Maryland Casualty Company v. Avalon Management LLC et al

Filing 85

CORRECTION OF DOCKET # 82 . AMENDED ORDER Setting Hearing on Motion, ORDER Setting Briefing Schedule and Hearing on 80 Discovery Letter Brief Joint Letter Brief: Motion Hearing set for 2/28/2013 11:00. Signed by Magistrate Judge Donna M. Ryu on 02/12/2013. (dmrlc1, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 2/12/2013)

Download PDF
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 11 For the Northern District of California United States District Court 10 MARYLAND CASUALTY COMPANY, 12 Plaintiff(s), 13 v. 14 AMENDED NOTICE OF REFERENCE AND ORDER RE DISCOVERY PROCEDURES AVALON MANAGEMENT LLC, 15 No. C-11-05640 YGR (DMR) Defendant(s). ___________________________________/ 16 17 TO ALL PARTIES AND COUNSEL OF RECORD: 18 The above matter has been referred to Magistrate Judge Donna M. Ryu for resolution of all 19 discovery disputes. The court is in receipt of the January 24, 2013 joint letter regarding the dispute 20 between Defendant Tiburon Hospitality (“Tiburon”) and Intervenor Sequoia Insurance Company 21 (“Sequoia”) and Avalon Management, LLC (“Avalon”) and Mark Grotewohl, in which 22 Avalon/Grotewohl seek a protective order to prohibit the law firm Burnham Brown from deposing 23 them. [Docket No. 80.] The court has determined that it would benefit from further briefing and a 24 factual record regarding the issues raised in the joint letter. Accordingly, by no later than February 25 8, 2013, Avalon/Grotewohl shall file an opening brief and any supporting declaration(s) specifically 26 addressing the existence of an attorney-client relationship between Avalon/Grotewohl and Burnham 27 Brown, and Avalon/Grotewohl’s entitlement to a protective order on the grounds of the alleged 28 1 conflict. Avalon/Grotewohl’s opening brief shall not exceed 12 pages, double-spaced (exclusive of 2 evidence). By no later than February 14, 2014, Tiburon and Sequoia shall file an opposition that 3 does not exceed 12 pages, double-spaced (exclusive of evidence). Any reply by Avalon/Grotewohl 4 shall be filed by February 19, 2013 and shall not exceed five pages, double-spaced. The court will 5 hold a hearing on this matter on February 28, 2013 at 11:00 a.m. at the U.S. District Court, 1301 6 Clay Street, Oakland, California 94612. For courtroom number and floor information, please check 7 the Court’s on-line calendar at http://www.cand.uscourts.gov (click “Calendars - Judges' Weekly 8 Calendars” link, then select Judge Ryu’s calendar) or call Judge Ryu’s Courtroom Deputy, Ivy 9 Garcia, at (510) 637-3639, one week prior to the scheduled hearing. Parties shall comply with the procedures in this order, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, 11 For the Northern District of California United States District Court 10 and the Northern District of California’s Local Rules, General Orders, and Standing Orders. Local 12 rules, general orders, standing orders, and instructions for using the Court's Electronic Case Filing 13 system are available at http://www.cand.uscourts.gov. Failure to comply with any of the rules or 14 orders may be a ground for sanctions. 15 16 RESOLUTION OF DISCOVERY DISPUTES In order to respond to discovery disputes in a flexible, cost-effective and efficient manner, 17 the court uses the following procedure. The parties shall not file formal discovery motions. Instead, 18 as required by the federal and local rules, the parties shall first meet and confer to try to resolve their 19 disagreements. The meet and confer session must be in person or by telephone, and may not be 20 conducted by letter, e-mail, or fax. If disagreements remain, the parties shall file a joint letter no 21 later than five business days after the meet and confer session, unless otherwise directed by the 22 court. Lead trial counsel for both parties must sign the letter, which shall include an attestation 23 that the parties met and conferred in person or by telephone regarding all issues prior to filing the 24 letter. Going issue-by-issue, the joint letter shall describe each unresolved issue, summarize each 25 party’s position with appropriate legal authority; and provide each party’s final proposed 26 compromise before moving to the next issue. The joint letter shall not exceed ten pages without 27 leave of court. Parties are expected to plan for and cooperate in preparing the joint letter so 28 that each side has adequate time to address the arguments. In the rare instance that a joint letter 2 1 is not possible, each side may submit a letter not to exceed four pages, which shall include an 2 explanation of why a joint letter was not possible. The parties shall submit one exhibit to the letter 3 that only sets forth each disputed discovery request in full, followed immediately by the objections 4 and/or responses thereto. No other information shall be included in any such exhibit. No other 5 exhibits shall be submitted without prior approval by the court. The court will review the 6 submission(s) and determine whether formal briefing or proceedings are necessary. Discovery 7 letter briefs must be e-filed under the Civil Events category of Motions and Related Filings > 8 Motions - General > "Discovery Letter Brief". 9 In the event that a discovery hearing is ordered, the court has found that it is often efficient and beneficial for counsel to appear in person. This provides the opportunity, where appropriate, to 11 For the Northern District of California United States District Court 10 engage counsel in resolving aspects of the discovery dispute while remaining available to rule on 12 any disputes that counsel are not able to resolve. For this reason, the court expects counsel to appear 13 in person. Permission for a party to attend by telephone may be granted, in the court's discretion, 14 upon written request made at least one week in advance of the hearing if the court determines that 15 good cause exists to excuse personal attendance, and that personal attendance is not needed in order 16 to have an effective discovery hearing. The facts establishing good cause must be set forth in the 17 request. 18 In emergencies during discovery events (such as depositions), any party may, after 19 exhausting good faith attempts to resolve disputed issues, seek judicial intervention pursuant to Civil 20 L.R. 37-1(b) by contacting the court through the courtroom deputy. If the court is unavailable, the 21 discovery event shall proceed with objections noted for the record. 22 CHAMBERS COPIES AND PROPOSED ORDERS 23 Pursuant to Civil L.R. 5-1(e)(7) and 5-2(b), parties must lodge an extra paper copy of certain 24 filings and mark it as a copy for “Chambers.” Please three-hole punch the chambers copy and 25 submit it to the Oakland Clerk’s Office. 26 27 Any stipulation or proposed order submitted by an e-filing party shall be submitted by email to dmrpo@cand.uscourts.gov as a word processing attachment on the same day the document is e- 28 3 1 filed. This address should only be used for this stated purpose unless otherwise directed by the 2 court. 3 PRIVILEGE LOGS 4 If a party withholds information that is responsive to a discovery request by claiming that it 5 is privileged or otherwise protected from discovery, that party shall promptly prepare and provide a 6 privilege log that is sufficiently detailed and informative for the opposing party to assess whether a 7 document’s designation as privileged is justified. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(b)(5). The privilege log shall 8 set forth the privilege relied upon and specify separately for each document or for each category of 9 similarly situated documents: (a) the title and description of the document, including number of pages or 11 For the Northern District of California United States District Court 10 Bates-number range; 12 (b) the subject matter addressed in the document; 13 (c) the identity and position of its author(s); 14 (d) the identity and position of all addressees and recipients; 15 (e) the date the document was prepared and, if different, the date(s) on which it was 16 sent to or shared with persons other than its author(s); and 17 (f) the specific basis for the claim that the document is privileged or protected. 18 Communications involving trial counsel that post-date the filing of the complaint need not be 19 placed on a privilege log. Failure to furnish this information promptly may be deemed a waiver of 20 the privilege or protection. 21 22 IT IS SO ORDERED. 23 24 Dated: February 12, 2013 25 DONNA M. RYU United States Magistrate Judge 26 27 28 4

Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.


Why Is My Information Online?