Flagstar Bank, FSB v. The Loan Experts Corporation et al

Filing 153

Order by Magistrate Judge Donna M. Ryu denying 149 Motion to Dismiss without prejudice. Joint letter due 3/16/12.(dmrlc1, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 3/9/2012)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

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FLAGSTAR BANK,

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Plaintiff,

No. C-10-03190 CRB (DMR)
NOTICE OF REFERENCE AND ORDER
RE DISCOVERY PROCEDURES

v.

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LOAN EXPERTS, et al.,

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Defendants.
___________________________________/

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TO ALL PARTIES AND COUNSEL OF RECORD:
The above matter has been referred to Magistrate Judge Donna M. Ryu for resolution of

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Defendant Stewart Title of California, Inc.’s Motion to Dismiss Cross-Claim of the Loan Experts

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Corporation and Hormoz Nazari ("Motion to Dismiss," Docket No. 149), as well as all further

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discovery. The Motion to Dismiss was noticed for hearing on April 13, 2012.

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The court VACATES the current hearing date on Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss and

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DENIES the Motion to Dismiss without prejudice. Any joint letter regarding the instant discovery

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dispute (see section below entitled "Resolution of Discovery Disputes") shall be filed no later than

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March 16, 2012. The court emphasizes that the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, as well as the

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Northern District of California’s Local Rules, require the parties to meet and confer to try to resolve

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their disagreements.

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Parties shall comply with the procedures in this order, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure,

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and the Northern District of California’s Local Rules, General Orders, and General Standing Orders.

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Local rules, general orders, general standing orders, and a summary of the general orders’ electronic

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filing requirements (including the procedures for emailing proposed orders to chambers) are

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available at http://www.cand.uscourts.gov. The parties’ failure to comply with any of the rules or

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orders may be a ground for sanctions.

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RESOLUTION OF DISCOVERY DISPUTES
In order to respond to discovery disputes in a flexible, cost-effective and efficient manner,

as required by the federal and local rules, the parties shall first meet and confer to try to resolve their

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For the Northern District of California

the court uses the following procedure. The parties shall not file formal discovery motions. Instead,

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United States District Court

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disagreements. The meet and confer session must be in person or by telephone, and may not be

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conducted by letter, e-mail, or fax. If disagreements remain, the parties shall file a joint letter no

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later than five (5) business days after the meet and confer session. Lead trial counsel for both

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parties must sign the letter, which shall include an attestation that the parties met and conferred in

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person or by telephone regarding all issues prior to filing the letter. Going issue-by-issue, the joint

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letter shall describe each unresolved issue, summarize each party’s position with appropriate legal

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authority; and provide each party’s final proposed compromise before moving to the next issue. The

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joint letter shall not exceed ten (10) pages without leave of court. In the rare instance that a joint

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letter is not possible, each side may submit a letter not to exceed four (4) pages, which shall include

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an explanation of why a joint letter was not possible. When appropriate, the parties may submit one

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exhibit to the letter that sets forth each discovery request at issue in full, followed immediately by

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the objections and/or responses thereto. No other information shall be included in any such exhibit.

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No other exhibits shall be submitted without prior approval by the court. The court will review the

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submission(s) and determine whether formal briefing or proceedings are necessary.

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In emergencies during discovery events (such as depositions), any party may, after

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exhausting good faith attempts to resolve disputed issues, seek judicial intervention pursuant to Civil

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L.R. 37-1(b) by contacting the court through the courtroom deputy. If the court is unavailable, the

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discovery event shall proceed with objections noted for the record.

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In the event that a discovery hearing is ordered, the court has found that it is often efficient

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and beneficial for the parties if counsel appear in person. This provides the opportunity, where

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appropriate, to engage counsel in resolving aspects of the discovery dispute while remaining

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available to rule on any disputes that counsel are not able to resolve. For this reason, the court

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expects counsel to appear in person. Permission for a party to attend by telephone may be granted,

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in the court's discretion, upon written request made at least two weeks in advance of the hearing if

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the court determines that good cause exists to excuse personal attendance, and that personal

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attendance is not needed in order to have an effective discovery hearing. The facts establishing good

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cause must be set forth in the request.

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For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

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CHAMBERS COPIES AND PROPOSED ORDERS
All filings relating to a discovery dispute referred to Magistrate Judge Ryu shall list the civil
case number and the district court judge’s initials followed by the designation “(DMR).”
Under Civil L.R. 5-1(b), parties must lodge an extra paper copy of any filing and mark it as a

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copy for “Chambers.” Please three-hole punch the chambers copy and submit it to the Oakland

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Clerk’s Office. In a case subject to electronic filing, chambers copies must be submitted by the

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close of the next court day following the day the papers are filed electronically. Any proposed

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stipulation or proposed order in a case subject to electronic filing shall be submitted by email to

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[e-mail] as a word processing format attachment on the same day that the

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document is e-filed. This address should only be used for this stated purpose unless otherwise

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directed by the court.

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PRIVILEGE LOGS

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If a party withholds information that is responsive to a discovery request by claiming that it

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is privileged or otherwise protected from discovery, that party shall promptly prepare and provide a

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privilege log that is sufficiently detailed and informative for the opposing part(ies) to assess whether

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a document's designation as privileged is justified. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(b)(5). The privilege log

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shall set forth the privilege relied upon and specify separately for each document or for each

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category of similarly situated documents:

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a.

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The title and description of the document, including number of pages or Batesnumber range;

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The subject matter addressed in the document;

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The identity and position of its author(s);

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The identity and position of all addressees and recipients;

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e.

The date the document was prepared and, if different, the date(s) on which it was sent

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The specific basis for the claim that the document is privileged or protected.

Failure to furnish this information promptly may be deemed a waiver of the privilege or protection.
IT IS SO ORDERED.

S
UNIT
ED

Dated: March 9, 2012

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D

RDERE

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IT IS S

DONNA M. RYU
United States Magistrate Judge

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to or shared with persons other than its author(s); and

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