STIPULATION AND ORDER TO STAY CIVIL PROCEEDINGS PENDING RESOLUTION OF RELATED CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS

TROY L. NUNLEY, District Judge.

Defendants J. Lizarraga and S. Kernan, and Plaintiff Natasha Bradley, by and through their counsel, stipulate as follows:

1. On November 16, 2018, Plaintiff, individually and as successor-in-interest of decedent Wayne Bradley's estate, filed a complaint in the above-captioned action against the Defendants (Complaint).

2. In the Complaint, Plaintiff alleges that on November 18, 2017, Mr. Bradley was murdered by his cellmate, Everett McCoy. Plaintiff also alleges that during the time Mr. McCoy and Mr. Bradley were assigned to the same cell, Mr. McCoy acted increasingly impulsive and unpredictable towards Mr. Bradley, and threatened Mr. Bradley's safety; and that Mr. Bradley repeatedly reported Mr. McCoy's threatening and hostile behavior to prison staff, and requested a new cell mate, but that prison officials ignored Mr. Bradley's requests for a transfer to a different housing unit. Plaintiff further alleges that Mr. McCoy murdered Mr. Bradley by bludgeoning Mr. Bradley with a rock, and that DOE defendants allowed Mr. McCoy to bring the rock into the cell.

3. On January 14, 2019, Defendants filed a motion to dismiss the Complaint under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 8 and 12(b)(6) (Motion to Dismiss).

4. Mr. McCoy has been charged with the murder of Mr. Bradley, and that criminal case—People v. McCoy, Amador Sup. Ct. Case No. 18-CR-27144—is currently pending in the Superior Court of California, County of Amador (Criminal Matter). The Criminal Matter is in progress and ongoing. On information and belief, Mr. McCoy is scheduled to be arraigned on February 1, 2019, with a trial date to be set in either the summer or fall of 2019.

5. Given that the Criminal Matter implicates Mr. McCoy's Fifth Amendment rights, the parties will be unable to depose or otherwise obtain discovery from Mr. McCoy until the Criminal Matter is concluded. As such, both Plaintiff and Defendants would be deprived of an opportunity to discover and present all relevant evidence in this case should this matter go forward as scheduled while Mr. McCoy's Criminal Matter continues.

6. In light of the ongoing Criminal Matter, and the fact that the criminal indictment arises out of substantially the same facts upon which Plaintiff bases her Complaint, the parties stipulate that these civil proceedings be stayed in full pending resolution of the Criminal Matter.

7. The parties further stipulate that the hearing on Defendants' Motion to Dismiss, presently set for hearing on February 21, 2019, be vacated and reset as soon as practicable after the stay has been lifted.

8. The parties have also become aware that Mr. Bradley may have fathered one or more children who would be entitled to a bring suit or share in his estate under California Probate Code §§ 6401(c), 6402(a). A stay will allow Plaintiff to perform her duty of locating and notifying any heirs of the pending lawsuit.

Based on the above, the parties hereby stipulate to stay all proceedings in this matter pending resolution of the Criminal Matter. The parties propose that no later than six months from the date of the order staying the action, the parties will file a joint report updating the court on: (1) the status of the Criminal Matter; and (2) efforts to locate and notify Mr. Bradley's heirs, if any.

IT IS SO STIPULATED.

ORDER

Based upon the stipulation of the parties, and good cause appearing therefor, all proceedings in this matter are hereby stayed pending resolution of the County of Amador's criminal proceedings against defendant Everett L. McCoy in the matter of People v. McCoy, Amador Sup. Ct. Case No. 18-CR-27144. The hearing on Defendants' Motion to Dismiss, presently set for February 21, 2019, is vacated. The parties shall promptly notify the court when the criminal proceedings have been resolved, and the Court will at that time reschedule the Motion to Dismiss hearing as soon as practicable based upon the Court's calendar.

Additionally, no later than six months from the date of this order, and every 90 days thereafter, the parties shall file a joint status report to address the need to continue the stay of this action, including the status of the Criminal Matter, and efforts to locate and notify Mr. Bradley's heirs, if any.

IT IS SO ORDERED.