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Mealey's Discovery

  • February 05, 2025

    Judge Partially Grants Motion To Reopen Discovery In Asbestos Case

    OAKLAND, Calif. — Providing time limits for expert depositions and saying that there does not appear to be any resulting prejudice, a judge granted a motion to reopen discovery in a California asbestos case.

  • February 05, 2025

    Asbestos-Containing Pipe Maker Seeks To Escape Spoliation Jury Instruction

    WILMINGTON, Del. — A plaintiff and an asbestos-containing pipe defendant briefed a motion for reconsideration of a summary judgment ruling in Delaware court, with the plaintiff saying the company born “under the spectre of asbestos” cannot rely on “institutional ignorance” to explain away document destruction while the company told the court that the evidence destruction was inadvertent but that an adverse jury instruction issued in response would destroy any chance at a fair trial.

  • February 03, 2025

    Judge: Microsoft Must Comply With Constitutional Notice Rule In AI Copyright Suit

    NEW YORK — A federal court rule governing notice for constitutional questions applies to Microsoft Corp.’s “as applied” challenge to New York’s trademark dilution statute in an artificial intelligence case, a federal judge in the state said in ordering Microsoft to comply with the rule .

  • February 03, 2025

    Insureds: Insurers ‘Flouted’ Order Compelling Discovery In Defects Coverage Suit

    NEWARK, N.J. — Insureds asked a New Jersey court to dismiss their insurers’ lawsuit disputing coverage for an underlying construction defects lawsuit, arguing that the insurers “have refused to meaningfully participate in the discovery process, repeatedly ignored deadlines and discovery rules, flouted this Court’s Order compelling discovery, and otherwise delayed the progression of this litigation.”

  • February 03, 2025

    Hoverboard Fire Defendants: Motion In Limine’s Fake Cites Look Like ChatGPT’s Work

    CHEYENNE, Wyo. — ChatGPT appears to have authored eight incorrect legal citations in plaintiffs’ motion in limine seeking to exclude evidence and expert testimony, the defendants told a federal judge in Wyoming in opposition to the motion in a suit in which the plaintiffs say a hoverboard exploded and set fire to their home.

  • February 03, 2025

    Delaware High Court Upholds Judgment, Discovery Ruling In Oracle Derivative Suit

    DOVER, Del. — A Delaware trial court did not err in denying Oracle Corp. shareholders’ efforts to obtain certain documents from an investigation by a special litigation committee (SLC) in a derivative suit centering on Oracle’s acquisition of another tech company, the Delaware Supreme Court held, finding that the documents were largely protected by privilege.

  • February 03, 2025

    4th Circuit Upholds $31M In Sanctions, Default Judgment For Discovery Misconduct

    RICHMOND, Va. — Citing “egregious” discovery conduct and a “blatant disregard for the judicial process” exhibited by the defendants in a bankruptcy proceeding, a Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel found that a bankruptcy court “exhibited extraordinary patience” and was justified in assessing discovery sanctions of more than $31 million against the defendants and in disposing of the matter via entry of default judgment.

  • January 31, 2025

    Burned Building Owner May Not Conduct Presuit Depositions,10th Circuit Says

    DENVER — The owner of a building that was destroyed in a fire was properly denied a petition to depose employees of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), which rented the building from him, before filing a complaint, a 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled, finding that the petitioner did not satisfy the narrow criteria for presuit discovery under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 27.

  • January 30, 2025

    6th Circuit Refuses To Grant Emergency Stay Of Discovery Orders In Opioid MDL

    CINCINNATI — The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied a motion for an emergency stay filed by pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) pending a decision on their mandamus petition to order a district court to reverse two discovery orders in the nationwide opioid multidistrict litigation after finding that the PBMS have not demonstrated a likelihood of success on their petition.

  • January 28, 2025

    Indiana High Court: Discovery Of Smartphone Data Requires ‘Some’ Evidence Of Use

    INDIANAPOLIS — Weighing the need for requested discovery from a smartphone in an auto accident lawsuit with the phone owner’s privacy rights, an Indiana Supreme Court majority established an analytical framework in which it held that the party requesting such discovery “must provide ‘some evidence’” of the smartphone’s use before a court can grant a corresponding discovery motion.

  • January 27, 2025

    Magistrate Denies Insurer’s Bids To Compel Discovery In Asbestos Coverage Dispute

    BUFFALO, N.Y. — A federal magistrate judge in a single order denied an insurer’s motions to compel discovery in four similar suits against insurers filed by the estates of people who died purportedly from asbestos exposure, seeking payment of judgments entered against an asbestos mine, finding that though discovery of negotiations resulting in a funding agreement is related to the agreement’s impact, the disclosure of the agreement “is sufficient.”

  • January 27, 2025

    Oklahoma Supreme Court: Litigant Can’t Subpoena An Expert’s Financial Records

    OKLAHOMA CITY — Although a litigant may discover an expert witness’ compensation on a current lawsuit, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that a party may not subpoena an expert to learn compensation on past cases for the purpose of uncovering potential bias, stating that there are other methods of discovering bias that do not invade a witness’s privacy.

  • January 24, 2025

    4th Circuit Affirms Mexican Bank’s Use Of Section 1782 Subpoena On U.S. Firm

    RICHMOND, Va. — A trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying a bankrupt Virginia company’s motion to quash discovery subpoenas served on it by a Mexican company seeking to recover funds from defaulted loans, a unanimous Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled, finding that the subpoena applications complied with the requirements of U.S. Code Title 28 Section 1782.

  • January 23, 2025

    7th Circuit Upholds Summary Judgment, Discovery Ruling In ‘Tragic’ ERISA Case

    CHICAGO — Affirming a summary judgment and discovery ruling for a multiemployer health plan in “a tragic case” over refusal to reimburse close to $200,000 in out-of-network medical care, a Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel said the discretion the plan gave its administrator and the “deferential standard of review” compelled the result.

  • January 23, 2025

    South Carolina High Court Upholds Striking Of Pleadings As Discovery Sanction

    COLUMBIA, S.C. — Affirming an appeals court’s ruling, the South Carolina Supreme Court found that a trial court did not abuse its discretion by striking a defendant’s pleadings to sanction it for “a deliberate pattern of discovery abuse” in a long-running trade secret and breach of contract lawsuit.

  • January 23, 2025

    Former Meta COO Sanctioned Over Lost E-Mails In Fiduciary Breach Suit

    WILMINGTON, Del. — A Delaware Court of Chancery vice chancellor granted in part a motion for sanctions filed by plaintiffs in a breach of fiduciary suit against Facebook Inc. (now known as Meta Platforms Inc.) CEO Mark Zuckerberg, former chief operating officer (COO) Sheryl Sandberg and specified board members and related parties over Meta’s alleged “deceptive” privacy settings resulting in sharing users information without their consent, finding that because Sandberg failed to preserve emails resulting in prejudice to the plaintiffs, the court will increase the burden of proof against her on any relevant issue.

  • January 23, 2025

    New Jersey Judge Denies Motion Seeking Access To Asbestos Expert Longo’s Lab

    NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — In the wake of the company’s efforts to find common ground, a New Jersey judge denied a motion by various Johnson & Johnson entities to conduct a live “side-by-side” inspection of asbestos expert William Longo’s laboratory and work, turning away complaints that to fully contest his methodology, the defendants must be able to witness his work live.

  • January 22, 2025

    OpenAI Isn’t Entitled To Discovery Of All AI Usage, New York Times Says

    NEW YORK — OpenAI Inc.’s contention that its fair use defense requires The New York Times Co. (NYT) to produce any and all evidence related to its use of artificial intelligence of any kind and in any manner seeks to “distract from its own massive copyright infringement” and was properly rejected by a magistrate judge, the company says in responding to an objection to a ruling denying a motion to compel.

  • January 22, 2025

    Bid To Compel Production Of Reinsurance Info Denied In Cleanup Costs Dispute

    PADUCAH, Ky. — Saying in part that “neither claims manuals and guidelines nor reinsurance-related documents are relevant to Phase I of this litigation,” a Kentucky federal magistrate judge denied a motion to compel production in a dispute over pollution-related cleanup costs.

  • January 21, 2025

    Magistrate Judge Rejects Meta’s ‘False Dichotomy,’ Faults Some AI Discovery

    SAN FRANCISCO — Meta Platforms Inc.’s “false dichotomy” about the possible answers regarding its use of copyrighted material in an artificial intelligence case is based on minor quibbles about the extent of the copying and does not “justify the hopelessly vague” answers it offered about what its search of the training data revealed, a federal magistrate judge in California said Jan. 17 in partially granting motions to compel.

  • January 17, 2025

    Opioid Plaintiff Says PBMs Unlikely To Win Privilege Order Row On Appeal

    CINCINNATI — Rochester, N.Y., a plaintiff in the nationwide opioid multidistrict litigation, on Jan. 16 opposed a motion for an emergency stay filed by two pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) in the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, arguing that the PBMs are unlikely to succeed on their efforts to bar certain documents from being produced during discovery and that the city will be harmed by the stay.

  • January 16, 2025

    N.J. High Court Decision Is Cited In Discovery Ruling On Reinsurance Info

    TRENTON, N.J. — Declining to compel production of information concerning a reinsurance policy, a New Jersey federal magistrate judge concluded that Statewide Ins. Fund v. Star Ins. Co. and the state statute that authorized a joint insurance fund (JIF) rendered the discovery requests at issue “not relevant and not proportional to the needs of the case.”

  • January 16, 2025

    Discovery Referee Rules On Motions To Compel In Coverage Suit Over Opioid Epidemic

    WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — A discovery referee granted in part insureds’ and insurers’ motions to compel discovery in a coverage dispute arising from the opioid epidemic brought in a North Carolina court.

  • January 16, 2025

    Magistrate Judge Won’t Condition Talc Suit Dismissal On Expert Discovery

    NEW YORK — A man is free to sue whomever he wants, and because dismissal with prejudice precludes any future litigation on the claims, the talc defendant will not suffer any prejudice and is not entitled to discovery into an expert on whom the plaintiff no longer relies, a federal magistrate judge in New York said Jan. 15 in recommending that the court grant the motion.

  • January 16, 2025

    Sanctions Sought For Alleged Text Messages Destruction In Insurance Coverage Row

    MINNEAPOLIS — Great American Insurance Co. (GAIC) filed a motion in a Minnesota federal court seeking sanctions related to the purported destruction of text messages by its insured, a Minneapolis event center, in the insurer’s suit seeking a declaration that it does not need to pay an appraisal award of $986,436 related to business income loss the insurer says was based upon “concealed and misrepresented material facts and circumstances willfully and with intent to defraud.”