Mealey's Discovery
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November 21, 2023
Hedge Fund Gets ‘Crumbs,’ Not ‘Cookies,’ In Delaware Ruling On Nonpublic Info
WILMINGTON, Del. — Saying a hedge fund “only demonstrated its entitlement to a few crumbs,” a vice chancellor of the Delaware Chancery Court on Nov. 20 ruled that it is entitled to little of the nonpublic information it seeks on a captive reinsurer that issued dividends totaling approximately $1.2 billion.
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November 20, 2023
Dismissal, Protective Order Denied In WhatsApp, NSO Spyware Suit
OAKLAND, Calif. — An Israeli spyware firm saw two of its motions denied by a California federal judge in a computer fraud suit brought against it by WhatsApp Inc., as she denied a motion to dismiss for forum non conveniens and declined to issue a protective order barring much of the discovery sought by the plaintiff.
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November 20, 2023
U.S. High Court Denies Insurance Regulator’s Review Bid In Corporate Privacy Row
WASHINGTON, D.C. — As urged by the U.S. government, the U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 20 denied a petition by the Delaware Department of Insurance (DDOI) for review of a corporate privacy case involving microcaptive insurance company information and the McCarran-Ferguson Act (MFA).
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November 17, 2023
Judge Stays Discovery Pending Appeal Of Immunity Ruling In Drinking Water Case
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A federal judge in Michigan has granted a stay of discovery pending an appeal in a lead-contaminated water lawsuit, ruling that whether the defendants are entitled to qualified immunity is “an abstract issue of law suitable for appellate review.”
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November 16, 2023
Judge Vacates Sanctions Against Attorneys After $9.7M Asbestos Verdict
MILWAUKEE — A Wisconsin judge vacated sanctions against attorneys for discovery violations, saying there was nothing specific tying the attorneys to the company’s untimely disclosure of more than 1,500 documents related to a man’s workplace in an asbestos case that netted a $9.7 million verdict.
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November 14, 2023
Law Firm: New York Conduct Didn’t Warrant Sanction In Asbestos Fee Dispute
RICHMOND, Va. — The “obvious linkage” standard a federal judge in Maryland applied for conduct in a separate case filed in a separate court gives courts expansive power to sanction, a law firm embroiled in a dispute over fees involving asbestos bankruptcy trust cases tells the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in a Nov. 13 brief.
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November 13, 2023
Judge: Target, Investor Must Show Discovery Stay Applies To Non-Class Actions
FORT MYERS, Fla. — A federal judge in Florida ordered both a shareholder and Target Corp. to file additional briefing related to a jointly filed request for a stay of discovery under a section of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act (PSLRA), noting that the section explicitly specifies that it is for class disputes, while the shareholder’s complaint alleging that false statements about Target’s LGBTQ+ Pride collection caused a loss in stock value is not a class complaint.
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November 13, 2023
Reserve Information In COVID-19 Coverage Suit Not Relevant To Bad Faith Claim
SANTA ANA, Calif. — A California federal magistrate judge denied an insured’s motion to compel documents related to the reserve set by an insurer in response to the insured’s claim for business losses sustained in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic after determining that the reserve information is not relevant to the insured’s bad faith claim because only a nominal reserve was set by the insurer and no changes were made to the reserve since the coverage claim was filed.
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November 13, 2023
11th Circuit Upholds Jury Instructions, Sanctions Ruling In Bitcoin Ownership Row
ATLANTA — Deferring to a trial court’s ruling, an 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel found no error or abuse of discretion in the lower court’s jury instructions, vacating of a sanctions ruling or denial of a new trial motion in finding that a Florida man and his deceased colleague did not have a bitcoin mining partnership that would have entitled the decedent’s estate to half of the value of the voluminous cache of mined bitcoin.
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November 09, 2023
Judge Allows Untimely Asbestos Expert Reports But Reopens Depositions
GREAT FALLS, Mont. — Clerical oversight appears to be behind the failure to timely produce expert opinions in a long-running asbestos action, and what little prejudice could result from admitting two untimely reports can be cured by allowing the plaintiffs to re-depose their own experts, a federal judge in Montana said Nov. 8 in denying the plaintiffs’ motion to strike the two reports.
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November 08, 2023
Baltimore Police Department Told To Supplement Discovery In Title VII Suit
BALTIMORE — Finding that the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) complied with some of the discovery requests from an officer suing it for discrimination and retaliation and noting the department’s inability to produce some requested documents, a Maryland federal magistrate judge directed the defendant to supplement its responses in some categories and to provide further explanations and documentation in others.
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November 07, 2023
Magistrate Agrees To Seal Sanctions Hearing In Meta Privacy Consolidated Suit
SAN FRANCISCO — The California federal magistrate judge overseeing discovery matters in the putative consolidated class action over the alleged sharing of protected health information (PHI) by Meta Platforms Inc. on Nov. 6 provisionally granted the technology firm’s unopposed motion to seal the hearing over whether it should be subject to sanctions for purportedly not providing complete responses to the plaintiffs’ requests for production (RFPs).
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November 07, 2023
Discovery Will Start In Crop Insurance Row Despite Regulators’ Stay Bid
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Without explanation, a Michigan federal judge denied a motion to stay discovery as to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Federal Crop Insurance Corp. (FCIC) until resolution of their dismissal bid in a suit over crop insurance claims that the plaintiffs say have not been adjusted in more than three years.
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November 03, 2023
Chapter 7 Trustee Seeks Return Of $59.7 Million To Asbestos Debtor’s Estate
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — A Connecticut federal bankruptcy judge ordered briefing on an emergency request by the Chapter 7 trustee for debtor The Nash Engineering Co. to conduct discovery for the trustee’s fraudulent transfer adversary action seeking the return of $59.7 million from shareholders to the debtor’s estate.
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November 02, 2023
Federal Judge Won’t Compel Asbestos Trust Claims Under North Dakota Law
FARGO, N.D. — Nothing in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure permits a court to enforce a North Dakota law mandating the filing of claims with asbestos bankruptcy trusts given that such claims are not required where the costs would exceed recovery, and since the plaintiffs responded to interrogatories by stating that they have not filed any such claims, the court lacks any grounds to compel further response, a federal judge in North Dakota said.
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November 02, 2023
Asbestos-Talc Companies: Supplemental Report Improperly Contains New Information
NEW YORK — A man opposing a motion to preclude supplementation of an expert report “hopes that this court has amnesia” about the lack of epidemiological evidence linking talc and mesothelioma or that other courts have found asbestos expert Jacqueline Moline’s opinions spurious, defendant companies tell a federal judge in New York.
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October 27, 2023
Residents Insist Sanctions Warranted In Water Case Due To Destruction Of Evidence
HONOLULU — Residents who are suing the U.S. government on Oct. 26 filed a reply brief in Hawaii federal court contending that sanctions are warranted because the government admits to destroying text message electronic evidence of two senior military leaders involved in the response to drinking water contamination that has been traced to errors made by personnel in charge of a jet fuel storage facility.
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October 27, 2023
Judge Partially Denies Motion To Compel Documents In PCB Case Against Monsanto
CHICAGO — A federal magistrate judge in Illinois has partially granted and partially denied a motion by the state seeking to compel Monsanto Co. to produce documents in a lawsuit over alleged statewide contamination of waterways by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). With regard to a request for documents related to third-party consultants, the judge ruled that the request is “overbroad, unduly burdensome and likely requests irrelevant information.”
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October 25, 2023
Judge: Discovery Sought In Remanded WhatsApp Spyware Dispute Is Premature
OAKLAND, Calif. — In light of a pending dismissal motion and a lack of reciprocal discovery responses, a California federal judge on Oct. 24 denied an Israeli spyware firm’s request that WhatsApp Inc. be required to serve amended responses to its requests for admission (RFAs) in a lawsuit over alleged computer fraud.
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October 25, 2023
Plaintiff, Reinsurers Share ‘Common Legal Interest’ In Malpractice Row, Judge Says
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — Deciding discovery disputes in a suit over alleged legal malpractice, an Illinois federal magistrate judge ruled in part that the plaintiff “and its reinsurers share a common legal interest in holding Defendants liable for their alleged malpractice and recovering their losses.”
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October 25, 2023
Insurer’s Motion To Exclude Exhibit Granted As To Waiver In Insurance Coverage Row
DAYTON, Ohio — An Ohio federal judge granted in part an insurer’s motion in limine to exclude an exhibit that includes a homeowners policy endorsement, finding that the homeowners may not use the exhibit to argue that the insurer waived a fraud defense because the insurer acted under the endorsement when refusing to cover the homeowners’ additional living expenses (ALE) claim after discovering the homeowners’ alleged fraudulent conduct.
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October 24, 2023
Judge Stays Emergency Care Case Involving Claims Data File Production Dispute
TEXARKANA, Texas — A federal judge in Texas on Oct. 23 granted a joint motion to stay pending mediation, putting on hold a motion seeking reconsideration of a ruling ordering the production of data files created during the health care claims process, which the insurer warned would require 1.4 million man hours.
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October 23, 2023
Government, Amicus Disagree On Review Of Insurance Info Reverse-Preemption Row
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In the latest filings in a corporate privacy case involving microcaptive insurance company information and the McCarran-Ferguson Act (MFA), the government urges the U.S. Supreme Court to deny certiorari, and amicus National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) argues that case merits review.
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October 20, 2023
Roblox User Names, Serves 2nd Defendant In Defamation Suit For Tweets, Postings
ORLANDO, Fla. — In conjunction with a second amended complaint (SAC) in which she identified a second defendant in a lawsuit in Florida federal court over purportedly defamatory postings, a content creator on the Roblox online gaming platform issued a summons on Oct. 19 on the former Jane Doe defendant, who she said was identified through discovery subpoenas served on Roblox and Twitter Inc.
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October 20, 2023
2nd Circuit Affirms Ruling On Mortgage Servicers’ Conduct During Discovery
NEW YORK — The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said a district court did not abuse its discretion in finding that additional sanctions were not warranted in a mortgage default and fee-splitting lawsuit because the fee payment data sought by the borrower would not have changed the case’s outcome.