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Mealey's Discovery

  • May 31, 2024

    North Dakota Legislators Oppose Certiorari In Tribes’ Discovery Privilege Dispute

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The North Dakota Legislative Assembly and a group of lawmakers, who were granted relief by the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals from discovery subpoenas served by Native American tribes opposing voter redistricting, ask the U.S. Supreme Court to reject the tribes’ petition for a writ of certiorari on whether the legislative privilege is qualified, rather than absolute.

  • May 30, 2024

    Magistrate Extends Discovery Deadline In State Farm’s No-Fault Fraud Suit

    BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A New York federal magistrate judge on May 29 issued a docket-only order granting a motion filed by certain medical provider defendants to extend the discovery deadline in State Farm’s suit alleging that the medical providers submitted for reimbursement to State Farm fraudulent bills for ineligible or medically unnecessary services provided to auto accident victims eligible for State Farm no-fault benefits.

  • May 30, 2024

    Defendants Seek Full Genetic Testing In Louisiana Asbestos Lung Cancer Suit

    NEW ORLEANS — Companies embroiled in a Louisiana take-home asbestos lung cancer suit moved to compel production of a blood sample for whole genome sequencing, pointing out that limited testing on a sample of the plaintiff’s tumor and her family history all suggest she suffers from a germline mutation that the requested testing could confirm.

  • May 30, 2024

    Defendants Are Granted Taxable Costs In ERISA Record-Keeping Fees Row

    DES MOINES, Iowa — Following summary judgment in their favor in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act class action over 401(k) record-keeping fees in Iowa federal court, grocery chain Hy-Vee Inc. and related defendants were granted taxable costs totaling $53,319.87, including $40,232.83 for discovery of electronically stored information (ESI), on May 29.

  • May 24, 2024

    Magistrate Judge Denies J&J’s Effort At Expedited Response To Subpoena To Law Firm

    TRENTON, N.J. — In a docket text order, a federal magistrate judge in New Jersey denied a request by Johnson & Johnson and its bankrupt affiliate to expedite a response to a subpoena they issued to the Beasley Allen Law Firm in the asbestos talc multidistrict litigation seeking evidence of “egregious behavior” suggesting that the firm no longer advocates in the best interests of asbestos plaintiffs.

  • May 23, 2024

    Squabble Over Subpoena In Semiconductor Substrate Patent Row Sent To Texas

    BOSTON — A federal magistrate judge in Massachusetts on May 22 did not reach the merits of a motion to quash a subpoena served on a wafer manufacturer, instead transferring the request to the Texas federal court where an infringement action over semiconductor products incorporating the wafers is already under way. 

  • May 22, 2024

    J&J Seeks Expedited Responses On Subpoenas To Asbestos-Talc Law Firm

    TRENTON, N.J. — Two Johnson & Johnson entities asked the federal court in New Jersey overseeing the talc multidistrict litigation to expedite responses to a subpoena issued to the Beasley Allen Law Firm, saying recent revelations of “egregious behavior” suggest that the firm no longer advocates in the best interests of its clients and uses the media in hopes of sinking a potential global settlement of the asbestos-talc claims.

  • May 22, 2024

    Federal Judge OKs SEC Subpoena Over Musk’s Claims Of ‘Harassment’

    SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California ordered the enforcement of a Securities and Exchange Commission subpoena targeting Elon Musk as part of an investigation into Musk’s 2022 purchase of stock in the company formerly known as Twitter Inc., finding that the “SEC’s actions were constitutional, and the subpoena reasonably seeks information relevant to the SEC’s investigation.”

  • May 22, 2024

    CertainTeed Debtor DBMP Can Subpoena Asbestos Claimants, Bankruptcy Judge Rules

    CHARLOTTE, N.C. — CertainTeed Corp. debtor DBMP LLC can subpoena asbestos claimants in two other asbestos bankruptcy cases who settled their claims against CertainTeed before the DBMP Chapter 11 case was filed, a North Carolina federal bankruptcy judge ruled in denying a motion by the Official Committee of Asbestos Personal Injury Claimants to strike the subpoenas.

  • May 20, 2024

    Judge Bars Some Questions, Allows Others On Monsanto’s Knowledge Of PCBs Post-1977

    BURLINGTON, Vt. — A federal judge in Vermont on May 17 ruled that Monsanto Co.’s motions to quash and for a protective order related to certain testimony in a lawsuit over polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) brought by a Vermont school were partially granted.  The judge said that he would not bar questions pertaining to matters within the corporation’s knowledge after 1977 but that communication between Monsanto and affiliated companies about potential liability stemming from PCBs was privileged.

  • May 17, 2024

    New Jersey Judge Invites Amici In Dispute Over Mesothelioma Genetic Testing

    TRENTON, N.J. — A New Jersey judge invited amicus curiae briefs on a motion to compel testing seeking genetic markers for mesothelioma in an asbestos case and laid out the questions she has about how such a process works and its potential impact.

  • May 16, 2024

    Judge Won’t Compel Authors Guild Evidence In Authors’ AI Copyright Suit

    SAN FRANCISCO — While authors portray documents in a related case as clearly relevant to their artificial intelligence copyright claims against OpenAI Inc. and others, their failure to go beyond declaratory statements and explain the relevance of any evidence requires denying the request to compel production, a federal judge in California said.

  • May 16, 2024

    Missouri Officials Win Deposition Dispute In Row Over ESG Factor Rules

    JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A trade association lost a discovery dispute in its challenge to new Missouri rules that it says require “a state-authored script” for “incorporating a social or nonfinancial objective into investment advice,” with a Missouri federal judge on May 15 rejecting its request to depose Missouri Secretary of State John R. Ashcroft.

  • May 15, 2024

    Judge Overrules Abbott’s Objections To Discovery Order In FCA Suit Over Kickbacks

    SAN DIEGO — A California federal judge on May 14 overruled Abbott Laboratories’ objections and affirmed a magistrate judge’s discovery order that denied Abbott’s motion to compel production of certain documents in a suit alleging violations of the False Claims Act (FCA) and state false claims laws regarding Abbott’s alleged kickback scheme to induce hospitals and physicians to use an Abbott cardiac medical device, finding that Abbott is not entitled to discover certain documents, which are considered privileged work product.

  • May 15, 2024

    Magistrate Approves Discovery Plan In Guaranty Association’s MSP Suit Against CMS

    RALEIGH, N.C. — A North Carolina federal magistrate judge approved a discovery plan in the North Carolina Insurance Guaranty Association’s (NCIGA) suit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), its secretary and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), seeking a determination that the NCIGA is not a primary plan under the federal Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) statute and therefore not obligated to reimburse CMS regarding a workers’ compensation claim involving an insolvent insurer.

  • May 15, 2024

    Judges Say Camp Lejeune Plaintiffs Not Entitled To Appeal Jury Trial Ruling

    RALEIGH, N.C. — Four federal judges in North Carolina have issued a combined order and denied a bid by the plaintiffs in the Camp Lejeune water crisis litigation to certify an appeal of a decision of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina denying immediate appellate review on the issue of whether the Camp Lejeune Justice Act (CLJA) authorizes jury trials for plaintiffs bringing claims under the statute.

  • May 14, 2024

    Appeals Court Rejects Subpoena, Instruction Challenges To N.Y. Asbestos Verdict

    BUFFALO, N.Y. — A trial court did not err in quashing a subpoena seeking corporate testimony about events 50 years prior and for which there appeared to be no such witness or in failing to instruct the jury on an employer’s potential role as an intervening cause of a man’s mesothelioma, a New York appeals court said in affirming a $2 million verdict.

  • May 14, 2024

    Judge Orders Discovery In Bid To Enforce $1.5M Award Against Bankrupt German CEO

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — A California federal judge refused to dismiss a video game streaming platform’s petition to confirm a JAMS award worth nearly $1.5 million against two German entities and their shareholder, the former CEO of the original award-debtor, and ordered further jurisdictional discovery to determine whether the court can exercise jurisdiction over the German defendants.

  • May 14, 2024

    Federal Judge Dismisses Lead Insurer From D&O Coverage Dispute Over SEC Subpoena

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A District of Columbia federal judge granted a joint motion filed by Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. (Freddie Mac) and its lead insurer to dismiss the insurer from Freddie Mac’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit seeking directors and officers liability coverage for underlying expenses it incurred on behalf of its directors, officers and employees who were subpoenaed by the Securities and Exchange Commission during an investigation and subsequent lawsuit.

  • May 10, 2024

    Homeowner Cannot File New Evidence Of Personal Property Damaged By Chinese Drywall

    TAMPA, Fla. — A homeowner who claims that his home was damaged by defective Chinese drywall may not present new evidence of personal property damage one month before trial because he already submitted an itemized list of such damages and discovery has closed, a Florida federal judge found in resolving two motions filed by the drywall manufacturers.

  • May 07, 2024

    Judge Dismisses Group’s Continued FOIA Claims, Says Agency Complied

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Saying an environmental group “is having a hard time accepting ‘yes’ for an answer,” a District of Columbia federal judge granted a motion by the U.S. Forest Service to dismiss the group’s continued pressing of its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) claim even after getting the documents it requested.

  • May 07, 2024

    State Says Production Request Valid In Federal Fracking Lease Dispute With DOI

    BISMARCK, N.D. — The state of North Dakota on May 6 filed a reply brief in North Dakota federal court contending that its production request in its ongoing dispute with the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) should be granted because the BLM is not complying with its duty to provide information related to the agencies’ decision to cancel certain hydraulic fracturing lease sales, which the state calls “the Stop.”

  • May 07, 2024

    Tech Firm Must Provide Records In Age Discrimination, Retaliation Lawsuit

    NEW YORK — A New York federal judge largely granted a plaintiff’s motion to compel further discovery responses from his former employer, finding that “liberal civil discovery rules” were appropriate to permit the plaintiff to find support for his allegations of a companywide practice of discrimination, as well as the claim that he was retaliated against for reporting illegal behavior by a company executive.

  • May 06, 2024

    Freddie Mac Dismisses Lead Insurer From D&O Coverage Dispute Over SEC Subpoena

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. (Freddie Mac) and its lead insurer on May 3 filed a joint stipulation asking a District of Columbia federal court to dismiss the insurer from Freddie Mac’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit seeking directors and officers liability coverage for underlying expenses it incurred on behalf of its directors, officers and employees who were subpoenaed by the Securities and Exchange Commission during an investigation and subsequent lawsuit.

  • May 06, 2024

    Motion To Compel Granted In Bad Faith Row With Insurer Making Fraud Counterclaim

    SEATTLE — A Washington federal judge on May 3 granted in part an insurer’s motion to compel more complete responses to interrogatories in a bad faith suit filed against the insurer that counterclaimed for a declaration that it has no obligation to cover the insured due to his purported fraudulent misrepresentations about his auto accident injuries, finding that the insurer made reasonable requests, including requests for the insured’s social media postings.