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Extracted Text (OCR)
Case A07G-QOS3ORAB NSD eye ALLS), FRAC BEIe2 |B AgdCERE of 8
App.-0135
ARGUMENT
“T]he 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.” Landis v. N. Am. Co., 299 U.S. 248, 254 (1936); accord Clinton vy.
Jones, 520 U.S. 681, 706-08 (1997): see also United States v. Kordel, 397 U.S. 1, 12 0.27
(1970) (noting that courts may “defer [ ] civil proceedings pending the completion of parallel
criminal prosecutions when the interests of justice seem[ ] to require such action”); Kashi v.
Gratsos, 790 F.2d 1050, 1057 (2d Cir. 1986) (“‘[A] court may decide in its discretion to stay
civil proceedings when the interests of justice seem to require such action.”’) (quoting SEC v.
Dresser Indus., 628 F.2d 1368, 1372 (D.C.Cir. 1980) (en banc)) (ellipses and internal quotation
marks omitted); Nosik v. Singe, 40 F.3d 592, 596 (2d Cir. 1994) (“Although civil and criminal
proceedings covering the same ground may sometimes justify deferring civil proceedings until
the criminal proceedings are completed, a court may instead enter an appropriate protective
order.”). “How this can best be done calls for the exercise of judgment, which must weigh
competing interests and maintain an even balance.” Landis, 299 U.S. at 254-55; see also Ofosu
v. McElroy, 98 F.3d 694, 699 (2d Cir.1996) (“A request for a stay is an appeal to equity.’’).
Courts have the discretion to stay civil proceedings, postpone civil discovery, or impose
protective orders and conditions “when the interests of justice seem[] to require such action.”
United States v. Kordel, 397 U.S. 1, 12 n.27 (1970) (citations omitted); Steiner v. Minnesota Life
Ins. Co., 85 P.3d 135, 143 (Colo. 2004) (suggesting trial court erred in failing to consider the
stay of a civil proceeding while parallel criminal matter was pending). The determination of
whether to grant a stay pending resolution of a related criminal proceeding depends on the
particular circumstances of a case.
DOJ-OGR-00003799