R.B.A. v. Noem

1 The Honorable Kymberly K. Evanson [6] 7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON 8 AT SEATTLE [9] R.B.A., Case No. 2:25-cv-00562-KKE [10] Plaintiff, STIPULATED MOTION TO HOLD 11 CASE IN ABEYANCE AND ORDER v. 12 Noted for Consideration: KRISTI L.A. NOEM, et al., May 28, 2025 [13] Defendants. [14] 15 Plaintiff and Defendants, by and through their counsel of record, pursuant to Federal Rule 16 of Civil Procedure 6 and Local Rules 7(d)(1), 10(g) and 16, hereby jointly stipulate and move to 17 stay these proceedings until November 12, 2025. Plaintiff brought this litigation pursuant to the 18 Administrative Procedure Act and Mandamus Act seeking, inter alia, to compel U.S. Citizenship 19 and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) to schedule an interview and adjudicate her asylum 20 application. Defendants’ response to the Complaint is currently due on June 6, 2025. The parties 21 are currently working towards a resolution to this litigation. For good cause, the parties request 22 that the Court hold the case in abeyance until November 12, 2025. 23 Courts have “broad discretion” to stay proceedings. Clinton v. Jones, 520 U.S. 681 , 706 24 (1997). “[T]he power to stay proceedings is incidental to the power inherent in every court to 1 control the disposition of the causes on its docket with economy of time and effort for itself, for 2 counsel, and for litigants.” Landis v. N. Am. Co., 299 U.S. 248, 254 (1936); see also Fed. R. Civ. 3 P. 1 . 4 With additional time, this case may be resolved without the need of further judicial 5 intervention. USCIS has scheduled Plaintiff’s asylum interview for July 15, 2025. USCIS agrees 6 to diligently work towards completing the adjudication within 120 days of the interview, absent 7 unforeseen or exceptional circumstances that would require additional time for adjudication. If 8 the adjudication is not completed within that time, USCIS will provide a status report to the Court. 9 Plaintiff will submit all supplemental documents and evidence, if any, to USCIS seven to ten days 10 prior to the interview date. Plaintiff recognizes that failure to submit documents prior to the 11 interview may require the interview to be rescheduled and the adjudication delayed. If needed, 12 Plaintiff will bring an interpreter to the interview, otherwise the interview will need to be 13 rescheduled and the adjudication delayed. Once the application is adjudicated, Plaintiff will 14 dismiss the case with each party to bear their own litigation costs and attorneys’ fees. Accordingly, 15 the parties request this abeyance to allow USCIS to conduct Plaintiff’s asylum interview and then 16 process his asylum application. 17 As additional time is necessary for this to occur, the parties request that the Court hold the 18 case in abeyance until November 12, 2025. The parties will submit a status update on or before 19 November 12, 2025. 20 // 21 // 22 // [24] 1 DATED this 28th day of May, 2025. 2 Respectfully submitted, 3 TEAL LUTHY MILLER Acting United States Attorney [4] s/ Sarah Louise Bishop 5 SARAH LOUISE BISHOP, NY No. 5256359 Assistant United States Attorney 6 United States Attorney’s Office Western District of Washington 7 700 Stewart Street, Suite 5220 Seattle, Washington 98101-1271 8 Phone: 206-553-4063 Fax: 206-553-4067 9 Email: sarah.bishop@usdoj.gov 10 Attorneys for Defendants 11 I certify that this memorandum contains 395 words, in compliance with the Local Civil Rules. [13] s/ Jane Marie O’Sullivan 14 JANE MARIE O’SULLIVAN WSBA No. 34486 O’Sullivan Law Office 15 2417 Pacific Avenue SE, 2nd Floor Olympia, Washington 98501 16 Phone: 206-340-9980 Email: jane@osullivanlawoffice.com [17] Attorney for Plaintiff [24] 1 ORDER 2 The case is held in abeyance until November 12, 2025. The parties shall submit a status 3 update on or before November 12, 2025. 4 It is so ORDERED. [5] 6 DATED this 29th day of May, 2025 [8] a [9] KYMBERLY K. EVANSON 10 United States District Judge