Young v. Sun Life and Health Insurance Company

Filing 28

ORDER AFTER INFORMAL TELEPHONIC CONFERENCE RE: DISCOVERY, signed by Magistrate Judge Jennifer L. Thurston on 4/7/2017. (Hall, S)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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VICKI YOUNG,

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Plaintiff,

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vs.
SUN LIFE AND HEALTH INSURANCE
COMPANY,

Case No. 1:16-cv-00822-LJO-JLT
ORDER AFTER INFORMAL
TELEPHONIC CONFERENCE RE:
DISCOVERY
(Doc. 27)

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Defendants.
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At the request of the plaintiff, the Court held an informal conference re: discovery dispute
on April 7, 2017. At the conference, the parties agreed:

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1.

The depositions of the two employees of the defendant would not go forward at this

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time. Rather, the plaintiff may propound1 up to ten questions to each employee directed toward

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discovering the nature, extent and effect of the alleged conflict of interest. The plaintiff may not

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ask questions about the specifics of how and why the decisions were made or whether the

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decisions were correct.

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The defendant agreed to provide substantive responses to questions on the relevant topic.

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After the employees provide these responses, if the plaintiff feels the responses fail to be

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responsive, counsel must meet and confer (and counsel SHALL make meeting and conferring a

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The Court anticipates that the interrogatories will be propounded within one week.

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priority in their schedule), but, in the event they cannot resolve the dispute, the plaintiff SHALL

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seek a timely teleconference with the Court;

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2.

The deposition of the independent medical examiner will go forward on a date that

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is convenient to counsel, the doctor and the Court. The Court will be available by telephone

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during the deposition to rule, as necessary, on the propriety of questions asked and objections

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made. Toward this end, the Court clarifies that the plaintiff may ask questions limited to the issue

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of conflict of interest/bias. The plaintiff may not ask questions about why the doctor came to

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his/her medical opinions in the plaintiff’s particular case.

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3.

Once the date for the doctor’s deposition is known, counsel may renew their

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stipulation to amend the case schedule. The renewed stipulation should propose reasonable dates

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for the remaining case deadlines.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

April 7, 2017

/s/ Jennifer L. Thurston
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE