Vaqueria Tres Monjitas, Inc. v. Comas

5 F. Supp. 3d 179, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 40464, 2014 WL 1202150
CourtDistrict Court, D. Puerto Rico
DecidedFebruary 28, 2014
DocketCivil Nos. 04-1840 (DRD), 08-2191(DRD)
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 5 F. Supp. 3d 179 (Vaqueria Tres Monjitas, Inc. v. Comas) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Puerto Rico primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Vaqueria Tres Monjitas, Inc. v. Comas, 5 F. Supp. 3d 179, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 40464, 2014 WL 1202150 (prd 2014).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

DANIEL R. DOMINGUEZ, District Judge.

Pending before the Court are the following motions: (a) Renewed Motion for Stay of Judgment in Compliance with Court Order filed by the Puerto Rico Dairy Farmers Association (“PRDFA”), Docket No. 2390; (b) Response in Opposition to “Renewed Motion for Stay of Judgment in Compliance with Court Order” (Dkt. No. 2390) filed by Suiza Dairy, Inc. (“Suiza”), Docket No. 2394; (c) The PRDFA’s Motion Supplementing Renewed Motion for Stay of Judgment Pending Appeal, Docket No. 2419; (d) PRDFA’s Second Motion Supplementing Renewed Motion for Stay of Judgment Pending Appeal, Docket No. 2443; (e) Response in Opposition to “PRDFA’s Second Motion Supplementing Renewed Motion for Stay of Judgment Appeal” (Dkt. No. 2443) filed by Suiza, Docket No. 2455. For the reasons set forth below, the PRDFA’s Renewed Motion for Stay of Judgment, Docket No. 2390, is denied.

Introduction

After more than nine years of intense litigation, this case was settled and Judgment was entered on November 7, 2013. See Amended Order and Judgment, Docket No. 2351 (entered at 11:35 a.m. AST). However, the saga did not end with the entry of judgment. On the same date, that is, November 7, 2013 at 2:12 p.m. AST, the PRDFA, an intervener in the instant case, filed a Motion to Stay Judgment, Docket No. 2353.1 A Notice of Appeal filed by the PRDFA followed on November 7, 2013, Docket No. 2354, USCA Case No. 13-2412. On November 26, 2013, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (“First Circuit”), entered an Order of Court, which reads in its relevant part:

This matter is before the court on an emergency motion for stay pending appeal filed by the Puerto Rico Dairy Farmers Association (“PRDFA”). Because the PRDFA has failed to elucidate clearly a likelihood of success on the merits or looming irreparable harm, the motion is DENIED. (Emphasis on the original).

On November 8, 2013, Suiza filed a Notice of Appeal as to the Order of even date and entered under Docket No. 2356, USCA Case No. 13-2414. The Order of November 8, 2013, Docket No. 2356, reads in its relevant part:

[181]*181A partial stay and a temporary restraining order is granted to maintain the status quo of Regulation No. 12, particularly as to biweekly milk liquidation, which was in effect prior to the Settlement Agreement. However, the stay does not apply to the payment of damages to Vaquería Tres Monjitas, Inc. and Suiza Dairy, Inc., as agreed by the parties in the Settlement Agreement. A separate order will follow.

The First Circuit entered an Order of Court in USCA Case No. 13-2414, which reads in its relevant part:

This matter is before the court on the “Emergency Motion Requesting That Temporary Restraining Order Be Vacated” filed by Appellant Suiza Dairy, Inc. (“Suiza”). We have construed the motion as an emergency motion to stay, and, because Suiza has failed to elucidate clearly a likelihood of success on the merits or looming irreparable harm, the motion is DENIED. (Emphasis on the original).

The record of Suiza’s appeal, USCA Case No. 13-2414 shows that on November 13, 2013, the Court entered an Order of Court, which reads in its relevant part: “The jurisdictional argument included in Appellant’s [Suiza] November 12, 2013 status report is reserved for consideration by the merits panel, and, to the extent Appellant wishes to pursue the argument, it should be included in Appellant’s brief.” However, the record shows that the USCA Case No. 13-2414 was eventually dismissed, see Judgment and Mandate, Docket entries No. 2434 and 2458.

The Court is cognizant that both the defendants and INDULAC also appealed the Amended Order and Judgment of November 7, 2013, Docket No. 2354. The defendants filed their Notice of Appeal on December 6, 2013, Docket No. 2413, USCA Case No. 13-2517. On January 28, 2014, INDULAC filed its Notice of Appeal, Docket No. 2459, USCA No. 14-1132.

The First Circuit will hear oral arguments on the appeals filed by the PRDFA and the defendants next March 4, 2014.

Applicable Law and Discussion

“A stay is not a matter of right even if irreparable injury might otherwise result.” Virginian R.C. v. United States, 272 U.S. 658, 672, 47 S.Ct. 222, 71 L.Ed. 463 (1926), quoted in Nken v. Holder, 556 U.S. 418, 433-434, 129 S.Ct. 1749, 173 L.Ed.2d 550 (2009).

In Nken v. Holder, 556 U.S. 418, 433-134, 129 S.Ct. 1749, 173 L.Ed.2d 550 (2009), the Court held:

“A stay is not a matter of right, even if irreparable injury might otherwise result.” Virginian [R.C. v. United States,] 272 U.S. [658,] 672, 47 S.Ct. 222[, 71 L.Ed. 463 (1926)]. It is instead “an exercise of judicial discretion,” and “[t]he propriety of its issue is dependent upon the circumstances of the particular case.” Id., at 672-673, 47 S.Ct. 222; see Hilton [v. Braunskill, 481 U.S. 770,] 777, 107 S.Ct. 2113[, 95 L.Ed.2d 724 (1987)] (“[T]he traditional stay factors contemplate individualized judgments in each case”). The party requesting the stay bears the burden of showing that the circumstances justify an exercise of that discretion. [See the collection of cases cited therein, citations omitted].
The fact of the issuance of a stay is left to the court’s discretion “does not mean that no legal standard governs that discretion.... ‘[A] motion to [a court’s] discretion is a motion, not its inclination, but to its judgment; and its judgment is to be guided by sound legal principles.’ ” Martin v. Franklin Capital Corp., 546 U.S. 132, 139, 126 S.Ct. 704, 163 L.Ed.2d 547 (2005) (quot[182]*182ing United States v. Burr, 25 F.Cas. 30, 35 (No. 14,692d) (CC Va.1807) (Marshall, C.J.)). As noted earlier, those legal principles have been distilled into consideration of four factors: “(1) whether the stay applicant has made a strong showing that he is likely to succeed on the merits; (2) whether the applicant will be irreparably injured absent a stay; (3) whether issuance of the stay will substantially injure the other parties interested in the proceedings; and (4) where the public interest lies.” Hilton, [481 U.S.] at 776, 107 S.Ct. 2113. There is a substantial overlap between these and the factors governing preliminary injunctions, see Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 555 U.S. 7, [22-23], 129 S.Ct. 365, 172 L.Ed.2d 249 (2008); not because the two are one and the same, but because similar concerns arise whenever a court order may allow or disallow anticipated action before the legality of that action has been conclusively determined.
The first two factors of the traditional standard are the most critical.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

McMahon v. World Vision Inc
W.D. Washington, 2023
Puerto Rico Dairy Farmers Ass'n v. Pagan
35 F. Supp. 3d 210 (D. Puerto Rico, 2014)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
5 F. Supp. 3d 179, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 40464, 2014 WL 1202150, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/vaqueria-tres-monjitas-inc-v-comas-prd-2014.