Mealey's Discovery : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Discovery

December 11, 2023
Parties Settle Emergency Care Compensation Case Featuring Discovery Scope Dispute

TEXARKANA, Texas — A federal judge in Texas on Dec. 8 issued an order canceling an upcoming status conference after parties reported that with the help of a mediator, they reached a confidential settlement resolving a freestanding emergency care compensation case in which the judge ordered discovery that the insurer warned could require 1.4 million man hours to fulfill.
December 11, 2023
In Health Care Dispute, Michigan Federal Judge Denies Tribe’s Motion For Default

BAY CITY, Mich. — The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan is not entitled to default judgment against a health insurance provider that allegedly violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) by improperly administering two health insurance plans because the tribe failed to show that the providers’ failure to comply with discovery orders was due to willfulness, bad faith or fault, a Michigan federal judge found in denying the tribe’s renewed motion for default judgment.
December 06, 2023
Judge Orders Briefs On Return Of Talc Bottles, Asbestos Plaintiff’s Use

NEW YORK — Parties must brief why a state court ruling in a separate case ordering the return of two bottles of talc produced in discovery does not violate the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution, and plaintiff Brian Gref should explain what he intends to do with the bottles after receiving them and why the court should not consider the evidence spoliated if the bottles are used as evidence in the separate case, a federal magistrate judge in New York said Dec. 5.
December 04, 2023
Louisiana Court Revives Children’s Subpoena Into Widow’s Asbestos Settlements

NEW ORLEANS — A district court judge erred in granting a widow’s motion to quash a subpoena, a divided Louisiana appellate court said, concluding that the lower court failed to consider whether surviving children’s subpoena seeking information about a widow’s settlements in an asbestos case could lead to discoverable information.
December 01, 2023
More Shareholders Join Suit Saying Target Pride Collection Led To Stock Drop

FORT MYERS, Fla. — A shareholder who previously filed a complaint alleging that Target Corp. made false statements about its LGBTQ+ Pride collection leading to a loss in stock value has filed an amended complaint, now joined by four additional plaintiffs including an investment adviser firm.
December 01, 2023
Delaware Judge Denies Assignees’ Motion To Compel In Wrongful Death Coverage Suit

NEW CASTLE, Del. — A Delaware judge refused to compel a homeowners insurer to produce the claim file of a convicted murderer’s parents in a breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit seeking coverage for an underlying wrongful death lawsuit that resulted in a $15,816,580 arbitration award, finding that the murderer’s assignees failed to demonstrate that the parents’ claim file is relevant to the coverage lawsuit.
November 30, 2023
California Judge Orders Limited Asbestos-Talc Plaintiff Testimony On Genetics

OAKLAND, Calif. — A California judge said an asbestos-talc plaintiff must answer three questions posed to her at her deposition about genetic testing about which she refused to answer but that the defendants were not entitled to discovery of any and all information about genetic mutations from which the woman suffers.
November 30, 2023
BMW Denied Access To Nonparties’ Cell Records, Texts In Product Liability Suit

ORLANDO, Fla. — The cell phone records and communications of three nonparties to a products liability suit against BMW of North America LLC are protected by the attorney-client and spousal privileges, a Florida federal magistrate judge ruled Nov. 29, granting a motion to quash BMW’s subpoenas that sought this information.
November 30, 2023
Judge Rules On Discovery Request In FCA Suit Alleging Medicare Advantage Fraud

TAMPA, Fla. — A Florida federal judge on Nov. 29 granted in part a relator’s motion to compel discovery in a qui tam suit brought on behalf of the federal government, alleging that medical providers and Medicare Advantage (MA) insurers violated the federal False Claims Act (FCA) by conspiring together to increase risk adjustment scores of MA patients to obtain more federal funding than was owed, finding that because the fraud examples provided in the complaint do not show a purported scheme from 2014 continuing after 2020, discovery is limited to ending on the last day of 2020.
November 30, 2023
In GitHub AI Copyright Suit, Parties Told To Meet, Confer Not Move To Compel

SAN FRANCISCO — While a California federal court mulls a second round of motions from OpenAI Inc., GitHub Inc. and Microsoft Corp. seeking dismissal of claims under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and California’s unfair competition law (UCL) related to allegations of improper attribution in the development of an artificial intelligence tool, a magistrate judge denied the plaintiffs’ motion to compel discovery responses in favor of a directive for the parties to meet and confer about discovery disputes.
November 29, 2023
Judge Directs Production Of Reinsurance Info In Suit Over Fire Loss Coverage

NEW YORK — Rejecting an insurer’s argument that reinsurance information isn’t relevant to a breach of contract suit over fire-related claims, a New York federal judge on Nov. 28 directed that the requested information be produced unless there was another reason to withhold or redact it.
November 29, 2023
Federal Judge OKs Revised Responses To RFAs In Breach Case Involving Reinsurance

NEW ALBANY, Ind. — Saying in part that the move “promotes the presentation of the merits of the action,” an Indiana federal magistrate judge allowed plaintiffs in a breach-of-contract case involving a quota share reinsurance agreement to amend their responses to requests for admissions (RFAs).
November 28, 2023
Judge Says Motion To Compel Documents In Flint Tort Claims Act Case Is ‘Moot’

DETROIT — A federal judge in Michigan has denied a motion to compel production of unredacted versions of documents in litigation seeking $722.4 million under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) related to the Flint water crisis, ruling that the motion is moot because the U.S. government produced an unredacted version of one of the documents at issue, and the plaintiffs failed to comply with pre-filing requirements with regard to the other documents.
November 27, 2023
In Miami Bridge Project Row, Federal Magistrate Judge Orders Production Of Reports

MIAMI — Minutes and monthly reports from the executive committee meetings of a joint venture in charge of constructing a major bridge in Miami, which has suffered construction setbacks, must be produced because the documents were prepared in the ordinary course of business pursuant to the terms of the joint venture agreement, a Florida federal magistrate judge found in granting a defendant-engineering firm’s motion to compel production.
November 22, 2023
New York Plaintiff: Defendant Conducts Clandestine Testing On Talc Bottles

NEW YORK — A defendant refuses to return bottles of talc produced in discovery, instead performing clandestine testing on the evidence without disclosure or permission, a man tells a New York justice in a motion to compel.
November 22, 2023
Plaintiff Loses Fiduciary Exception Dispute In ERISA Privilege Ruling

SAN DIEGO — Finding that fiduciary exception to attorney-client privilege does not apply to the communications in issue in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act case, a California federal magistrate judge ruled for the defendants in a discovery dispute involving a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO).
November 21, 2023
Additional Exhibits In Water Case Do Not Support Sanctions, Government Says

HONOLULU — The U.S. government on Nov. 20 filed a brief in Hawaii federal court arguing that it should deny plaintiffs’ motion for discovery sanctions because they failed to meet the requirements for an adverse inference under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(e)(2) in their claim that the government destroyed text message electronic evidence related to drinking water contamination issues at a military facility that stores jet fuel.
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.
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.
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).
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.