Chen v. Zhang

Background

On November 25, 2024, the Northern District of California transferred this case to the Southern District of New York under the first-to-file rule. The case was electronically transmitted and docketed in the Southern District of New York on November 26, 2024, as Case No. 24-cv-09050-PAE.

Later on November 26, May Chen filed an emergency motion asking the Northern District of California to stay, or pause, the transfer order. Her motion sought time to request permission for an interlocutory appeal—an appeal before the case ends—or to seek an extraordinary court order requiring review.

Court’s Analysis

The court held that its jurisdiction, meaning its legal authority to act in the case, ended when the Southern District of New York docketed the transferred case. Because the case had already been docketed there, the Northern District of California lacked jurisdiction to consider Chen’s motion for a stay.

The court added that, even if it had jurisdiction, Chen had not identified the grounds required for certification of an interlocutory appeal under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b). That statute requires a controlling legal question, substantial disagreement about that question, and a likelihood that an immediate appeal would materially advance the end of the litigation. The court described this type of appeal as an extraordinary remedy that should be used sparingly.

Disposition

Judge Jon S. Tigar denied Chen’s motion to stay the court’s November 25, 2024 order transferring the case to the Southern District of New York. The opinion addressed the court’s authority to consider the stay and the requirements for an immediate appeal; it did not decide the underlying merits of the case.