In Verio Healthcare, Inc. v. Superior Court, ___ Cal.App.5th ___ (Oct. 12, 2016), the defendants sought a nine-month stay of litigation under Code of Civil Procedure sections 595 and 1054.1, which provide for mandatory continuances of court proceedings if a party is represented by an attorney who is also a member of the California State Assembly -- unless the continuance "would defeat or abridge the other party's right to provisional or pendente lite relief." Slip op. at 2-3.
The Court of Appeal (Fourth Appellate District, Division Three) held that because the action sought the "provisional remedy" of preliminary injunctive relief under the UCL, the trial court properly declined to issue the requested stay:
The operative first amended complaint alleges an entitlement to preliminary and permanent injunctive relief as remedies for the alleged trade secret misappropriation and unfair competition under Business and Professions Code section 17200. In cases such as these, it is common that plaintiffs would invoke the provisional remedy of a preliminary injunction. And as plaintiffs' counsel suggested at oral argument, some discovery may be necessary before filing such a motion. A stay would effectively abridge the right to invoke provisional relief by denying discovery, thereby preventing the filing of a preliminary injunction motion.
Id. at 15 (footnote omitted).
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