Hardin v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Filing 253

ORDER on Request for Clarification and Deny Reconsideration [Docs. 233, 239, 240, 243], signed by Magistrate Judge Barbara A. McAuliffe on 7/23/2012. (Herman, H)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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ZANE HARDIN,

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CASE NO. 1:08-cv-0617 AWI-BAM

Plaintiffs,

ORDER ON REQUEST FOR
CLARIFICATION AND DENY
RECONSIDERATION

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vs.

(Docs. 233, 239, 240, 243)

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WAL-MART STORES, INC,
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Defendant.
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The Court has reviewed the following filing’s by Plaintiff: Declaration of John A. Shepardson,

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Esq. in Support of the Motion to Compel Emails and Other Documents and Notice of Motion (Doc.

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243); Declaration of John A. Shepardson, Esq. re: Judge Ishii’s Order Granting Plaintiff’s Motion For

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Reconsideration; Magistrate McAuliffe’s Discovery Order (not addressing Defendant Wal-Mart

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Destroying Documents in Violation of Judge Jenkin’s Order) (collectively “Plaintiff’s Statement”).

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(Doc. 247).

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Plaintiff’s Statement asks the Court to confirm or deny whether it mistakenly overlooked

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Plaintiff’s claim that Wal-Mart destroyed emails and documents in violation of a Court Order in its

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prior order denying Plaintiff’s motion to compel emails and other documents. (Doc. 247). Plaintiff is
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advised that the Court carefully reviewed and considered all of the joint motions, briefs, points and

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authorities, declarations, and/or exhibits in preparation of its order denying Plaintiff’s Motion to

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Compel or otherwise reopen discovery. Any omission of a reference to any specific argument or

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declaration is not to be construed that the Court failed to consider the argument or declaration. The

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Court denied Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel and its axiomatic that any related sanctions claim must

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suffer the same fate.

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To the extent that Plaintiff’s Statement is to be construed as a motion for reconsideration, this
Court DENIES Plaintiff’s request for reconsideration.

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“A party seeking reconsideration must show more than a disagreement with the Court’s

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decision, and recapitulation of the arguments considered by the court before rendering its original

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decision fails to carry the moving party’s burden.” United States v. Westlands Water Dist.,134

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F.Supp.2d 1111, 1131 (E.D. Cal. 2001) (internal citations omitted). “To succeed, a party must set forth

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facts or law of a strongly convincing nature to induce the court to reverse its prior decision.” Westlands

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Water, 134 F.Supp.2d at 1131.

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Reconsideration is appropriate if the district court: (1) is presented with newly discovered

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evidence; (2) has committed clear error or the initial decision was manifestly unjust; or (3) is presented

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with an intervening change in controlling law. School District 1J, Multnomah County v. ACandS, Inc.,

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5 F.3d 1255, 1263 (9th Cir. 1993), cert. denied, 512 U.S. 1236 (1994).

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Plaintiff’s Statement simply represents Plaintiff’s disagreement with the Court’s decision to

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deny additional discovery and sanctions. Plaintiff’s disagreement alone is insufficient to establish that

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the Court overlooked relevant facts or controlling law in denying Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel. See

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Schiano v. MBNA Corp, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 93578, * 2 (D.N.J. Dec. 27, 2006) (“Mere

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disagreement with the Court will not suffice to show that the Court overlooked relevant facts or

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controlling law, ..., and should be dealt with through the normal appellate process[.]”) (citations

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omitted). Furthermore, in this District a motion for reconsideration is “an extremely limited procedural

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vehicle” and such requests should be granted sparingly; the Court finds that Plaintiff fails to meet the

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standard for reconsideration, and the request for reconsideration must be denied. See Westlands Water,

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134 F.Supp.2d at 1131.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:
10c20k

July 23, 2012

/s/ Barbara A. McAuliffe
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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