Bush v. AT&T Corp.MOTION to stayW.D. Mo.October 17, 2012UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI ST. JOSEPH DIVISION JIM BUSH d/b/a Trenton Cinema LLC or Big Time Cinema Trenton 3, Plaintiff, v. AT&T Corp. a/k/a AT&T Mobility National Account LLC, Defendant. Case No. 12-cv-6106 DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO STAY DISCOVERY, THE RULE 26(F) CONFERENCE, AND ASSIGNMENT TO EARLY ASSESSMENT PROGRAM PENDING RESOLUTION OF ITS MOTION TO COMPEL ARBITRATION Case 5:12-cv-06106-DGK Document 9 Filed 10/17/12 Page 1 of 4 1 Defendants AT&T Corp. and AT&T National Mobility Accounts LLC (collectively, “ATTM”) respectfully move to stay discovery and the parties’ obligations under the Court’s scheduling order (Dkt. No. 4) and order designating the case for inclusion in the Court’s Early Assessment Program (Dkt. No. 3) pending resolution of ATTM’s motion to compel arbitration (Dkt. No. 5).1 In support of this Motion, Defendants incorporate by reference the attached suggestions in support of its motion to stay and state as follows: 1. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 6(b) and 26(a) and (c) give this Court discretion to defer deadlines relating to discovery and pretrial proceedings. In addition, the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), 9 U.S.C. §§ 1-16, forbids courts from requiring a party who seeks to compel arbitration of a dispute to participate in litigation of or discovery regarding the merits of that dispute while the motion to compel arbitration is pending. 2. ATTM has filed a motion to compel arbitration, which remains pending. Because the Court’s orders set deadlines regarding discovery and other pretrial proceedings that are likely to arrive before the Court has an opportunity to resolve the pending motion to compel arbitration, the FAA requires that those deadlines be stayed. WHEREFORE, ATTM requests that the Court enter an Order staying discovery and pretrial proceedings regarding the merits of Plaintiff’s claim pending the resolution of ATTM’s motion to compel arbitration. Dated: October 17, 2012 Respectfully submitted, By: ______/s/_Mimi MacDonald________ Mimi B. MacDonald (MO Bar No. 37606) AT&T Services, Inc. One AT&T Center, Suite 3564 1 Counsel for ATTM has met and conferred with counsel for plaintiff, who does not agree to the relief sought by this motion. Case 5:12-cv-06106-DGK Document 9 Filed 10/17/12 Page 2 of 4 2 St. Louis, MO 63101 Phone: (314) 235-2518 Fax: (314) 242-1058 E-mail: mm8072@att.com Kevin S. Ranlett (admitted pro hac vice) Mayer Brown LLP 1999 K Street NW Washington, D.C. 20006 Phone: (202) 263-3217 Fax: (202) 263-5217 E-mail: kranlett@mayerbrown.com Tamee V. Reese (application for W.D. Mo. admission forthcoming) AT&T Services, Inc. One AT&T Center, Suite 3600 Saint Louis, MO 63101 Phone: (314) 242-8836 Facsimile: (314) 242-8850 E-mail: tr9874@att.com Attorneys for Defendants AT&T Corp. and AT&T Mobility National Accounts LLC Case 5:12-cv-06106-DGK Document 9 Filed 10/17/12 Page 3 of 4 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on this 17th day of October, 2012, I caused the foregoing to be served electronically by means of the Court’s CM/ECF electronic filing system on all counsel registered to participate in that system. In addition, I caused the foregoing to be sent via overnight delivery by third-party commercial carrier upon the following: John L. Young 712 Main St. Princeton, MO 64673 Attorney for Plaintiff Jim Bush _________/s/____________ Mimi MacDonald Attorney for Defendants Case 5:12-cv-06106-DGK Document 9 Filed 10/17/12 Page 4 of 4
