FULL COMPLIANCE, LLC v. AMERANT BANK, N.A. ( 2020 )

United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida Full Compliance, LLC and Zamora ) & Hernandez, PLLC, Plaintiffs, ) ) v. ) Civil Action No. 20-22339-Civ-Scola ) Amerant Bank, N.A. and others, Defendants. Order Granting Motion to Stay Now before the Court is Plaintiffs’ and Moving Defendants’ motion to stay the case pending a ruling from the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (“JPML”) (ECF No. 30). Only one Defendant Valley National Bank opposes the relief sought in the motion because it prefers to avoid the Multi-District Litigation proceedings. But it is not for this Court to decide whether or not this matter will be transferred to the JPML. Instead, the JPML will render a decision on the possible transfer. A stay pending this decision will conserve judicial resources and avoid duplicating work, as this Court may not be tasked with resolving all pretrial matters. See Landis v. N. Am. Co., 299 U.S. 248, 254 (1936) (the court’s “power to stay proceedings is incidental to the power inherent in every court to control the disposition of the causes on its docket with economy of time and effort for itself, for counsel, and for litigants”). Moreover, the stay is likely to be brief because a hearing on the motion to transfer took place on July 30, 2020 and a decision from the JPML is not expected to take long. Therefore, the Court grants the parties’ joint motion to stay (ECF No. 30). The Clerk is directed to administratively close this case and all pending motions are denied as moot. The Court further orders as follows: • If the JPML denies transfer of this case, the parties must immediately file a notice in this case notifying the Court of the panel’s decision. • The Defendants will have 30 days from the JPML’s ruling to respond to the operative complaint in this case. Done and ordered at Miami, Florida, on August 5, 2020. Robert N. (f Jr. United States District Judge