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DOJ Requests to Stay Civil Discovery: Recent Trends

By Stanley S. Arkin and Charles Sullivan
August 31, 2004

Most of us have experienced at one time or another the long arm of the Department of Justice reaching into a civil action, whether it be an SEC proceeding, a class or derivative action or a contract dispute, to intervene and stay discovery in favor of a pending criminal investigation or proceeding. And, far more often than not, the federal government's request is granted. However, courts on both coasts in the past year have shown that they are willing to scrutinize carefully government assertions of prejudice and potential witness tampering and defendants' claims of hardship and prejudice. In several instances, they have denied intervention and/or discovery stays.

Traditional Analysis of Government Stay Requests

In determining whether a stay of civil proceedings is justified in deference to a related criminal proceeding (investigation or trial), federal courts have identified a variety of factors. A classic explication of these standards was provided by Ninth Circuit:

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