Pontier v. GEICO Insurance
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Linda Lopez (author)
Analysis
Plaintiff David Pontier moved to stay the current case pending the resolution of an appeal in a related interpleader action. The court denied the motion because the Ninth Circuit had already ruled on that appeal, rendering the plaintiff's request moot.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Motion to Stay denied“Plaintiff’s reason for the Motion is now moot. Accordingly, the Court DENIES the Motion.” | agree with court The court correctly identified that the underlying appeal in the related case had been resolved, which eliminated the basis for the requested stay. Denying a motion as moot is a standard procedural disposition when the facts change such that the requested relief is no longer necessary or possible. |
The order itself: sound — The order is procedurally sound. It correctly notes that the appeal in the related case (Dang v. Pontier) was decided by the Ninth Circuit on September 23, 2024, which moots the plaintiff's request to stay the current case pending that appeal. The citation to Landis provides the general authority for the court's inherent power to manage its docket, including the decision to deny a stay when it is no longer warranted.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 DAVID PONTIER, Case No.: 21cv199-LL-DDL 12 Plaintiff, ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S 13 v. MOTION TO STAY 14 GEICO INSURANCE, et al., 15 Defendants. [ECF No. 143]
16 17 18 On June 30, 2024, Plaintiff David Pontier, proceeding pro se, filed a Motion to Stay 19 (“Motion”). ECF No. 143. Plaintiff seeks to stay this matter pending resolution of his 20 appeal filed June 6, 2024 in the related interpleader case of Dang v. Pontier, No. 19cv1519- 21 LL-DDL (S.D. Cal.). ECF No. 143; see also Notice of Appeal, Dang v. Pontier, No. 22 19cv1519-LL-DDL (S.D. Cal. June 6, 2024), ECF No. 206. The Ninth Circuit has since 23 ruled on the appeal. Order, Dang v. Pontier, No. 19cv1519-LL-DDL (S.D. Cal. Sept. 23, 24 2024), ECF No. 218. Plaintiff’s reason for the Motion is now moot. Accordingly, the Court 25 DENIES the Motion. See Landis v. N. Am. Co., 299 U.S. 248, 254 (1936) (“[T]he power 26 to stay proceedings is incidental to the power inherent in every court to control the 27 / / / 28 / / / | ||disposition of the causes on its docket with economy of time and effort for itself, for 2 counsel, and for litigants.’’). 3 IT IS SO ORDERED. 4 Dated: March 27, 2025 NO 5 Je J 6 Honorable Linda Lopez 5 United States District Judge 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28