Elliot et al v. Spe Terra Nova Apartment Owners LLC et al

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
RUSSELL ELLIOT and NELLY
ELLIOT,
Plaintiffs,
v.
SPE TERRA NOVA APARTMENT
OWNERS LLC., et. al,
Defendants.
Case No. 24-cv-00447-BAS-JLB
ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFFS’
MOTION TO COMPEL RELEASE
OF MAIL WITH PREJUDICE (ECF
No. 78)
For 	the 	reasons 	discussed 	below, 	the Court 	DENIES 	WITH 	PREJUDICE
Plaintiffs’ motion to compel the United States Postal Service (“USPS”) to release mail.
(ECF No. 78.)
There are limited circumstances in which the Court can compel third parties to
participate in an action, such as issuing a subpoena for non-party witnesses to testify. See
e.g., Kim v. Liberty Mut. Grp., Inc., No. CV 10-4862 ODW FMOX, 2011 WL 5294841, at
*3 (C.D. Cal. Nov. 4, 2011). Generally, courts cannot issue orders against individuals who
Case 3:24-cv-00447-BAS-JLB Document 84 Filed 02/05/26 PageID.<pageID>
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are not parties to a suit pending before it. 	See Zenith Radio Corp. v. Hazeltine Research,
Inc., 395 U.S. 100 (1969). Here, Plaintiffs’ motion (ECF No. 78) is not discovery-related
and does not present any other bases for the Court to hale a non-party into the current
action. 	Moreover, the current deadline to amend the pleadings to the current action and
join the USPS as a defendant—May 30, 2025—has passed. (ECF No. 29 ¶ 3.)
Thus, the Court DENIES WITH PREJUDICE Plaintiffs’ motion to compel (ECF
No. 78).
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: February 4, 2026
Hon. Cynthia Bashant, Chief Judge
United States District Court
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