Lu v. Red Koi, Inc.

Background

Defendants Ying Chen and Xiaohua Zhu asked the court to stay, or pause, all discovery while their motion for judgment on the pleadings under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(c) was pending. The motion had been filed on February 18, 2020. The defendants argued that the motion could dispose of all claims against them, that the parties would not be prejudiced because they consented to the stay, and that substantial discovery remained, including document requests, interrogatories, and depositions. In the alternative, the parties requested an extension of the discovery deadline from March 13, 2020, to April 30, 2020.

Ruling

The court ordered that all discovery was stayed, with the consent of all parties. The order did not rule on the merits of the Rule 12(c) motion and did not grant the requested alternative extension of the discovery deadline. Instead of filing an opposition to the motion, the plaintiffs were permitted to request leave to amend their complaint under Rule 15(a)(2) if they believed the motion identified a correctable flaw. The plaintiffs had to make that request under Rule 4.F of the court’s Individual Practices no later than February 28, 2020.

Effect

The order paused discovery for all parties while the Rule 12(c) motion was pending. It also created an alternative procedural path for the plaintiffs to seek permission to amend their complaint. The order did not determine whether Chen and Zhu would prevail on their motion or whether any claims would be dismissed.