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Mealey's Discovery

  • August 16, 2017

    Web Host Opposes DOJ’s Warrant To Seize User Records From Activist Website

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Citing concerns under the First and Fourth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, a web-hosting firm on Aug. 11 told a District of Columbia court that a U.S. Department of Justice search warrant seeking identifying information for visitors to an anti-Donald Trump website is overbroad and in violation of federal privacy law (In re:  the Search of www.disruptj20.org that Is Stored at Premises Owned, Maintained, Controlled,, or Operated by DreamHost, No. 17 CSW 3438, D.C. Super.).

  • August 16, 2017

    Insurer Seeks Clarification On Discovery To Reinsurer In Breach Of Contract Suit

    PHILADELPHIA — In a breach of contract suit, an insurer moved for clarification on Aug. 11 with a Pennsylvania federal court to confirm that it is to produce only unredacted versions of documents previously produced with redactions based on proprietary material, reserves and “other reinsurance” information and additional documents reflecting the date when the insurer provided first notice of asbestos claims to other reinsurers of relevant policies (R&Q Reinsurance Co. v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Co., No. 16-1473, E.D. Pa.).

  • August 15, 2017

    Insurer Ordered To Produce Claim Documents, Billing Records In Bad Faith Case

    HATTIESBURG, Miss. — A federal magistrate judge in Mississippi on Aug. 4 ordered an insurer to produce documents and its former attorney to produce billing records related to the handling of an uninsured/underinsured motorist’s claim, finding that the insurer waived its protections under attorney-client privilege and the work product doctrine (Craig Flanagan, et al. v Nationwide Property and Casualty Insurance Company, No. 2:17-cv-33-KS-MTP, S.D. Miss., Eastern Div., 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 123204).

  • August 15, 2017

    Texas Federal Judge Orders New Deposition In Patent Case

    SHERMAN, Texas — A plaintiff will be permitted another opportunity to depose the author of a patent opinion letter at the expense of an infringement defendant “as a remedy” for conduct by defense counsel, a Texas federal judge ruled Aug. 11 (Tech Pharmacy Services LLC v. Alixa Rx LLC, No. 15-766, E.D. Texas, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 127965).

  • August 11, 2017

    Judge Bars Wal-Mart’s Use Of Discovery Obtained From Deposition Of Physician

    TRENTON, N.J. — A New Jersey federal judge on Aug. 8 granted a plaintiff’s motion to strike and bar Wal-Mart Stores East Inc.’s use of the deposition transcript and documents obtained as a result of a March 28 deposition of the plaintiff’s physician, but refused to disqualify Wal-Mart’s counsel for conducting the deposition (Patricia Hone  v. Wal-Mart, Inc., No. 14-1006, D. N.J., 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 124736).

  • August 11, 2017

    With Jurisdiction Lacking, Writ Compelling Discovery Denied In Patent Case

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — An appeal by a patent owner seeking to compel discovery in an infringement action governed by the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009 (BPCIA), Pub. L. No. 111-148, 124 Stat. 119, 804 (2010), was dismissed Aug. 10 by the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which deemed jurisdiction over the dispute lacking under the collateral order doctrine (Amgen Inc. v. Hospira Inc., No. 16-2179, Fed. Cir.).

  • August 10, 2017

    Asbestos Defendants Seek New Discovery Master Due To Apparent Conflicts

    NEWARK, N.J. — Defendants in a seven-year-old asbestos lawsuit on Aug. 8 asked a New Jersey federal judge to replace a special discovery master due to conflict of interest from his past and current law firm associations (Kimberlee Williams, et al. v. BASF Catalysts LLC., et al., No. 11-1754, D. N.J.).

  • August 9, 2017

    Federal Judge Orders Nigerian Petroleum Corp. To Produce Documents

    NEW YORK — A New York federal judge on Aug. 7 ordered the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC) to produce certain documents in a case in which a Nigerian entity seeks to confirm a $1,779,000,000 arbitral award (Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited et al v. Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, No. 1:14-cv-08445, S.D. N.Y.).

  • August 7, 2017

    Federal Magistrate Judge Requests Briefing On Copyright Defenses

    SAN DIEGO — A California federal magistrate judge on Aug. 4 directed Conan O’Brien and other copyright infringement co-defendants to file a proposed amended answer and supplemental brief justifying their request to reopen discovery in the case, based upon representations by plaintiff’s counsel that an underlying copyright registration will be canceled or corrected (Robert Alexander Kaseberg v. Conan O'Brien, et al., No. 15-1637, S.D. Calif., 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 123703).

  • August 2, 2017

    FBI Settles FOIA Suit With Privacy Group For $3,000 In Costs, Fees

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The day after the FBI and a privacy rights organization filed a stipulation of dismissal, a District of Columbia federal judge on Aug. 1 adopted the stipulation and dismissed the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit centering on a document request related to the FBI’s biometric identification program (Electronic Privacy Information Center v. Federal Bureau of Investigation, No. 1:16-cv-02237, D. D.C.).

  • July 31, 2017

    Dollar General Defends Deposition Of EEOC In Background Check Suit

    CHICAGO —  The operator of the Dollar General retail chain on July 28 told an Illinois federal court that its requested deposition of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is necessary to learn the factual basis for the commission’s discrimination claim over the chain’s use of employee background checks, asking the court to deny the EEOC’s motion for a protective order (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Dolgencorp LLC, No. 1:13-cv-04307, N.D. Ill.).

  • July 31, 2017

    Magistrate Defines Scope Of Discovery In Google ADEA Lawsuit

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — A California federal magistrate judge on July 27 permitted Google Inc. to conduct discovery on a sampling of the plaintiffs who have opted into a collective action alleging discriminatory hiring practices under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), while limiting the amount of discovery Google may seek from each plaintiff (Robert Heath, et al. v. Google Inc., No. 5:15-cv-01824, N.D. Calif.).

  • July 28, 2017

    Attorney’s Estate Entitled To Client Emails In Fees Dispute, Texas Panel Rules

    DALLAS — The estate of a deceased attorney was properly granted access to his emails related to a lawsuit at the heart of an unpaid fee dispute, a Texas appeals panel ruled July 25, finding that attorney-client privilege did not bar discovery because the estate stood in the attorney’s shoes (In re Cokinos, Boisien & Young, No. 05-16-01331-CV, Texas App., 5th Dist., 2017 Tex. App. LEXIS 6911).

  • July 27, 2017

    Judge Grants Motion To Bifurcate Trial And To Hold Bad Faith Issues In Abeyance

    LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Kentucky federal judge on July 18 granted an insurer’s motion to bifurcate an insured’s bad faith counterclaim from other claims in a hailstorm coverage dispute and to hold the discovery of bad faith issues in abeyance pending the resolution of the other claims (Employers Mutual Casualty Co. v. SG&D Ventures LLC, No. 17-00105, W.D. Ky., 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 111956).

  • July 27, 2017

    Illinois Court Leaves Stay In Place While Parties Wage Asbestos Discovery Battle

    SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Nothing in the record suggests that a company’s appeal of a ruling ordering it to produce index cards it claims contain trade secrets is a frivolous one or that the move is simply a ploy designed to delay trial, an Illinois appeals court held July 26 (Larry Salvatore Sr., et al. v. Cleaver-Brooks, et al., No. 4-17-0244, Ill. App., 4th Dist.).

  • July 25, 2017

    Federal Judge Compels Fertilizer Seller To Produce Withheld Discovery

    SIOUX CITY, Iowa — An Iowa federal judge on July 7 partially granted a maker and seller of fertilizer's motion to compel a competitor to produce documents that it alleged were improperly withheld but found that the defendants should not be required to produce all of the requested items (Nachurs Alpine Solutions Corp. v. Brian K. Banks, et al., No. 15- 4015, N.D. Iowa, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 104778).

  • July 25, 2017

    Illinois Court Considers Stay Of Asbestos Case With Discovery Dispute Pending

    SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — An Illinois appeals court heard oral argument on July 11 over whether a judge properly stayed an asbestos case just a week out from trial so that one of the four defendants could litigate its failure to produce agreed-upon discovery (Larry Salvatore Sr., et al. v. Cleaver-Brooks, et al., No. 4-17-0244, Ill. App., 4th Dist.).

  • July 25, 2017

    Judge Unseals Documents Within Crime-Fraud Exception In Asbestos-Tainted Talc Case

    NEWARK, N.J. — A judge in New Jersey on July 7 unsealed a pair of special discovery master opinions involving the crime-fraud exception to attorney-client privilege in an asbestos-talc case.  The documents remain provisionally sealed so that the parties can appeal the ruling (Audrey Sampson, et al. v. 3M Co., et al., No. MID-L-5384-11AS, N.J. Super., Middlesex Co.).

  • July 21, 2017

    Workers’ Comp Insurer: Discovery Should Be Limited In Suit With Insolvent Insurer

    ATLANTA — In a dispute over whether workers’ compensation policies insured certain staffing companies for claims also tendered to an insolvent insurer, the workers’ compensation insurer argues in a June 27 filing in Georgia federal court that its proposed case management approach should be granted because limited discovery “will suffice to uncover” the facts of the case (Georgia Insurers Insolvency Pool v. Sussex Insurance Co., No. 16-cv-03975, N.D. Ga.).

  • July 21, 2017

    Plaintiff Attorney Sanctioned $25,655 For Re-Litigation Of Issues In Enbrel Case

    LINCOLN — A Nebraska federal judge on July 17 sanctioned a plaintiff attorney $25,665 for re-litigating settled discovery issues in an Enbrel death case (Jan Vallejo, et al. v. Amgen, Inc., No. 14-50, D. Neb.).