WILLIAM H. STEELE, Chief District Judge.
On June 18, 2012, defendant, Auto Owners Insurance Company, filed a Motion to Dismiss, or in the Alternative, Motion for More Definite Statement, and Motion to Stay Discovery (doc. 9), with accompanying memorandum of law.
Any party opposing the Motion to Dismiss or Motion for More Definite Statement must file a response, supported by legal authority as appropriate, on or before
With respect to the Motion to Stay Discovery embedded in defendant's filing, defendant asks that this Court "stay discovery and scheduling until the Court has ruled on this motion to dismiss." (Doc. 9, at 2.) In support of that request, defendant makes only general statements about the desirability of resolving Rule 12(b) motions before embarking on time-consuming, expensive, and potentially unnecessary discovery. But defendant fails to relate any of these broad propositions to the particular circumstances of this case. For aught the briefing shows, defendant's position is that a stay of discovery should be a kneejerk judicial reaction whenever a defendant files a motion to dismiss in federal court. The Court disagrees.
The starting point of the analysis is the well-worn premise that "district courts enjoy broad discretion in deciding how best to manage the cases before them." Chudasama v. Mazda Motor Corp., 123 F.3d 1353, 1366 (11
Significantly, plaintiff's First Amended Complaint (doc. 6) interposes causes of action against Auto Owners for both breach of contract (Count One) and bad faith (Count Two) based on defendant's denial of plaintiff's claim for insurance benefits under the subject homeowners' insurance policy following a loss to the insured property in June 2010. The Motion to Dismiss is focused exclusively on the sufficiency of plaintiff's pleading to state a claim for bad faith. Nowhere in the Rule 12(b) Motion or accompanying brief does defendant assert that the breach of contract claim found at Count One fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. To the contrary, the Rule 12(b) Motion does not address Count One at all. So regardless of the outcome of defendant's Motion to Dismiss/Motion for More Definite Statement, Austin's claim for breach of the subject insurance policy will remain pending in this action, and will require discovery. Nor does defendant articulate any argument that discovery contemplated by the Count Two bad-faith cause of action will be substantially or even materially broader or more extensive than that required under the Count One breach-of-contract claim. For all defendant has shown, the discovery for Count One will be coextensive to that for Count Two, meaning that such discovery will remain necessary in its entirety, irrespective of the outcome of the Rule 12(b)(6) Motion. The Court will not delay discovery for a period of months to adjudicate a motion that plainly will not and cannot obviate the need for such discovery, no matter how it is resolved.
Simply put, defendant has not made the requisite showing of good cause for derailing the entire discovery and scheduling processes pending ruling on the Rule 12(b) Motion. The Court's review reflects that this Rule 12(b) Motion will have no discernible effect on the breach-of-contract cause of action, which will remain pending and in need of discovery even if movant receives the full measure of relief requested. Thus, under the circumstances presented here, a stay would serve no constructive purpose in terms of efficiency, but would amount to an unproductive, unnecessary waste of time. For all of these reasons, defendant's Motion to Stay Discovery is
DONE and ORDERED.