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Mealey's Discovery

  • April 15, 2024

    Judge Partly Grants Insurer’s Motion To Compel In D&O Coverage Dispute Over Merger

    WILMINTON, Del. — A Delaware judge on April 12 granted in part and denied in part a directors and officers liability insurer’s motion to compel discovery in a coverage dispute over claims that directors, officers and controlling shareholders breached their fiduciary duties in connection with the 2019 merger of Viacom and CBS Corp.

  • April 15, 2024

    Paper Mill, Contractor Debate Discovery Scope In Asbestos Indemnity Action

    RALEIGH, N.C. — In opposing a motion to compel production of evidence tied to its possible negligence, a paper product company tells a federal judge in North Carolina that it owed no duty to the employee of a contractor and is entitled to contractual indemnification for defending and ultimately settling the asbestos-related claim, the company says.

  • April 12, 2024

    Tepezza Hearing Loss MDL Judge Clarifies Discovery Order, OKs Bellwether Extension

    CHICAGO — The judge overseeing the Tepezza hearing loss multidistrict litigation clarified an order he signed in March compelling Horizon Therapeutics USA Inc. to hand over certain information to reflect that the drug manufacturer disputes the relevance of data that was requested by the plaintiffs.

  • April 11, 2024

    Sanctions Discovery Order In Trademark Row Between ICEE, Slush Puppie Stands

    CINCINNATI — A federal judge in Ohio on April 10 said he won’t reconsider his August bench ruling that granted discovery on a defendant’s request for sanctions against opposing counsel, in a contractual dispute involving a fabricated trademark license that was presented as valid for more than two years of litigation.

  • April 09, 2024

    Retired CARD Director Says BNSF Deposition Went Off The Rails

    GREAT FALLS, Mont. — Despite agreeing to limit deposition questions to mesothelioma and relevant issues, a railway asked a retired director of a medical clinic about unrelated diseases and practices, the man tells a federal judge in Montana in seeking a protective order and sanctions.

  • April 09, 2024

    After Summary Judgment In ERISA Fees Case, Defendants File Bill Of Costs For ESI

    DES MOINES, Iowa — After an Iowa federal judge granted summary judgment against a class of 401(k) participants in a dispute over record-keeping fees, grocery chain Hy-Vee Inc. and related defendants filed a bill of costs seeking $53,319.87 in taxable costs, including $40,232.83 for discovery of electronically stored information (ESI).

  • April 05, 2024

    Insurer Must Provide Claims File In Bar Fight Coverage Bad Faith Suit

    ORLANDO, Fla. — In light of an insurer’s failure to respond to a third-party bad faith claimant’s motion to compel production of documents, a Florida federal magistrate judge on April 4 granted the motion, giving the insurance company two weeks to comply or face the possibility of sanctions.

  • April 05, 2024

    Student Must Provide Medical Records In Gender Bias Suit Against Princeton

    TRENTON, N.J. — Because of the interrelated nature of physical and mental health, a New Jersey federal judge found that a Princeton University student waived any privilege in his medical records by claiming mental and emotional damages in his gender bias claims over the university’s investigation of claims of violence brought by his former girlfriend, with the judge affirming a magistrate’s denial of the plaintiff’s motion for a protective order to shield his records from discovery.

  • April 03, 2024

    Judge Denies Additional Genetic Mutation Testing In Mesothelioma Case

    LOS ANGELES — A defendant previously granted BAP-1 testing in a mesothelioma case should have requested the mutation testing it now seeks when it first sought testing, and there is too little time remaining to conduct the additional testing it now seeks, a California judge said in denying the request.

  • March 29, 2024

    L’Oréal: Bid To Compel Responses In Hair Relaxer Case ‘Unwarranted And Improper’

    CHICAGO — L’Oréal USA filed a brief in Illinois federal court on March 28 arguing that a motion to compel compliance with discovery orders filed by plaintiffs who contend they have been injured by chemicals in hair relaxer products is “unwarranted and improper” and that it has provided responses to interrogatories and there is nothing left to compel.

  • March 28, 2024

    Panel Affirms Order Denying Bid To Reopen Discovery In Care Home Negligence Suit

    TRENTON, N.J. — A New Jersey appellate court on March 27 affirmed lower court orders that denied an estate’s request to reopen discovery and granted a nursing home and related entities’ motion for summary judgment in a negligence suit filed against them, finding that the lower court did not abuse its discretion in holding that the estate failed to show “exceptional circumstances” needed to reopen discovery and that there is “no basis” to overturn the order granting summary judgment.

  • March 27, 2024

    Spyware Suit Judge Partly Denies Issuing Letter Rogatory On Canadian Lab

    OAKLAND, Calif. — An Israeli spyware firm that is fending off computer fraud and trespass allegations by WhatsApp Inc. saw its motion to issue a letter rogatory on a third-party Canadian watchdog lab partly denied March 26 by a California federal judge who deemed some of the information sought to be duplicative of discovery already received from the plaintiff.

  • March 27, 2024

    Justice: Defendant May Obtain Plaintiff’s Medical Record Of Drug Use, But Not Of HIV

    BRONX, N.Y. — A New York state court justice has ruled that a realty company sued for causing lead-paint poisoning injuries is entitled to the infant plaintiffs’ mother’s medical records related to her use of drugs and alcohol, but he determined that the realty company cannot access her medical history pertaining to HIV.

  • March 26, 2024

    Auto Insurer’s Claims File Is Discoverable, Ohio Panel Says In Affirming Ruling

    CINCINNATI — A trial court did not err in ordering an auto insurer to produce its claims file because pursuant to Ohio precedent, an insurer’s claims file is discoverable up until the date of payment when insureds allege that the insurer acted in bad faith in handling a claim, the First District Ohio Court of Appeals said in affirming the trial court’s ruling.

  • March 21, 2024

    Judge Orders BAP 1 Genetic Testing In California Asbestos Case

    LOS ANGELES — Evidence of whether a man carries the BAP 1 genetic mutation and its potential role in his mesothelioma go to a core issue in an asbestos case and cannot be obtained in any other way, a California judge said in granting a motion to compel and ordering a saliva test and associated genetic testing.

  • March 21, 2024

    ICSID Says Qatar Shouldn’t Enforce Death Sentence Against French-Algerian Investor

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) on March 20 published a tribunal’s order granting a request for provisional measures filed by a French-Algerian investor who has been sentenced to death in Qatar, in which it says the state should not “harm the life and safety” of the investor “or any of his relatives” and directing the suspension of criminal proceedings against him “pending the conclusion of this arbitration.”

  • March 15, 2024

    Magistrate: Camp Lejeune Plaintiffs Are Entitled To ‘Exotic’ Files Of Water Tests

    RALEIGH, N.C. — A federal magistrate judge in North Carolina has ruled that plaintiffs in the lawsuit over drinking water contamination at the U.S. Marine Corps Base at Camp Lejeune are entitled to “exotic” modeling files in their native format that pertain to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry’s (ATSDR) testing at the site.

  • March 14, 2024

    Subpoena For Deposition In Trademark Opposition Will Stay Quashed, Panel Rules

    RICHMOND, Va. — Although with a different rationale than the one espoused by a Virginia federal judge, the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on March 13 upheld an order that quashed a subpoena issued to a foreign entity in opposition proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.

  • March 14, 2024

    Bitcoin Firm Maintains Its Pursuit Of Discovery Sanctions Against Miner

    WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Responding to a Florida federal judge’s order to show cause, a cryptocurrency company filed notice that its disputes over post-trial discovery with a former business associate had not been resolved and that it will continue pursuing civil contempt sanctions against the defendant.

  • March 14, 2024

    2 Complaints Alleging Infections From Detergent Consolidated For Discovery

    NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York consolidated, “at least for purposes of discovery,” two complaints, one of which is a consolidated putative class action, accusing the maker of luxury cleaning and laundry products of continuing to sell products after learning that they were contaminated with several types of bacteria, including one that is antibiotic-resistant.

  • March 13, 2024

    Petitioner To Board: Patent Owner Should Be Sanctioned For Discovery Abuses

    ALEXANDRIA, Va. — In a March 12 motion to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, petitioners for inter partes review (IPR) seek an order barring a patent owner from arguing that the commercial success of its WeatherTech vehicle floor liner products — and related praise that the floor mats have received in the automobile industry — supports a finding of nonobviousness.

  • March 13, 2024

    Camp Lejeune Plaintiffs Seek Immediate Appeal Of Order Denying Them A Jury Trial

    RALEIGH, N.C. — The Plaintiffs’ Leadership Group (PLG) in the litigation pertaining to the drinking water crisis at the U.S. Marine Corps base at Camp Lejeune has filed a reply brief in North Carolina federal court arguing that immediate appellate review is needed on whether the Camp Lejeune Justice Act (CLJA) authorizes jury trials for plaintiffs bringing claims under the statute.

  • March 13, 2024

    Tribes And Voters Challenge 8th Circuit’s Discovery Ruling In U.S. Supreme Court

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals erred in finding that North Dakota legislators and a government staffer were entitled to the legislative privilege in a case challenging the states’ most recent redistricting plan as unfair to Native Americans, a group of two tribes and three individual voters argue in a petition for writ of certiorari filed in the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • March 13, 2024

    States Move To Lift Discovery Stay In Google Ad Monopolization Suit

    SHERMAN, Texas — A group of states suing Google LLC for antitrust and deceptive practices related to digital advertising moved in Texas federal court to lift a discovery stay pertaining to a network bidding agreement (NBA) with Facebook Inc., contending that despite dismissal of one claim related to the NBA, information about the agreement is relevant to their remaining claims.

  • March 12, 2024

    Discovery Orders Granted, Appeal Filed In Vesttoo Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Cases

    WILMINGTON, Del. — A notice of appeal has been filed concerning the confirmation of a Chapter 11 plan of liquidation for Vesttoo Ltd. and its dozens of affiliates, and a Delaware federal bankruptcy judge on March 11 granted four unopposed motions for leave to conduct discovery against banking entities.