Twitchell v. Allied Pilots Association
Filing
89
ORDER: IT IS ORDERED that the 77 Motion to Compel Re: Confidentiality Agreement is DENIED as moot, pursuant to the parties 86 Stipulation. The 78 Motion to Compel Re: Insurance Policy is DENIED without prejudice. Signed by Senior Judge David C Bury on 10/11/18. (BAC)
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA
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Andrea B Twitchell,
Plaintiff,
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Allied Pilots Association,
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ORDER
v.
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No. CV-16-00493-TUC-DCB
Defendant.
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Plaintiff has filed two motions to compel. On September 7, 2018, she filed a
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Motion to Compel the Defendant to Respond by signing a Confidentiality Agreement
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(Motion to Compel Re: Confidentiality Agreement) (Doc. 77) and Motion to Compel
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Compliance with Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1)(A)(iv) for the Defendant APA’s insurance
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policy information (Motion to Compel Re: Insurance Policy) (Doc. 78). On October 9,
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2018, the parties filed a Joint Stipulation Regarding Outstanding Motions (Doc. 86)
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informing the Court that they met and conferred on October 5, 2018, and reached an
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agreement regarding the Confidentiality Agreement and anticipate resolving the
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insurance policy discovery dispute. The parties ask the Court to stay a ruling on the
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Motion to Compel Compliance Re: Insurance Policy.
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The Court notes that the Stipulation reflects the importance of the Rule 37(a)(1)
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requirement that parties in good faith meet and confer in an effort to obtain discovery or
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disclosure before moving for an order compelling it. “When initiating an informal
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conference the parties must present to each other the merits of their respective positions
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with the same specificity with which they would brief the discovery dispute.” Wilson v.
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Aargon Agency, Inc., 262 F.R.D. 561, 564 (Nev. 2010) (citing Nevada Power Co. v.
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Monsanto Co., 151 F.R.D. 118, 120 (Nev.1993). “The meet and confer requirement is
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not merely a formalistic prerequisite to the resolution of discovery disputes and cannot be
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met by simply showing that the discovery in question was requested more than once.” Id.
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In Nevada Power, the Court concluded that “two back to back letters stating merely that
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the responses were ‘wholly inadequate’ do not stand in as a ‘personal consultation and
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sincere effort . . . to resolve the matter without court action.’” Id.
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This Court has discretion to deny a motion to compel for failure to comply with
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the meet and confer requirements set forth in Rule 37. Schulte v. Potter, 218 F. App'x
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703, 709 (10th Cir.2007). The Court exercises this discretion in respect to the Plaintiff’s
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Motion to Compel Re: Insurance Policy. Plaintiff sent an email on August 31, 2018,
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requesting the disclosure and filed her Motion to Compel on September 7, 2018. While
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her August 31, 2018, email explained her views regarding the inadequacy of the
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Defendant’s initial disclosure of the APA insurance policy, there is nothing in her email
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requesting a personal consultation regarding the matter; she did not even warn the
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Defendant that she would file the Motion to Compel if she failed to obtain the disclosure
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within those seven days. In short, there is no evidence that she called or attempted in any
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way to personally consult with Defendant’s attorney regarding the insurance discovery
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dispute before filing the Motion to Compel.
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Accordingly,
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IT IS ORDERED that the Motion to Compel Re: Confidentiality Agreement
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(Doc. 77) is DENIED as moot, pursuant to the parties Stipulation (Doc. 86).
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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Motion to Compel Re: Insurance Policy
(Doc. 78) is DENIED without prejudice.
Dated this 11th day of October, 2018.
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