Maxine Derry et al v. Jackson National Life Insurance Company

Filing 113

DISCOVERY ORDER re 112 Letter Brief filed by Maxine Derry, Russell Hemen. Signed by Judge Maria-Elena James on 11/19/2012. (cdnS, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 11/19/2012)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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MAXINE DERRY, et al.,

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Plaintiffs,

No. C 12-1380 CW (MEJ)
DISCOVERY ORDER

v.
Re: Docket No. 112

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JACKSON NATIONAL LIFE INS. CO.,
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For the Northern District of California

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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Defendant.
_____________________________________/

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Pending before the Court is the parties’ Joint Letter Brief Regarding Discovery Dispute, filed

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November 13, 2012. Dkt. No. 112. In the letter, Plaintiffs request an order compelling Defendant to

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answer Interrogatory No. 2, which asks Defendant to identify all policyholders who incurred a

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surrender charge during the relevant period, and Document Request No. 2, which seeks the same

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information. Because the Court finds the requested discovery will likely provide Plaintiffs an

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opportunity to present evidence as to whether a class action is maintainable, the Court GRANTS

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Plaintiffs’ request for Defendant to identify all policyholders who incurred a surrender charge during

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the relevant period. See, e.g., Algee v. Nordstrom, Inc., 2012 WL 1575314, at 4-5 (N.D. Cal. May 3,

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2012). However, Defendant need only respond to Interrogatory No. 2; Plaintiffs’ document request

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is unnecessarily burdensome at this stage of the litigation. The parties shall meet and confer to craft

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a protective order that limits the use of any contact information to the parties in this litigation and

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protects it from disclosure. The discovery is to be produced to Plaintiffs’ counsel only and to be

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used only in this litigation. Under these circumstances, the potential privacy interests of putative

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class members are adequately balanced.

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If Defendant contends that production shall be overly burdensome given the estimated
number of putative class members, the parties shall meet and confer in person for the purpose of

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determining a reasonable sampling limitation on the number of policyholders disclosed. If unable to

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agree on a reasonable limitation, the parties shall file a joint letter, in compliance with the

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undersigned's discovery standing order and limited solely to the issue of the number of policyholders

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disclosed.

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IT IS SO ORDERED

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Dated: November 19, 2012
_______________________________
Maria-Elena James
Chief United States Magistrate Judge

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For the Northern District of California

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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