J. Leland Anderson v. J. Frank McLaughlin United States District Judge for the District of Hawaii, Undocketed

Anderson seeks a writ of mandamus requiring the District Court for the District of Hawaii to postpone trial of Rolph v. Anderson and Girton v. Anderson, now pending in that court, until our final disposition of his appeal in Knox v. Anderson. Anderson urges that the District Court’s refusal to delay trial of these cases constitutes a gross abuse of discretion. He contends that the District Court found him liable in Knox v. Anderson under a theory of tortious misrepresentation which was without precedent in the common law, that the suits by Rolph and Girton are based upon the same novel theory of liability and that should we reverse the District Court in the Anderson case, dismissal of the Rolph and Gir-ton suits would likewise be compelled. He urges that it would be a serious hardship upon him to defend the latter suits at the present time and that his efforts would be wasted in the event that our favorable decision in his Knox appeal should result in dismissal of those suits.

Anderson alleges that prior to filing this petition he moved in the lower court for postponement of the two pending cases until the Knox appeal should have been decided. Subsequent to the filing of this…