicial economy. Granting the stay here will unquestionably save the time and effort of this Court, 21 counsel, and the parties, and provide counsel with an opportunity to finalize the settlement of this 22 case without any additional litigation expense. 23 Facilitating the Parties’ efforts to resolve this dispute entirely through settlement is reasonable 24 and constitutes good cause for granting the requested stay. The Parties agree that the relief sought 25 herein is necessary to handle and resolve this case in the most economical fashion, and that the relief 26 sought in this stipulation is not for delay, but in the interest of efficiency. 27 // 28 // 1 I. CONCLUSION 2 For the foregoing reasons, the Parties respectfully request that this Court enter a stay of al 3 || activity in this case, for a period of ninety (90) days. If Plaintiffs have not filed dismissal paper 4 || within ninety (90) days from the stay being granted, the Parties request the opportunity to file a join 5 || status report regarding the status of the settlement. 6 IT IS SO STIPULATED. 7 Dated this 10™ day of February 2022. 8 WETHERALL GROUP, LTD. GREENBERG TRAURIG, LLP 9 By: _/s/ Peter C. Wetherall By: _/s/ Eric W. Swanis 10 PETER C. WETHERALL, ESQ. ERIC W. SWANIS, ESQ. Nevada Bar No. 4414 Nevada Bar No. 6840 1 9345 W. Sunset Road, Suite 100 GREENBERG TRAURIG, LLP Las Vegas, Nevada 89148 10845 Griffith Peak Drive, Suite 600 12 pwetherall@wetherallgroup.com Las Vegas, Nevada 89135 Email: swanise@gtlaw.com 13 Counsel for Plaintiffs LORI G. COHEN, ESQ. Admitted Pro Hac Vice 14 GREENBERG TRAURIG, LLP 3290 Northside Parkway 15 Atlanta, GA 30327 Email: cohenl@gtlaw.com 16 C. WADE BOWDEN, ESO. 17 Admitted Pro Hac Vice GREENBERG TRAURIG, LLP 18 777 South Flagler Drive, Suite 300 East West Palm Beach, FL 33401 19 Telephone: (561) 650-7922 Email: bowdenw@gtlaw.com 20 CHRISTOPHER J. NEUMANN, ESQ.* “Admitted Pro Hac Vice 21 GREENBERG TRAURIG, LLP 1144 15" Street, Suite 3300 22 Denver, Colorado 80202 Email: neumannc@gtlaw.com 23 Counsel for Defendants 24 ORDER 25 IT IS ORDERED that ECF No. 73 is GRANTED. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED 26 that a joint status report is due by 27 5/11/2022. 28 aon la web UNITED STATES MAGIST. i -E
1 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 2 I hereby certify that on February 10, 2022, I caused the foregoing document to be 3 electronically filed with the Clerk of the Court using the CM/ECF system, which will send notification 4 of such filing to the CM/ECF participants registered to receive service in this case. 5 6 /s/ Shermielynn Irasga An employee of GREENBERG TRAURIG, LLP 7
10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 1 SERVICE LIST Spilotro v. C. R. Bard Incorporated, et al., 2 Case No. 2:19-cv-01586-RFB-BNW
3 Peter C Wetherall, Esq. 4 pwetherall@wetherallgroup.com lolson@wetherallgroup.com 5 ksmith@wetherallgroup.com WETHERALL GROUP, LTD. 6 9345 W. Sunset Road, Suite 100 Las Vegas, NV 89148 7 Telephone: (702) 838-8500 Facsimile: (702) 837-5081 8 Counsel for Plaintiff
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