National Railroad Passenger Corp v. Camargo Trucking, et al.

Filing 49

Order lifting discovery stay and Denying request for joint discovery, signed by Magistrate Judge Barbara A. McAuliffe on 6/13/2013. (Figueroa, O)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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NATIONAL RAILROAD PASSENGER
CORPORATION, et. al.,

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Plaintiffs,
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vs.
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CAMARGO TRUCKING,
et. al.,

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Defendants.

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CASE NO. 1:12-cv-0775-BAM
ORDER LIFTING DISCOVERY STAY AND
DENYING REQUEST FOR JOINT
DISCOVERY

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This matter comes before the Court on Defendants Camargo Trucking, National Railroad

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Passenger Corporation (“Amtrak”) and BNSF Railway’s (collectively “Defendants”) request to

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consolidate discovery proceedings. On May 22, 2013, the Court held a scheduling conference. At the

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conference, the Court heard lengthy arguments on whether plaintiffs should be ordered to propound joint

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written discovery. The Court directed each party to submit a two-page statement explaining each party’s

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position on the issue of coordinated discovery. Having reviewed the submissions of the parties, the

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Court rules as follows.

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This case involves five consolidated personal injury and property claims arising from a train and

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semi-trailer collision in Shafter, California. After the accident, Plaintiff Amtrak filed the original

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complaint against Defendants Camargo Trucking and Luis G. Camargo, seeking relief for property

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damage, loss of use, and various accident-related expenses. Subsequently, thirteen passengers on the

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train at the time of the accident filed suit. Of the thirteen passengers, five Plaintiffs named Amtrak

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and/or BNSF Railway as defendants, and all of those cases were removed to federal court and are now

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consolidated in this action. The remaining cases are proceeding in state court.

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PARTIES’ ARGUMENTS
Defendants seek an order from the Court requiring Plaintiffs to coordinate joint discovery.

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Defendants argue that coordinated discovery is warranted in this matter because all of the passenger

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Plaintiffs’ claims arise from the same nexus of facts and involve the same issues of liability. According

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to Defendants, discovery in complex cases is generally managed by a small discovery committee or

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informally managed by one lead plaintiff who consolidates questions from each plaintiff into a single

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set of written discovery to be propounded. In defendants’ view, this approach is superior because it

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eliminates the need for individual discovery motions possibly burdening the Court and reduces the

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overall time spent by Plaintiffs’ attorneys by reducing the need to draft original discovery.

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Plaintiffs respond that the coordination of discovery is unwarranted for several reasons. They

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argue joint discovery is unduly burdensome and unnecessary for a case of this size. Coordinating

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discovery would require Plaintiffs to divulge their legal theories, possibly destroying attorney client

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privilege. Further, coordination would significantly limit the number of discoverable areas.

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LEGAL STANDARD

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A district court enjoys broad discretion in controlling discovery. Little v. City of Seattle, 863

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F.2d 681, 685 (9th Cir. 1988). “Rule 26 vests the trial judge with broad discretion to tailor discovery

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narrowly and to dictate the sequence of discovery.” Crawford–El v. Britton, 523 U.S. 574, 599 (1998).

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The Supreme Court recognized that under Rule 26(b)(2), the trial court may, on its own motion, limit

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the frequency or extent of use of discovery methods if it determines the burden or expense of proposed

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discovery outweighs its likely benefits. Id. at 599. Rule 26(c) gives the trial court authority on motion,

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or on its own initiative, to limit the time, place, and manner of discovery, or bar discovery altogether on

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certain subjects, as required “to protect a party or person from annoyance, embarrassment, oppression,

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or undue burden or expense.” Rule 26(c).

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ANALYSIS
The Court finds that joint coordinated discovery by Plaintiffs is not warranted in this case.

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Consolidating discovery, as suggested by Defendants, may be an efficient method for conducting

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discovery in complex cases. This case, however, is not a complex case. It does not involve complex

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facts or law and it does not have the numerous parties found in multi-district litigation or a mass tort

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cases.

Here, six individual Plaintiffs allege run-of-the-mill general negligence claims against

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Defendants. Defendants have not pointed to any unique or exceptional circumstances which might

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justify coordination, and therefore additional coordination efforts will not result in substantial time

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saving for the parties. The Court is persuaded that requiring Plaintiffs to proceed with joint written

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discovery would create an unreasonable burden on Plaintiffs and complicate straight-forward issues.

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The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure dictate that discovery should be a cooperative process and not an

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unreasonably burdensome one. The Court is not persuaded that individual discovery propounded by

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plaintiffs on defendants will unduly burden defendants. Accordingly, Defendants request for an order

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requiring consolidated discovery is DENIED.

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Nonetheless, the Court shares Defendants’ concerns regarding manageability of this action and

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conservation of judicial resources. Judges of the Fresno Division of the Eastern District of California

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now have the heaviest caseload in the nation. Since limited judicial resources exist in the Eastern

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District, the Court encourages the parties to work cooperatively and utilize the many informal

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cooperative discovery devices in place to ensure that discovery proceeds quickly and effectively with

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the following guidance.

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1.

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Counsel for the parties should meet and confer in good faith and make reasonable efforts to

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schedule depositions at mutually agreeable places, dates, and times before sending notices of

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depositions. If counsel are unable to reach an agreement on the scheduling of the depositions, then the

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Court is available by telephone to assist in scheduling.

Depositions

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2.

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The Court routinely employs an informal discovery resolution process whereby the Court will

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rule on a discovery dispute via a telephonic conference, provided the parties stipulate to informal

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resolution. To request an informal discovery conference, the parties should contact chambers to

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schedule a time for the telephonic conference. The parties would then submit a two-page statement

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briefly describing the nature of the discovery dispute, including the facts and legal arguments at issue.

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Informal Discovery Dispute Resolution

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CONCLUSION

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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, that the Court:

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LIFTS the stay of discovery entered February 8, 2013;

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DENIES Defendants’ request for a joint discovery plan; and

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SHALL issue the Scheduling Order setting trial and discovery deadlines in this matter.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated:
10c20k

June 13, 2013

/s/ Barbara A. McAuliffe
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE