UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA SAVANNAH DIVISION

JORDAN BREWER, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) CV421-355 ) SAMSUNG SDI CO., LTD., ) SAMSUNG SDI AMERICA, INC., ) SEV BERWICK STORE LLC, ) HOHM TECH, INC., JOHN DOES ) (A-Z), and ABC INC. (1-100), ) ) Defendants. )

ORDER Before the Court is the parties’ Joint Motion to Stay Case. Doc. 13. In the joint motion, the parties indicate that Plaintiff has secured a default judgment against an entity, not a party to this case, in the State Court of Chatham County, Georgia. Id. at 1-3; see also id. at 3, n.1. The parties explain that the default judgment is currently being challenged in state court and that the outcome of that challenge “will play a significant role in whether and how the instant case proceeds.” Id. at 3. Significantly, the state court’s determination of the underlying default judgment, “may render this case moot.” Id. at 2. The Eleventh Circuit has recognized that “[a] variety of circumstances may justify a district court stay pending the resolution of

a related case in another court.” Ortega Trujillo v. Conover & Co. Comms., Inc.,

, 1264 (11th Cir. 2000); see also, e.g.,

Standard Ins. Co. v. Riley,

, at * 1 (S.D. Ga. July 20, 2020). However, “[w]hen a district court exercises its discretion to stay a case pending the resolution of related proceedings in another forum, the

district court must limit properly the scope of the stay.” Ortega Trujillo, 221 F. 3d at 1264. As this Court noted in Standard Insurance Company, an otherwise

unlimited stay pending disposition of a state court proceeding is impermissibly “immoderate.” Standard Ins. Co.,

, at *2. Nevertheless, the Court agrees that some stay of these proceedings

is warranted to avoid unnecessary expenditure of the parties’ and the Court’s resources. Cf. Fed. R. Civ. P. 1. For that reason, the Court stayed this case “pending a ruling by the state court on the challenge to the

default judgment.” Doc. 15. On February 3, 2022, the Court held a status conference with the parties to discuss a possible continuance of the stay. See doc. 22 (Minute Entry). The parties represented that, although the state court action is proceeding, motions practice related to the default judgment is ongoing. They requested that the stay be continued until the status of the default judgment has been determined. Based on the parties’ representation, and their mutual agreement, the Court finds that there is good cause to continue the stay. Accordingly, all deadlines in this case are STAYED until August 3, 2022. The parties are DIRECTED to confer and file a joint notice no later than 90 days from the date of this Order and provide the Court with

a brief summary of the procedural posture of the state court case. Additionally, no later than 14 days from the disposition of any motion by the state court related to the default judgment, the parties are DIRECTED to file a notice attaching a copy of the state court’s disposition and stating whether, given that disposition, the stay should lift. SO ORDERED, this 8th day of February, 2022.

ol Leptend Gag UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA