Opinion ID: 786462
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The stage of the proceedings

Text: 24 In denying Silverwood's motion to intervene as untimely, the district court found that Silverwood waited until the proceedings were four years old to move to intervene. The district court noted that at the time Silverwood moved for intervention, motions for partial summary judgment as to the bulk of the claims and a one-day bench trial on the remaining fraudulent conveyance claim [were] scheduled for next week. Thus, Silverwood moved to intervene at an advanced stage of the litigation. 25 Although delay can strongly weigh against intervention, the mere lapse of time, without more, is not necessarily a bar to intervention. Oregon, 745 F.2d at 552. Here, Silverwood contends that it was inappropriate for it to intervene before the remedies phase of the litigation because it was only at this stage that its interests were implicated. 26 Prior cases suggest that a party's interest in a specific phase of a proceeding may support intervention at that particular stage of the lawsuit. See id.; Forest Conservation Council, 66 F.3d at 1495(stating that third parties have been granted leave to intervene only in the remedial phase of a case); Harris v. Pernsley, 820 F.2d 592, 599 (3d Cir.1987) (noting that [g]iven the nature of an applicant's interest, he or she may have a sufficient interest to intervene as to certain issues in an action without having an interest in the litigation as a whole). 27 Nonetheless, a party's seeking to intervene merely to attack or thwart a remedy rather than participate in the future administration of the remedy is disfavored. United States v. Oregon, 913 F.2d 576, 588 (9th Cir.1990) (upholding denial of intervention where applicant sought to intervene not to participate in remedial phase of litigation but to attack a fish management plan approved by the court). Here, Silverwood seeks to intervene primarily to contest a possible award of damages to the United States. Given the discretion of the district court to control proceedings before it, the district court did not abuse its discretion in finding that Silverwood's motion to intervene came too late in the proceedings. Id.