Stewart v. Gogo, Inc.

Filing 44

ORDER by Judge Edward M. Chen granting in part and denying in part 38 Plaintiffs' Motion for Administrative Relief (emclc1, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 5/7/2013)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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JAMES STEWART, et al.,

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Plaintiffs,

For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

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No. C-12-5164 EMC

ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND
DENYING IN PART PLAINTIFFS’
MOTION FOR ADMINISTRATIVE
RELIEF

v.
GOGO, INC.,

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Defendant.
(Docket No. 38)

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___________________________________/
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Plaintiffs James Stewart, Joel Milne, and Joseph Strazullo have filed a class action against

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Defendant Gogo, Inc., asserting that it has violated, inter alia, federal antitrust law because it has an

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unlawful monopoly in the “United States market for inflight internet connectivity on domestic

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commercial aircraft.” FAC ¶ 1; see also FAC ¶ 12. Currently pending before the Court is Plaintiffs’

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motion for administrative relief. In the motion, Plaintiffs ask the Court to extend the time for them

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to file their first amended complaint. More specifically, Plaintiffs ask that the deadline be extended

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until two weeks after Gogo has produced all documents responsive to Plaintiffs’ first set of

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document requests.

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In evaluating the request for relief, the Court takes into account the following procedural

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history:

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C

On January 17, 2013, the Court held the initial case management conference in the case. The

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parties agreed to mediate the matter privately within 120 days after a ruling on Gogo’s

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motion to dismiss the first amended complaint. The Court permitted limited written

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discovery in order to facilitate mediation. See Docket No. 24 (civil minutes). As discussed

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below, Plaintiffs did not initiate any discovery until after the Court granted Gogo’s motion to

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dismiss.

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Shortly after the initial case management conference, Gogo filed its motion to dismiss, in

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which it argued, inter alia, that Plaintiffs improperly focused on the number of airplanes that

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were actually equipped to provide internet access. According to Gogo, Plaintiffs should have

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included in their analysis planes that could be equipped. See Docket No. 25 (motion).

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On April 10, 2013, the Court issued an order granting Gogo’s motion to dismiss. The Court

analysis as it appeared that the contracts at issue bound airlines on an aircraft-by-aircraft

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basis, and not, e.g., on an airline-wide basis. See Docket No. 37 (Order at 2). The Court

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For the Northern District of California

agreed with Gogo that planes not actually equipped should be considered as part of the

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United States District Court

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gave Plaintiffs leave to amend by May 10, 2013. See Docket No. 37 (Order at 9).

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On April 22, 2013 – approximately two weeks later – Plaintiffs for the first time served

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document requests on Gogo. See Mot. at 1. In the first request, Plaintiffs asked Gogo to

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produce agreements that Gogo had with airlines pursuant to which Gogo was to offer airline

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Wifi service. In the second request, Plaintiffs asked Gogo to produce documents concerning

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“all airlines’ obligations of exclusive dealing with GOGO.” Katriel Decl., Ex. 2 (Document

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Request No. 2).

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On April 30, 2013 – approximately a week later – Plaintiffs filed their currently pending

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motion in which they ask for the deadline for filing the amended complaint to be deferred

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until after Gogo has produced responsive documents.

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Given the above history, the Court is not without some sympathy for Gogo’s arguments.

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Nevertheless, at the end of the day, it is not persuaded by those arguments. For example, while

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Gogo argues that Plaintiffs should not be allowed to use discovery in the hopes of uncovering a

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claim, that argument fails to take into account that Plaintiffs have developed some evidence

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indicating that at least some of Gogo’s contracts with airlines might not be on an aircraft-by-aircraft

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basis.1 Moreover, the Court previously permitted written discovery for purposes of mediation and, if

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Gogo’s April 2013 SEC filing was not made until after the Court issued its order on the
motion to dismiss.

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that discovery also has relevance for the amended complaint, then, as a practical matter, it makes

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sense for the amended complaint to be filed after the discovery has been provided.

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The Court therefore shall extend the time for Plaintiffs to file an amended complaint until

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two weeks after Gogo has provided responsive documents. At this juncture, however, the Court

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shall require Gogo to produce documents in response to the first document request, and not the

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second. The Court previously permitted only narrowly tailored written discovery, and the second

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document request does not meet this criteria.

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administrative relief.
This order disposes of Docket No. 38.

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For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

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Accordingly, the Court GRANTS in part and DENIES in part Plaintiffs’ motion for

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: May 7, 2013

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_________________________
EDWARD M. CHEN
United States District Judge

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