ANNE Y. SHIELDS, Magistrate Judge.
Presently before the Court is Plaintiff's motion for a stay of all discovery in this case. For the reasons set forth below, the motion is denied.
More than three years ago, on February 12, 2014,
On November 6, 2014, Defendant moved to dismiss. DE 24. On December 2, 2014, Plaintiff filed a motion to appoint counsel. DE 25. Judge Bianco denied the motion for appointment of counsel, and Plaintiff continued the action
On June 25, 2015, this Court issued an electronic order setting a status conference for July 14, 2015.
On August 10, 2015, Plaintiff requested an extension of time to file his narrative statement (which was due on August 13, 2015) on the ground that he would be consulting with an attorney. DE 60. This Court granted Plaintiff's request, and extended all deadlines by sixty days.
At the February 8, 2016 conference, Plaintiff was given an additional two weeks to secure counsel, and parties were further directed to submit a status letter on March 23, 2016. DE 68. On March 18, 2016, Plaintiff sought an extension of time to respond to Defendant's discovery requests. DE 72. On March 23, 2016, Defendant filed a status letter, which stated,
On May 2, 2016, Defendant submitted a status letter, stating that it had served discovery responses on Plaintiff, and that Plaintiff advised Defendant that he was unable to respond to the Defendant's discovery demands because he was waiting to receive documents from an out-oftown source and that such documents "are currently in transit" to him. The letter further stated that Plaintiff's deposition was scheduled for June 15, 2016. DE 74. On June 20, 2016, Defendant submitted a further status letter, which stated that it had located and would be serving an additional 6,000 pages of documents on Plaintiff. The letter further stated that Plaintiff advised Defendant that he "is currently still awaiting receipt of requested documents from an out-of-town source," and that "he is in the process of obtaining written statements from non-parties responsive to the Defendant's discovery demands served upon the plaintiff." DE 79. By that same letter, the parties jointly requested an additional thirty days to exchange discovery. DE 79. The Court again extended discovery deadlines by thirty days, and directed the parties to provide a further joint status letter on July 28, 2016.
On July 28, 2016, the parties submitted a joint status letter. DE 80. That letter stated that Defendant anticipated it would be able to serve its final discovery responses by August 12, 2016, but that Plaintiff was still awaiting receipt of the documents required to respond to Defendant's discovery demands. DE 80. Based upon the Defendant's voluminous document production and Plaintiff's lack of necessary documents, the parties requested an additional thirty day extension to the discovery deadlines. DE 80. On August 3, 2016, this Court extended the discovery deadline until August 31, 2016, and further directed the parties to appear at a status conference on August 22, 2016. Thereafter, Plaintiff once again filed a motion to be appointed counsel. DE 82.
During the status conference on August 3, 2016, Plaintiff was directed to respond to all Defendant's requests by September 12, 2016. Plaintiff was further advised that he had the right, but not an obligation to take depositions, and both parties were advised that all depositions must be complete by October 31, 2016. Additionally, the parties were directed to file a joint status letter on November 1, 2016. DE 83.
On August 24, 2016, Plaintiff's second motion to appoint counsel was denied by the District Court. DE 86. On September 12, 2016, Plaintiff requested, and was granted, an additional three days to respond to Defendant's request. DE 89. On October 21, 2016, Plaintiff moved to compel Defendant to answer interrogatories, DE 91. Defendant responded to the motion on October 27, 2016. On November 1, 2016, the parties filed a joint status letter and requested that the Court hold a status conference. DE 94. That request was granted, and an inperson status conference was scheduled for November 8, 2016.
This Court held the status conference on May 25, 2017, at which time it advised Plaintiff that if representation was not procured by June 3, 2017, Plaintiff would be proceeding
On June 9, 2017, this Court advised Plaintiff that he was to proceed with the litigation
On July 12, 2017, Plaintiff filed the present motion for a stay of discovery in this case. DE 112. On July 20, 2017, the parties were given additional time to file their joint status letter. On August 7, 2017, Defendant filed its opposition to the motion for a stay. DE 121. That same day, Defendant filed a status letter stating that although it attempted to confer with Plaintiff, it was unable to do so prior to submitting the letter. In its letter, Defendant advised the Court that Plaintiff's discovery responses were still outstanding. The letter further listed the documents and responses Defendant required from Plaintiff to prepare for Plaintiff's deposition and to prepare for Defendant's defense. According to Defendant's letter, "Plaintiff's continuous delays and failure to produce the required discovery responses has and continues to prejudice the Defendant's right to obtain discoverable information necessary to defend against the Plaintiff's vague, specious and unsupported claims." DE 124.
On August 7, 2017, Plaintiff's letter dated August 4, 2017 was uploaded to the Court's electronic filing system. That letter requested additional time to file the joint status letter. DE 120. Since Defendant had already filed the status letter, this Court denied the request for an extension, but granted Plaintiff additional time in which to submit his individual status letter.
As noted, the motion presently before the Court is Plaintiff's motion, after two years of motions and court conferences, to completely stay discovery in this matter for an indefinite period of time. In support of his request, Plaintiff contends that the case should be stayed as "he needs the peace of mind and more economic resources to properly follow up his complex/unique case." DE 112 at 1. Plaintiff lists the following circumstances to support his claim:
DE 112.
Defendant opposes Plaintiff's motion. It reasons that Plaintiff has not and cannot demonstrate that this litigation — which Plaintiff commenced over three years ago — should be stayed in the interest of justice, or that such a stay would not prejudice Defendant, which has been working diligently to move this case forward.
In reply, Plaintiff states that his current circumstances, which include going through foreclosure and working long hours without getting paid, support a finding that a stay is warranted. Plaintiff argues that his claims are not "vague, specious, and unsupported," as his claims present a "constructive case that can help other people/realtors as well as to improve our legal system." DE 127. Plaintiff further asks this Court to consider Plaintiff's situation before determining his motion. In particular, Plaintiff states that any judgment as to his motion to stay must be made only after considering that: "a) Documents and evidences were lost or stolen from Plaintiff, b)Plaintiff's computer has been hacked, c) Plaintiff is unable to access to all his emails, d) some of the Plaintiff's Microsoft Word documents were deleted, d) that Plaintiff must hire an investigator to help him with discover, to recover and locate witnesses and, to do all these, requires economic resources, and, e) because some other undisclosed reasons." DE 127. Plaintiff argues that the above listed reasons support the need for at a stay of at least four months.
A court "may decide in its discretion to stay civil proceedings pursuant to the power inherent in every court to control the disposition of the causes on its docket with economy of time and effort for itself, for counsel, and for litigants."
Plaintiff argues that a stay is warranted based on his lack of economic resources and his peace of mind. He has set forth various examples to demonstrate how his current situation has impacted his life, and is preventing him from fulfilling his discovery obligations. In his opinion, a stay of at least four months would allow him time to gather resources and clarity necessary to litigate this case, which would not only benefit him, but also benefit potential litigants in the real estate field facing similar challenges. Plaintiff additionally argues that if the stay is denied, he will be prejudiced, as he, unlike Defendant, has to work numerous hours without pay to litigate this action.
Defendant argues that Plaintiff has not clearly established that hardship or inequity would result if the case goes forward, and that, given the circumstances in this litigation, granting the stay would be prejudicial to the Defendant. For the reasons set forth below, the Court agrees with Defendant.
Plaintiff has not demonstrated that the balance of interests of the parties, or any other factor weighs in favor of a stay. As the docket herein reveals, there can be no question but that Plaintiff has been granted every indulgence in bringing this case forward. The parties have appeared at numerous conferences before this Court and, at each conference, this Court has granted Plaintiff's requests for additional time. This Court has twice suspended the proceedings so that Plaintiff could, as he requested, seek private representation. The Court further extended the proceedings so that Plaintiff could obtain the assistance of resources available to
Despite all of the extensions and benefits afforded to Plaintiff, he has failed to proceed in any meaningful manner with this litigation. While he sets forth claims of hardship, Plaintiff fails to show that a stay will alleviate any hardship, or realistically put him in a better position to litigate this case. Thus, Plaintiff states that items that were in his possession have now been lost or stolen, documents that Plaintiff had stored on his computer have now been deleted, and Plaintiff's financial situation make proceeding with this matter difficult. These complaints have been raised on numerous occasions during the course of this litigation. Indeed, despite representing that the documents were in transit nearly a year ago, Plaintiff has yet to respond to Defendant's requests. Plaintiff has offered no evidence that he would be able to obtain these documents if the Court grants a stay in this action.
Nor has Plaintiff set forth evidence that any of the issues he is currently facing will be resolved by staying this action. Plaintiff has also been given ample time to obtain an attorney, and to meet with
In addition to failing to show how he might benefit from a stay, Plaintiff while describing the variety of hardships he is facing, has not provided any evidence that he will be prejudiced if the case goes forward. For example, Plaintiff states that additional resources are needed for Plaintiff to hire an investigator to help him locate witnesses, but Plaintiff does not establish that such witnesses are necessary for his case. Nor does Plaintiff explain his failure to engage such services or, indeed respond properly to any discovery in this case. Similarly, Plaintiff does not establish that he would be able to obtain additional economic resources if the Court grants a stay. For example, as described above, Plaintiff has sought multiple requests for extensions of time in which to provide Defendant with responsive documents.
As to the prejudice that would be suffered by Defendant, the Court notes that the failure to move forward with this litigation is not without consequence. There is no question but that, over the course of two years of discovery, Plaintiff has been given more than adequate time to address the challenges that he claims to be facing. There is also no question but that additional delay will prejudice Defendant. The docket makes clear that Defendant has attempted to work with Plaintiff, providing discovery and clarifying the nature of discovery sought and produced. Indeed, Defendant has consented to nearly every extension of time that Plaintiff requested. This Court and Defendant have endeavored to accommodate Plaintiff's difficulties. Plaintiff fails to show how any further accommodation, by way of the requested complete stay, will change the present circumstances or put Plaintiff in a better position to litigate his case. After years of attempting to cooperate and move forward with discovery, granting the requested stay will no doubt prejudice the Defendant and its ability to defend this matter. There is no doubt that Defendant has expended substantial time and other resources in defending this action. At this point, documents are no longer available, witnesses become difficult to contact and their memories fade.
As to the interests of the courts and the public, Plaintiff argues that his claims further the interests of persons not parties to this case, the public, and the legal system. Specifically, Plaintiff assets that his objectives are "to present a constructive case that can help other people/realtors as well as improve our legal system." DE 127 at 6. Even if this case were instrumental in furthering such interests, Plaintiff has failed to provide evidence to establish that a stay in this the action would enable him to further his case any more than he has over the last three years.
This Court is certainly mindful that Plaintiff is proceeding
Defendant has complied with this Court's orders regarding the production of documents. No further production is required. Plaintiff is directed to provide responses, on or before October 3, 2017, to discovery. Any document not produced by that date will be precluded from use at depositions, or at trial herein. Plaintiff shall also indicate by October 3, 2017, in writing to the Defendant, whether he intends to conduct any depositions in this case, and proposed dates certain for the taking of such depositions. All discovery in this case will end on November 3, 2017. There shall be no further extensions of time.
Based upon the foregoing, Plaintiff's motion to stay, herein Docket No. 112, is denied.