http://www.lexisnexis.com/mealeys/news.aspx Headline Discovery Legal News from LexisNexis® en-us http://www.lexisnexis.com/mealeys/images/lexismealeyslogo.gif 130 29 http://www.lexisnexis.com/mealeys/news.aspx Copyright 2012 http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%201%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank LAS VEGAS - A federal judge in Nevada on May 14 reversed a magistrate judge's recommendation to impose terminating sanctions against defendants in a patent infringement case and ordered the new magistrate judge in the case to conduct an evidentiary hearing based on evidence presented by the parties during the briefing on the defendants' objection (Home Gambling Network Inc., et al. v. Chris Piche, et al., No. 05-cv-00610-DAE-VCF, D. Nev.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66754). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%202%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank DENVER - A federal magistrate judge in Colorado on April 25 refused to impose spoliation sanctions against plaintiffs in a breach of contract suit who had work done on a car to repair problems allegedly caused by the defendants after filing suit because the alterations to the car did not prejudice the defendants (Terry A. Janke, et al. v. Donald Brooks, et al., No. 11-cv-00837-REB-BNB, D. Colo.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57660). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%203%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank SAN FRANCISCO - Failure by patent infringement defendant Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. to produce source code within the time limits proscribed by a discovery order resulted in an award of preclusive sanctions on May 4 to plaintiff Apple Inc. (Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., No. 11-1846, N.D. Calif.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%204%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank SAN FRANCISCO - A California federal judge on May 11 disqualified the lead named plaintiff in a wage-and-hour class suit filed against a restaurant chain and ordered him to pay more than $15,000 in sanctions (Brittney Calvert, et al. v. Red Robin International, Inc., No. 11-3026, N.D. Calif.; 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 66476). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%205%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank OMAHA, Neb. - A federal magistrate judge in Nebraska on April 23 denied the majority of plaintiffs' request for production of four documents on a nonparty's privilege log after finding that three notes written by the president of the company were protected by the work product doctrine because they were generated in anticipation of litigation (Stanley Edelstein, et al. v. Optimus Corporation, No. 10CV61, D. Neb.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 56188). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%206%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank RALEIGH, N.C. - A federal magistrate judge in North Carolina on May 7 found that documents listed on a privilege log by a pain pump manufacturer adequately described why they are being withheld from production and are not subject to disclosure to a woman claiming that her use of the pump caused her to sustain injuries (Lissa M. Rohlik v. I-Flow Corporation, No. 10-CV-173-FL, E.D. N.C.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 63713). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%207%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank WICHITA, Kan. - A federal judge in Kansas on May 14 overruled a city's objections to a magistrate judge's ruling finding that its failure to timely object to an employment discrimination plaintiff's first requests for production (FRP) on the basis of the attorney-client privilege and work product doctrine resulted in a waiver of privilege over the documents (Terence Robinson v. City of Arkansas City, Kansas, No. 10-1431-JAR, D. Kan.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66647). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%208%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank COVINGTON, Ky. - An insurance company cannot assert the advice-of-counsel defense to and waive privilege over protected materials maintained by appellate counsel and then attempt to protect from disclosure a claim file held by trial counsel, a federal judge in Kentucky ruled April 30 in reversing a magistrate judge's discovery ruling (Harlan Lee v. The Medical Protective Company, No. 10-123, E.D. Ky.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 59778). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%209%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank LANSING, Mich. - Finding that certain claims material sought by the City of Warren, Mich., is privileged or protected by the work product doctrine, a Michigan federal magistrate judge on April 26 denied in part the city's motion to compel discovery from insurers in a pollution exclusion coverage dispute over damages arising from the flooding of raw sewage into residents' homes (United States Fire Insurance Co. v. The City of Warren, No. 10-13128, E.D. Mich.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 58353). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%2010%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank NEW YORK - A federal judge in New York on April 26 upheld a magistrate judge's recommendation allowing the use of predictive coding software to aide in searching for and retrieving electronically stored information (ESI) in an employment discrimination class action suit, after finding that there is not enough evidence to show that the method is unreliable or that it will prevent the plaintiffs from discovery (Monique Da Silva Moore, et al. v. Publicis Groupe SA, et al., No. 11-cv-1279, S.D. N.Y.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%2011%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank CONCORD, N.H. - A federal magistrate judge in New Hampshire on May 11 refused to quash subpoenas issued to a police department that investigated a sexual assault that allegedly happened to a plaintiff in a gender discrimination suit as well as to her wireless phone provider because the plaintiff failed to show that the information was privileged (Katie M. Bates v. Private Jet Commercial Group Inc., et al., No. 11-cv-547-SM, D. N.H.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66319). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%2012%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank SAN FRANCISCO - A medical provider who treated a plaintiff in an employment discrimination suit must comply with subpoenas seeking her deposition and records, a federal judge in California ruled May 7, because the plaintiff put her alleged mental and emotional injuries at issue in her lawsuit (Linda Desrosiers v. The Hartford, a/k/a Hartford Fire Insurance Co. et al., No. C 12-80104 WHA, N.D. Calif.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64554). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%2013%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank PHILADELPHIA - Shareholders are not entitled to a lifting of a mandatory Private Securities Litigation Reform Act (PSLRA) discovery stay because they have failed to show that not lifting the stay would cause them any undue prejudice, a federal judge in Pennsylvania ruled May 2 (Edward Dipple v. Michael R. Odell, et al., No. 12-1415, E.D. Pa.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 61532). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%2014%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank NEW YORK - Although entirely lifting the mandatory discovery stay in a securities class action lawsuit is not proper, lifting it in part to allow a lead plaintiff to request that a nonparty preserve certain documents is proper, a federal judge in New York ruled April 25 (In re Smith Barney Transfer Agent Litigation, No. 05-7583, S.D. N.Y.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 58070). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%2015%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank GREENSBORO, N.C. - A federal judge in North Carolina on April 30 lifted a stay of three orders from 2003 requiring Duke Energy Corp. to produce communications the company had with the Utility Air Regulatory Group (UARG), after finding that the magistrate judge's decisions that the records were not privileged and relevant to the U.S. government's lawsuit over the company's emissions were not contrary to law (United States of America, et al. v. Duke Energy Corp., No. 00CV1262, M.D. N.C.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 59565). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%2016%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank DENVER - In a divided opinion, the Colorado Supreme Court on April 30 held that evidence of an insurer's payment of its insured's medical expenses was not admissible at trial under the common law evidentiary component of the state's collateral source rule because it prejudiced a jury in its determination of the insured's economic damages award (Jack Sunahara Jr. v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., No. 10SC409, Colo. Sup.; 2012 CO 30; 2012 Colo. LEXIS 328). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%2017%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank PROVIDENCE, R.I. - A woman may conduct discovery from Yale University regarding its relationship with a company whose employee allegedly suffered exposure to asbestos while working at the school, a Rhode Island judge held April 20 (Rachel Karina Beddoe-Greene, et al. v. Basic Inc., et al., No. PC2011-4617, R.I. Super., Providence Plantation; 2012 R.I. Super. LEXIS 63). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%2018%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank SAN DIEGO - A California federal judge on April 30 allowed plaintiffs in a vitamin class action to conduct discovery into defendant Bayer Corp.'s profits and expenses to possibly determine "restitutionary disgorgement" of profits (David Johns, et al. v. Bayer Corporation, et al., No. 3:09-cv-1935, S.D. Calif.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 60121). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-8%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%2019%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank SAN DIEGO - A California federal magistrate judge on April 27 denied a motion by plaintiffs in a wage-and-hour class dispute to compel defendants to produce contact information for past and present financial advisers (FA) from December 2005 to the present (Michael E. Taylor, et al. v. Waddell & Reed, Inc., et al., No. 09-2909, S.D. Calif.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 59324). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-7%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%201%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank LAS VEGAS - A federal magistrate judge in Nevada on April 6 ordered the mirror imaging of electronic devices in the possession of defendants accused of illegally accessing a furniture store's computer server after finding that the information on the devices could not be obtained through simple document production and that privacy issues could be resolved through the entry of a protective order (United Factory Furniture Corp. v. Aimee Lynn Alterwitz, et al., No. 12-cv-00059-KJD-VCF, D. Nev.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-7%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%202%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank ALBANY, NY - A federal judge in New York on March 30 granted in part a plaintiff company's request for injunctive relief in a misappropriation of trade secrets lawsuit that would prevent the defendant from using information he allegedly took from the company or deleting it, but found that a forensic search of his personal electronic devices was too intrusive (Redwood Software Inc. v. Thomas Urbanik, No. 12-CV-495, N.D. N.Y.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 45049). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-7%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%203%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank BROOKLYN, NY - A federal judge in New York on March 30 rejected appeals from a medical center accused of employment discrimination and retaliation stemming from discovery rulings entered by a magistrate judge that barred the facility from conducting a forensic analysis of plaintiffs' computers and denied the defendant access to handwritten notes one plaintiff took during her deposition, after finding that the magistrate judge did not commit any legal errors in his decisions (Gemma Moore v. Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center, No. 11-CV-3552; Jillian John v. Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center, No. 11-CV-3624, E.D. N.Y.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 45738). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-7%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%204%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank PHILADELPHIA - A losing antitrust plaintiff was properly taxed with only those charges imposed by the prevailing defendants' electronic discovery vendors for scanning and file format conversion, the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled March 16 (Race Tires America, Inc., et al. v. Hoosier Racing Tire Corp., et al., No. 11-2316, 3rd Cir.; 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 5511; See May 2011, Page 14). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-7%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%205%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank GAINESVILLE, Fla. - A health care company in a breach of employment contract case can suspend its restoration, retrieval and search of 95 backup tapes for electronically stored information (ESI) until its information security and technology director can be deposed concerning the costs of producing the information, a federal magistrate judge in Florida ruled April 12 (Kirk Cianciolo D.O. v. AvMed Inc., d/b/a AvMed Health Plans, No. 11-cv-196-SPM-GRJ, N.D. Fla.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52072). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-7%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%206%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank WILMINGTON, Del. - A federal bankruptcy judge in Delaware on Feb. 27 signed a stipulation and agreed order among debtors Specialty Products Holding Corp. and Bondex International Inc., asbestos claimants' representatives in the debtors' Chapter 11 case and the debtors' parent company that directs how the parties will proceed with discovery of electronically stored information in the asbestos claimants' investigation of possible estate causes of action against the parent (In re Specialty Products Holding Corp., et al., No. 10-11780, D. Del. Bkcy.; See March 2012, Page 28). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-7%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%207%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank BOSTON - A First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on March 29 reversed a federal judge's ruling imposing default sanctions against defendants on a plaintiff company's claim to pierce the corporate veil in a breach of contract action after finding that a single instance of discovery misconduct did not warrant such a punishment (Companion Health Services Inc. v. George Kurtz, et al., Nos. 11-1493, 11-1657, 1st Cir.; 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 6396). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-7%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%208%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank ALBANY, NY - New York's highest court on March 22 unanimously ruled that communications between the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are not exempt from production under the state's Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) because the EPA is not considered an agency under the statute, nor is it the equivalent of an outside consultant (In the Matter of the Town of Waterford v. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, No. 50, N.Y. App.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-7%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%209%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank DETROIT - Rough drafts and communications between defendants and their former attorney, who drafted a memorandum that allegedly defamed a plaintiff construction company that won a bid to clean and coat the structural steel of the Mackinac Bridge in Michigan, are subject to disclosure pursuant to a discovery subpoena, a federal judge ruled April 12, explaining that the defendants' decision to name the attorney as the nonparty at-fault for the memorandum waived the attorney-client privilege (360 Construction Company Inc. v. Atsalis Brothers Painting Co., et al., No. 11-12344, E.D. Mich.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51520). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-7%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%2010%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank BOSTON - A federal magistrate judge in Massachusetts on April 12 found that the sharing of communications between a defendant company and its attorney with its leasing agency waived any protection under the attorney-client privilege because the leasing agent was retained to provide business advice, not legal advice (Banco do Brasil S.A. v. 275 Washington Street Corp., et al., No. 09-11343-NMG, D. Mass.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51358). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-7%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%2011%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank AKRON, Ohio - A defendant accused of violating the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) waived the attorney-client privilege over a document it inadvertently produced because it failed to take reasonable steps to prevent the disclosure of privileged materials, a federal judge in Ohio ruled April 16 (Wendy Barnett v. Aultman Hospital, No. 11 CV 399, N.D. Ohio; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 53733). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-7%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%2012%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank GREENBELT, Md. - A federal magistrate judge in Maryland on April 17 ordered plaintiffs accusing a power company of negligence, breach of contract and detrimental reliance to produce some categories of documents after finding that they are not protected from disclosure by the attorney-client privilege or work product doctrine (Izatullo Khosmukhamedov, et al. v. Potomac Electric Power Company, No. AW-11-449, D. Md.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 53726). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-7%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%2013%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank COLUMBUS, Ohio - Granting in part an insured's motion to conduct additional discovery, an Ohio federal judge on April 17 ordered a professional liability insurer to submit for in camera review 12 documents that were previously withheld or redacted as protected by the attorney-client privilege and/or the work product doctrine (Chubb Custom Insurance Co. v. Grange Mutual Casualty Company, et al., No. 2:07-cv-1285, S.D. Ohio, Eastern Div.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 54305). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-7%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%2014%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank DETROIT - A Michigan federal judge on March 26 found that deciding issues of joinder in John Doe online file-sharing cases need not be postponed until after Internet service providers (ISPs) have provided identifying information (Patrick Collins Inc. v. John Does 1-23, No. 11-15231, E.D. Mich.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 40536). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-7%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%2015%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank FORT MYERS, Fla. - A Florida federal magistrate on April 12 granted a Doe defendant's motion to quash a discovery subpoena served on his Internet service provider (ISP), finding that the Doe's declaration of nonresidency defeated jurisdiction (Nu Image Inc. v. Does 1-3,932, No. 2:11-cv-00545, M.D. Fla.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51402; See March 2012, Page16). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-7%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%2016%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank SACRAMENTO, Calif. - An adult entertainment company's ex parte petition to discover the names of Internet users associated with certain Internet protocol (IP) addresses was improperly granted, a California federal magistrate judge ruled March 21, granting a motion by a group of Internet service providers (ISPs) to reconsider a previous ruling that had granted the petitioner's quest to serve subpoenas on the ISPs in a purported effort to pursue copyright infringement claims against the Internet users (In the Matter Of a Petition By Ingenuity 13 LLC, No. 2:11-mc-00084, E.D. Calif.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38647). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-7%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%2017%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank DAYTON, Ohio - A federal magistrate judge in Ohio on March 23 ruled that a current employee for a defendant company in a Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) lawsuit can be deposed, even though counsel for the plaintiff engaged in ex parte communications with him because the discussions did not progress after the attorney learned that the worker was involved with the disposal of hazardous waste at the plaintiff's facility (Hobart Corporation, et al. v. Waste Management of Ohio, et al., No. 10cv00195, S.D. Ohio; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 39841). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-7%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%2018%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank NEW YORK - After determining that a New York federal court lacked jurisdiction to compel discovery from a foreign government under U.S. law, a judge on March 19 denied a motion that sought certain discovery from the government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic for aid in a French proceeding in which the companies seek to confirm the arbitration award in their favor (Thai-Lao Lignite [Thailand] Co. Ltd., et al. v. Government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, No. 11-4363, S.D. N.Y.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 37915). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-7%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%2019%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank CHARLOTTE, N.C. - A North Carolina federal bankruptcy judge on March 16 granted in part and denied in part a motion filed by Garlock Sealing Technologies LLC in its Chapter 11 case to overrule all objections to a questionnaire sent to mesothelioma claimants and force all claimants to respond, making clear that Garlock is not permitted to use the discovery process as a means to disallow any of the mesothelioma claims (In re: Garlock Sealing Technologies, et al., No. 10-31607, W.D. N.C. Bkcy.; See October 2011, Page 21). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-7%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%2020%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - In a suit filed by the receiver in a Ponzi scheme suit, a federal judge in Florida on April 10 granted in part the receiver's motion to compel better discovery responses from a defendant (Sallah v. Worldwide Clearing, LLC, et al., No. 10-62264, S.D. Fla.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 50396). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-7%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%2021%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank WHEELING, W.Va. - A railroad pursuing conspiracy claims against an asbestos plaintiffs' firm and its expert witnesses must produce files from 10,000 third-party cases against it, a federal West Virginia judge held April 18 (CSX Transportation Inc. v. Robert V. Gilkison, et al., No. 05-202, N.D. W.Va.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%201%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank FRESNO, Calif. - A federal magistrate judge in California presiding over a breach of contract case on Feb. 21 denied a defendant's and an intervenor's request for General Electric Co. (GE) to restore and search more than 400 backup tapes after finding that the company sufficiently showed that the information on the tapes is not reasonably accessible or likely to contain any responsive documents (General Electric Company, et al. v. Thomas Wilkins, No. 10-cv-00674 LJO JLT, E.D. Calif.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 223311). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%202%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - A federal magistrate judge in Florida on March 5 granted a request from an insurance company accused of breaching an insurance contract by failing to pay damages a number of condominium associates sustained during Hurricane Wilma in 2005 for a forensic examination of the plaintiffs' computer system that allows a court-appointed independent expert to make mirror images of the computers' hard drives and search them for responsive information (Wynmoor Community Council Inc., et al. v. QBE Insurance Corp., No. 10-62411-CIV-DIMITROULEAS/Snow; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 29453). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%203%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank SEATTLE - A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on March 13 upheld a federal judge in Washington's ruling that the Internal Revenue Service was not required to produce tax-related documents for a fugitive couple because the information was exempt from disclosure under Sections 3 and 7(A) of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (William Shannahan v. Internal Revenue Service, Nos. 10-35204, 10-35244, 9th Cir.; 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 5168). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%204%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank NEW YORK - A defendant company's failure to timely seek the return of an email inadvertently produced during discovery in a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) class action lawsuit resulted in a waiver of privilege over the communication, a federal magistrate judge in New York ruled Feb. 28 (Mani Jacob, et al. v. Duane Read Inc., et al., No. 11 Civ. 0160, S.D. N.Y.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25689). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%205%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank ST. LOUIS - A federal judge in Missouri on March 2 awarded summary judgment to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) suit after finding that it properly asserted the deliberative process privilege over documents generated during its decision to establish new water quality standards under the Clean Water Act (CWA) (Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, No. 10-CV-2103, E.D. Mo.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 27902). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%206%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank SEATTLE - A federal judge in Washington on March 5 denied a request from plaintiffs in an insurance coverage dispute for an unredacted copy of a claim history report after finding that portions of the report that were not disclosed were subject to the attorney-client privilege (Dane C. Johnson, et al. v. Allstate Insurance Company, No. 11-cv-00927, W.D. Wash.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 28838). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%207%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank NEW YORK - A federal magistrate judge in New York presiding over a civil rights action ordered the City of New York on Feb. 27 to produce 26 documents it withheld from disclosure under the attorney-client privilege because the city failed to establish that the documents contained communications seeking or containing legal advice (Kelton Davis, et al. v. City of New York, et al., No. 10 Civ. 699, S.D. N.Y.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24834). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%208%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank RENO, Nev. - A federal magistrate judge in Nevada overseeing a patent dispute on March 9 rejected a majority of the defendant company's request for the return of exhibits the plaintiff company attempted to use during two depositions after finding that the documents were not protected by the attorney-client privilege or work product doctrine (LightGuard Systems Inc. v. Spot Devices Inc., No. 10-cv-00737-LRH, D. Nev.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 32470). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%209%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank WASHINGTON, D.C. - In a case in which United Western Bank sued to remove the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. as its receiver, a federal judge in Washington on Feb. 24 issued an order limiting the distribution and restricting the use of FDIC materials in the case (United Western Bank v. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, et al., No. 11-00408, D. D.C.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 23838). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%2010%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank NEW ORLEANS - The federal magistrate judge in Louisiana overseeing discovery in the multidistrict litigation for claims arising from the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig and ensuing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on Feb. 16 ruled that counsel for plaintiffs cannot cross-examine witnesses about a post-incident investigation conducted by BP PLC because the information is privileged (In re: Oil Spill by the Oil Rig "Deepwater Horizon" in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010, MDL 2179, Case No. 10-md-2179, E.D. La.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%2011%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank DENVER - A 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Feb. 27 found that a federal judge in Colorado did not abuse his discretion in refusing to enforce an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission subpoena seeking a company's nationwide recordkeeping data for all of its employees since 2006 because the agency's request was overbroad (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, n/k/a BNSF Railway Company, No. 11-1121, 10th Cir.; 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 3902). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%2012%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank SAN DIEGO - A federal magistrate judge in California on March 9 refused to hold a business that handles the administration of an insurance company's policies in contempt for failing to comply with a subpoena that included 44 document requests, explaining that the recipient of the subpoena was a nonparty and a small company that did its best to produce the requested information (Joyce Walker, et al. v. Asset Marketing Systems Insurance Services LLC, No. 11-cv-2531-BTM, S.D. Calif.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 32009). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%2013%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank FORT MYERS, Fla. - Finding that a copyright infringement plaintiff's request for identifying information is narrowly tailored, a Florida federal magistrate judge on Feb. 28 refused to quash a subpoena served upon a John Doe defendant (Nu Image Inc. v. John Does 1-3, 932, No. 11-545, M.D. Fla.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 23504). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%2014%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank BALTIMORE - Insurance companies in a decade-old dispute over indemnification for Porter Hayden Co. asbestos personal injury claims can proceed with discovery of asbestos bankruptcy trusts in other cases because the information sought is not protected by confidentiality provisions in the bankruptcies' trust distribution procedures, a Maryland federal judge held Feb. 24 (National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, Pa., et al. v. Porter Hayden Co., No. 03-3408, D. Md.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 23716). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%2015%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank GREENBELT, Md. - Ruling that an adult film producer needs to be able to identify potential defendants to pursue copyright infringement claims against them, a Maryland federal judge on Feb. 28 denied three Doe defendants' motions to quash a subpoena served on their Internet service providers (ISPs) (Third Degree Films Inc. v. Does 1-108, No. 8:11-cv-03007, D. Md.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25400). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%2016%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank WASHINGTON, D.C. - In a Feb. 23 order, a District of Columbia federal judge unsealed a Dec. 9 ruling in which he had denied a man's motion to quash a federal grand jury's subpoena on Twitter Inc. to discover the man's identity for the purpose of investigating a purported threat he had made against U.S. Congresswoman and then-presidential candidate Michele Bachman (In Re Grand Jury Subpoena No. 11116275, No. 11-527, D. D.C.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%2017%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank MIAMI - A Florida federal judge on Feb. 14 denied a Doe defendant's motion to quash a discovery subpoena in an Internet file-sharing case, finding the Doe's arguments regarding First Amendment rights, misjoinder and lack of jurisdiction to be meritless (AF Holdings LLC v. Does 1-162, No. 1:11-cv-23036, S.D. Fla.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17894). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%2018%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank SAN JOSE, Calif. - While noting that he was "sympathetic" to the privacy concerns of a class plaintiff seeking a protective order from a deposition by Facebook Inc. in a publicity rights class action against the social network operator, a California federal judge on Feb. 21 denied the motion, finding that the plaintiff's "legitimate desire to protect her privacy does not outweigh the relevance or propriety" of the discovery process (Angel Fraley, et al. v. Facebook, Inc., No. 11-1726, N.D. Calif.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21501). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%2019%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank CLEVELAND - A company failed to follow proper procedure in challenging a man's asbestos medical expert and in seeking to strike his opinion after he failed to appear for a deposition, an Ohio court held March 1 in reversing dismissal (Silvano Tiburzi, as administrator of the estate of Marlene Tiburzi, etc. v. Adience Inc., f.k.a. BMI, et al., No. 96591, Ohio App., 8th Dist.; 2012 Ohio App. LEXIS 711). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%2020%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank PHILADELPHIA - A federal judge in Pennsylvania on March 8 ordered an assisted living facility accused of negligence to turn over to a plaintiff redacted copies of medical records belonging to a patient who allegedly attacked her and ordered the facility to submit for an in camera review of the incident report created after the altercation (Philomena Roth v. Sunrise Senior Living Management Inc., et al., No. 11-4567, E.D. Pa.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 30706). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%2021%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank HAMMOND, Ind. - A federal magistrate judge in Indiana on March 12 ordered a defendant to produce complete responses to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's request for documents after finding that the agency's definition of the term documents was not ambiguous (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, et al. v. Southlake Tri-City RBA Corporation, d/b/a Regional Mental Health Center, No. 10 cv 444, N.D. Ind.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 32673). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%2022%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank WILMINGTON, Del. - The Official Committee of Asbestos Personal Injury Claimants and the future claimants' representative (FCR) in Specialty Products Holding Corp. and Bondex International Inc.'s Chapter 11 case can move forward with discovery for the committee and FCR's investigation of possible estate causes of action against the debtors' parent and estimation of the debtors' asbestos liability, a federal bankruptcy judge in Delaware ruled Feb. 3 (In re Specialty Products Holding Corp., et al., No. 10-11780, D. Del. Bkcy.; See February 2012, Page 27). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=9-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Disc.%2023%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - A South Dakota federal magistrate judge on Feb. 21 granted the majority of discovery requests made by homeowners who sought insurance coverage for mold and other storm damage, ordering their insurer to produce various documents, including personnel files (Sylvia Kirschenman, et al. v. Auto-Owners Insurance, No. 09-4190, D. S.D.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20361).