Liu et al v. Win Woo Trading, LLC et al

Filing 178

ORDER re 128 MOTION for Sanctions against Safety Trucking Defendants and their Attorney of Record filed by Pei Xiong Lin, Kuang Xuan Liu. Status Report due by 5/16/2016. Signed by Judge Kandis A. Westmore on 5/9/2016. (kawlc1, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 5/9/2016)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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KUANG XUAN LIU, et al.,

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Case No. 14-cv-02639-KAW

Plaintiffs,
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ORDER REGARDING PLAINTIFFS'
MOTION FOR SANCTIONS AGAINST
SAFETY TRUCKING DEFENDANTS

v.
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WIN WOO TRADING, LLC, et al.,

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Defendants.

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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On May 5, 2016, the Court held a hearing on Plaintiffs’ motion for sanctions against

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Defendants Safety Trucking, Jia Tun Zheng, and attorney Leon Jew. At the hearing, Mr. Jew

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informed the Court that his clients were terminating his legal representation effective the end of

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the business day.
On April 28, 2016, the Court ordered Defendants to produce the original time reports and

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original corrected time reports for all truck drivers, dated prior to November 16, 2011, for

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inspection and copying at a mutually agreeable location within 14 days of this order, which is May

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12, 2016. (Dkt. No. 173.) At the hearing, the parties informed the Court that the date agreed upon

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for the production and inspection was May 10, 2016, but that the parties were not sure whether the

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inspection would go forward in light of Mr. Jew’s termination as counsel. Corporate entities

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cannot appear in court without an attorney, so the undersigned is concerned that Defendants may

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have terminated their counsel in an effort to further obstruct Plaintiffs’ discovery efforts.1

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Furthermore, Safety Trucking’s failure to retain counsel may result in entry of default against it.
Accordingly, the Court will not rule on the pending motion for sanctions until Defendants’

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The Court’s concern arises out of Defendants’ repeated failure to comply with their discovery
obligations to be addressed in a separate order.

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time for compliance with the prior court order—May 12, 2016—has passed. Failure to comply

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with the prior court order for inspection may result in the imposition of monetary and terminating

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sanctions. Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(b)(2).

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Accordingly, the parties shall file a joint status report, on or before May 16, 2016, to

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inform the court (1) whether the inspection took place, and (2) whether the production was

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complete. If Defendants are truly no longer represented by counsel, Plaintiffs may file their own

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status report.

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Defense counsel shall serve a copy of this order on his clients.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: May 9, 2016
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KANDIS A. WESTMORE
United States Magistrate Judge

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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