M.R.Z. v. Commissioner of Social Security

1 ANDREA MCEWEN, SBN 264494 HOMELESS ACTION CENTER 2150 Dwight Way Berkeley, CA 94704 (510)698-1079 phone (510)540-0403 fax [email protected] Attorneys for Plaintiff 7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 8 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA ) CASE NO. 3:25-cv-02757-LJC M.R.Z., ) ) 11 Plaintiff, ) 12 v. ) ) MOTION TO STAY PROCEEDINGS; ORDER ) COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY ) ) 14 Defendant. ) ) _____________________________________ ) 19 Plaintiff hereby moves for a stay of pending deadlines in the above-captioned case.

21 1. United States Department of Justice attorneys who handle Social Security litigation are currently out of the office due to a lapse in federal government appropriations.

23 2. Absent an appropriation, Department of Justice attorneys are prohibited from working, even on a voluntary basis, except in very limited circumstances, including “emergencies involving the safety of human life or the protection of property.” 31 U.S.C. § 1342.

26 3. Although we have stipulated to a remand, we have not yet negotiated EAJA fees.

27 Undersigned counsel for Plaintiff, therefore, requests a stay of all pending deadlines related to EAJA fees until Congress has restored appropriations to the Department of Justice.

1 4. If this motion for a stay is granted, Plaintiff requests that, at that point, all current || deadlines be extended commensurate with the duration of the lapse in appropriations.

3 5. A district court “has broad discretion to stay proceedings as an incident to its power 4 control its own docket.” Clinton v. Jones, 520 U.S. 681, 706 (1997), citing Landis v. North || America Co., 299 U.S. 248, 254 (1936). A stay is discretionary and the “party requesting a stay || bears the burden of showing that the circumstances justify an exercise of that discretion.” Nken v. || Holder, 556 U.S. 418, 433-34 (2009). “Generally, stays should not be indefinite in nature.”

8 || Dependable Highway Exp., Inc. v. Navigators Ins. Co., 498 F.3d 1059, 1066-67 (9th Cir. 2007).

9 Instead, district courts should “balance the length of any stay against the strength of the || justification given for it.” Young v. .N.S., 208 F.3d 1116, 1119 (9th Cir. 2000) (discussing that if 11 stay is especially long or its term is indefinite, a greater showing is required to justify it).

12 6. Here, a stay of proceedings is warranted in this matter because the government || essentially cannot participate in the litigation of the case until funding is restored.

15 ORDER 16 Good cause being shown, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff's motion to stay is || GRANTED. This matter is STAYED until Congress has restored appropriations to the Department 18 of Justice or Congress enacts a continuing resolution.

19 Within three (3) days of the restoration of appropriations or enactment of a continuing 20 resolution, Defendant shall file a notice thereof with the Court. At that time, the Court will set a || status conference to discuss whether modification to the scheduling order will be necessary.

23 IT IS SO ORDERED.

“4 Dated: October 22, 2025 □ UN Aj . LISA J. CISNEROS D STATES DISTRICT COURT JUDGE

MOTION TO STAY PROCEEDINGS 3:25-ev-02757-LIC