White v. King County Sheriff's Office

Opinion

6 THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE

8 MELISSA WHITE, )

ROGER WHITE, ) 9 ) No. 23-cv-01761-JHC

Plaintiffs, ) 10 ) STIPULATED MOTION TO STAY

11 vs. ) DISCOVERY PENDING THE ) OUTCOME OF DEFENDANTS’ 12 KING COUNTY SHERIFFS OFFICE, ) FRCP 12(c) MOTION TO DISMISS TYLER HUNT in both his official and individual ) AND ORDER TO STAY 13 capacity, ) JEFFREY PETRENCHAK in both his official and ) 14 individual capacity, ) ENRICO DONAGLIA in both his official and ) 15 individual capacity, )

STEVEN MINTERS in both his official and ) 16 individual capacity, and )

MITZI JOHANKNECHT in both her official and ) 17 individual capacity ) 18 ) Defendants. ) 19 )

20 I. STIPULATION

21 For good cause shown and pursuant to Federal and Local Rule of Civil Procedure

22 16(b)(6), and this Court’s broad discretion over discovery matters, Plaintiff Melissa White

23 and Roger White, and Defendants King County Sheriff’s Office, Tyler Hunt, Jeffrey

24 STIPULATED MOTION TO STAY DISCOVERY PENDING 1 Petrenchak, Enrico Donaglia, Steven Minters, and Mitzi Johankencht, (collectively “the

2 County Defendants”) respectfully and jointly move the Court for entry of an order

3 staying all discovery deadlines in this matter until a decision has been

4 issued on the Defendants’ FRCP 12(c) motion to dismiss. (Dkt. 42) 5 For good cause shown and with the Court’s consent, the Court may modify the 6 deadlines in the scheduling order. Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(4); see also LCR 16(b)(6). Further, 7 this Court has “broad discretion to stay discovery pending the resolution of potentially 8

dispositive motions.” See Dorian v. Amazon Web Services, Inc., No. 2:22-cv-00269, 2022 WL 9

3155369, *1 (W.D. Wash Aug. 8, 2022); see also Little v. City of Seattle, 863 F.2d 681, 685 (9th 10

11 Cir. 1988); Taylor v. McDonough, Case No. 20-5471 RJB, 2021 WL 9649333 (W.D. Wash.

12 May 17, 2021).

13 On August 15, 2024, the parties conferred regarding the status of discovery. The 14 parties have cooperatively exchanged written discovery thus far, and the next step in 15

discovery will involve depositions and then expert disclosures and reports. Depositions, 16

and preparation thereof, involve significant time and expense for any party. Similarly, 17

18 preparation of expert reports will also require the parties and their experts to expend

19 significant time and resources. The parties have agreed to respond to outstanding

20 discovery requests.

21 The parties also conferred about the efficiency of any further discovery, written or 22

otherwise, while the motions to dismiss are pending. The parties agree that, rather than 23

24 STIPULATED MOTION TO STAY DISCOVERY PENDING 1 seeking further extensions of the case deadlines, and potentially expending time and

2 resources on multiple stipulations to continue, a more efficient course of action would be

3 to file a stipulated motion to stay discovery pending the outcome of the Defendants’

4 motion to dismiss. Once a decision has been issued, if necessary, the parties will confer 5 and prepare a new case schedule for the Court’s consideration, beginning with the 6 Deadline for Amended Pleadings, as Plaintiff wishes to preserve her ability to amend the 7 pleadings should the need arise. 8

The parties now jointly move the Court for an order to that effect. 9

THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED AND AGREED AS FOLLOWS: 10

11 1. All discovery deadlines in this case shall be stayed until the Court issues a decision

12 on the pending motion to dismiss filed by the County Defendants (Dkt. 42).

13 2. After the Court has issued a decision on the aforementioned motion to dismiss, if

14 applicable, the parties shall confer and submit to the Court a stipulated order

15 lifting the stay and proposing a new case schedule under which discovery will be

16 completed, beginning with the Deadline for Amended Pleadings.

17 I hereby certify that this memorandum contains 469 words in compliance with Local Civil

18 Rules. 19 IT IS SO STIPULATED. 20 DATED this 26th day of August 2024. 21 // 22 // 23

24 STIPULATED MOTION TO STAY DISCOVERY PENDING 1 || LEESA MANION (she/her) 5 King County Prosecuting Attorney

3 By: 4/ Karissa L Taylor By: G/ Melissa White (as per email authorization) KARISSA L. TAYLOR, WSBA #31563 Melissa White, Pro Se Plaintiff 4 || Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Melissa White Attorney for Defendant King County 31633 202"4 AVE SE 701 Fifth Avenue, Suite 600 Kent, WA 98042 Seattle, WA 98104 mlwhite2@protonmail.com 6 || Tel: (206) 477-1213/Fax: (206) 296-0191 Email: karissa.taylor@kingcounty.gov 7 8 ORDER ? THIS MATTER having come on regularly for hearing upon the stipulation of the 10 parties above contained, and the Court being fully advised on the premises, now, 11 therefore, it is hereby ORDERED that: 12 1. All discovery deadlines in this case shall be stayed until the Court issues a 13 decision on the pending motion to dismiss filed by the County Defendants (Dkt. 14 42). 15 16 2. After the Court has issued a decision on the aforementioned motions to dismiss,

7 if applicable, the parties shall confer and submit to the Court a stipulated order

18 lifting the stay and proposing a new case schedule under which discovery will be 19 completed, starting with the Plaintiff's deadline to amend pleadings. 20 || DATED this 27th day of August, 2024. 21 / ohn. A] . Cbiwr- John H. Chun 22 United States District Judge 23 24 || STIPULATED MOTION TO STAY DISCOVERY PENDING THE OUTCOME OF DEFENDANTS’ FRCP 12(c) MOTION TO DISMISS AND ORDER TO STAY - 4 No. 23-cv-01761-JHC