Ogala et al v. Chevron Corporation et al

Filing 122

ORDER, Motions terminated: 121 STIPULATION WITH PROPOSED ORDER RE: Certain Discovery Matters and Continuing the Case Management Conference to April 22, 2016 filed by Chevron Corporation. Further Case Management Conference set for 4/22/2016 03:00 PM in Courtroom 1, 17th Floor, San Francisco.. Signed by Judge Susan Illston on 3/22/16. (tfS, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 3/22/2016)

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Robert A. Mittelstaedt (State Bar No. 60359)
[e-mail]
Caroline N. Mitchell (State Bar No. 143124)
[e-mail]
JONES DAY
555 California Street, 26th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94104
Telephone:
415.626.3939
Facsimile:
415.875.5700
Attorneys for Defendant
CHEVRON CORPORATION

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Jacqueline Perry (State Bar No. 218367)
[e-mail]
Neil J. Fraser (State Bar No. 125651)
[e-mail]
RUFUS-ISAACS, ACLAND & GRANTHAM LLP
232 North Canon Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Telephone:
310.274.3803
Facsimile:
310.860.2430

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Attorneys for Plaintiffs
NATTO IYELA GBARABE, et al.

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION

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NATTO IYELA GBARABE, et al.,
Plaintiffs,

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v.
CHEVRON CORPORATION,
Defendant.

Case No. 14-cv-00173-SI
STIPULATION AND [PROPOSED]
ORDER RE: CERTAIN DISCOVERY
MATTERS AND CONTINUING THE
CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE
TO APRIL 22, 2016
Judge:

Hon. Susan Illston

DATE: March 25, 2016
TIME: 3:00 p.m.
PLACE: Courtroom 1

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TRIAL DATE:

None Set

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ACTION FILED: Jan. 13, 2014

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Stipulation and [Proposed] Order re Certain Matters
CASE NO. 14-CV-00173-SI

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Whereas, the parties have met and conferred on disputed issues and have resolved some of
them and have agreed to continue discussion as to others,

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The parties agree and request the Court to order as follows:

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A.

Depositions Regarding Class Certification Proceedings.

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1.

Each party may depose the experts whose opinions are relied upon in support of or

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opposition to class certification;
2.

Each party may depose any person who provided supporting information on which

an expert relied, such as the laboratories providing test results;
3.

Each party may depose the percipient witnesses whose testimony is offered in

connection with class certification;
4.

Plaintiff agrees to the re-opening of his deposition for an additional day in Nigeria,

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which, by agreement, shall be limited in scope to any additional evidence that has been and will

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be received since plaintiff’s original deposition on December 9, 2015, and which is relevant to the

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pending class certification proceedings;

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5.

The parties agree to the depositions of up to 30 putative class members in Nigeria

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and will work in good faith to agree on an appropriate manner of selecting those class members

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and on deposition logistics that are acceptable to both parties (no obligation is imposed, however,

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to take the depositions), subject to paragraph 10;

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6.

Plaintiff agrees that Chevron may depose the individuals who were listed as named

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plaintiffs in the Third Amended Complaint, either in addition to or as part of the 30 putative class

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members;

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7.

Counsel for each party will accept deposition notices, including duces tecum

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notices, for categories 1-3 and 5-6, without requiring service on the witness and the lack of

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service on the witness will not be a basis for objecting to the discovery;

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8.

The parties agree that each party may depose up to five individuals in addition to

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those listed above, subject to any relevancy objection or an objection to the time and place of the

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deposition, but it will not be the obligation of the other party to produce these additional

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witnesses; and
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Stipulation and [Proposed] Order re Certain Matters
CASE NO. 14-CV-00173-SI

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9.

The number limit on depositions set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 34

shall not apply to the depositions listed above.
10.

By agreeing to the above-listed depositions, plaintiff’s counsel is not representing

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that the witnesses are able to pay for transport to any deposition location outside of Bayelsa State.

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Any financial inability of a witness to attend a deposition will be the subject of good faith

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negotiations between the parties and, if necessary, identification of a replacement witness or

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proceedings before this Court as to the appropriate location for the depositions.

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B.

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Plaintiff agrees to produce documents responsive to the eight categories below by April

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30, 2016. Plaintiff believes that any document so produced should be limited in evidentiary use

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to issues reasonably related to the reasonableness of the investigation of the basis for filing the

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complaint and the first and second amendments and the methodology used in creating or altering

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the claimant list filed as an exhibit to the Second Amended Complaint, including any documents

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indicating that alteration of the original information provided by the claimants may have

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occurred. If, however, defendant seeks to use any such document as relevant to other issues in

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the litigation, the parties will meet and confer in good faith about the applicability of any asserted

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privilege, and submit remaining disputes to the Court to resolve. It is further expressly agreed by

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the parties that the production of these documents pursuant to this stipulation will not be used or

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relied on in any manner by Chevron to allege any full or partial waiver of the attorney/client or

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attorney work product privileges by plaintiff, his counsel, or any other legal representative or

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individual who did or may have had the right to assert privilege protection at the time the

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document in question was generated. This is without prejudice to any argument that waiver has

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otherwise occurred without regard to this production, or plaintiff’s right to oppose any such

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waiver argument. Subject to this, plaintiff will produce documents in his possession, custody, or

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control (including that of his lawyers or agents) responsive to the categories 1-5 and 8 and will

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proceed as described in categories 6 and 7:

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1.

Documents.

The affidavits from plaintiffs named in the Second Amended Complaint that

plaintiffs’ counsel relied on, in part, for the factual basis for lead plaintiffs’ claims as alleged in
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Stipulation and [Proposed] Order re Certain Matters
CASE NO. 14-CV-00173-SI

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the Second Amended Complaint, pursuant to the order of Judge Conti granting the right to

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amend;

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2.

Documents, if any, reflecting or memorializing plaintiff’s own communications

with putative class members;
3.

A document entitled “The Role of the Lead Plaintiffs in a Class Action” prepared

by plaintiffs’ counsel;
4.

All documents relating to the powers of attorney granted by the individual putative

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class members, including representative examples of blank forms, if any, that are in plaintiff’s

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possession or are ascertained and made available by their current custodian; and

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5.

Any documents relating to the creation of, and methodology used in the creation of

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the list of 65,000 putative class members, that was attached to the Second Amended Complaint.

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Plaintiff will also produce any documents relating to the alteration, change or variance of the

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information originally provided by the claimants that may be included in said list, if any such

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items come into plaintiff’s possession, custody or control (including present counsel and former

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counsel – to the extent plaintiff is able to obtain such documents – and plaintiff’s agents).

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It is further stipulated that:

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6.

Plaintiff’s counsel of record will search for and review all communications with

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Foster Ogola and Peter Egbegi, including communications copied to or from Nicholas

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Ekhorutomwen or Peter Egbegi, through a date sometime in 2015 that will be agreed upon by the

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parties in the course of the ongoing meet and confer. Plaintiff will produce all such documents

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responsive to defendant’s prior discovery requests, state if no such responsive documents are in

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the plaintiff’s possession, custody or control, or will identify those documents it is continuing to

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withhold (or portion thereof). If plaintiff’s counsel is not able to produce certain documents but

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knows they exist, they will describe the documents and specify why they cannot be produced;

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7.

Plaintiff’s counsel will search for and review any communications with Elder

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Endure Humphrey Fisei, Fresh Talent, Matthew Kingdom Mieseigha, and Chris Wildred Itonyo,

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if any, including communications copied to or from Nicholas Ekhorutomwen or Peter Egbegi.

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Plaintiff will produce all such documents responsive to defendant’s prior discovery requests, state
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Stipulation and [Proposed] Order re Certain Matters
CASE NO. 14-CV-00173-SI

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if no such responsive documents are in the plaintiff’s possession, custody or control (or portions

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thereof), or will identify those documents it is continuing to withhold. If plaintiff’s counsel is not

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able to produce certain documents but knows they exist, it will describe the documents and

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specify why they cannot be produced; and

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8.

The parties agree to update and supplement all discovery responses previously

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tendered in this litigation with any new or additional documents or other tangible items gathered

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subsequent to the date that initial responses were tendered, without the need to propound any

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further formal requests to obtain that information. The date of exchange shall be on or before

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April 30, 2016.

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The parties are continuing to meet and confer on other issues, including the scope of any

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production relating to the realignment of the case and the funding agreement, and will continue to

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meet and confer in good faith and raise any outstanding issues at the next Case Management

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Conference.

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C.

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In light of these agreements and the ongoing efforts to resolve remaining disputes

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informally, the parties agree to continue the Case Management Conference from March 25, 2016

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to April 22, 2016, or such other date as the Court orders.

Continuation of the Case Management Conference.

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Dated: March 18, 2016

JONES DAY

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By: /s/ Caroline Mitchell
Caroline Mitchell

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Counsel for Defendant
CHEVRON CORPORATION

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Dated: March 18, 2016

RUFUS-ISAACS, ACLAND &
GRANTHAM LLP

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By: /s/ Neil Fraser
Neil Fraser

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Counsel for Plaintiffs
NATTO IYELA GBARABE, et al.

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Stipulation and [Proposed] Order re Certain Matters
CASE NO. 14-CV-00173-SI

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SIGNATURE ATTESTATION
I hereby attest that concurrence in the filing of this document has been obtained from all

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persons whose signatures are indicated by a “conformed” signature (/s/) within this e-filed

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document.

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Dated: March 18, 2016

JONES DAY

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By: /s/ Caroline N. Mitchell
Caroline N. Mitchell

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Counsel for Defendant
CHEVRON CORPORATION

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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3/22/16
Dated: ___________________

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________________________
Honorable Susan Illston

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NAI-1500878627

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Stipulation and [Proposed] Order re Certain Matters
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