Whitley v. KPH Healthcare Services Inc et al
Filing
33
Discovery Order denying motion to quash without prejudice and providing notice of discovery dispute procedures. (lblc4, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 5/9/2022)
Case 4:22-mc-80108-EMC Document 33 Filed 05/09/22 Page 1 of 6
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
10
San Francisco Division
United States District Court
Northern District of California
11
RICHARD WHITLEY,
12
Plaintiff,
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO
QUASH WITHOUT PREJUDICE
v.
13
14
KPH HEALTHCARE SERVICES, INC., et
al.,
15
Case No. 4:22-mc-80108-EMC (LB)
Re: ECF Nos. 1 and 31
Defendants.
16
The district judge referred Richard Whitley’s motion to quash (ECF No. 1) to the
17
18
undersigned.1 The court denies the motion without prejudice and orders the parties to comply with
19
the dispute procedures in the undersigned’s standing order (attached). The procedures in it require,
20
among other things, that if a meet-and-confer by other means does not resolve the parties’ dispute,
21
lead counsel for the parties must meet and confer in person (if counsel are local) and then submit a
22
joint letter brief with information about any unresolved disputes. The letter brief must be filed
23
under the Civil Events category of “Motions and Related Filings > Motions – General > Discovery
24
Letter Brief.” After reviewing the joint letter brief, the court will evaluate whether future
25
proceedings are necessary, including any further briefing or argument. In the related case, the
26
27
1
28
Order of Reference, ECF No. 31. Citations refer to material in the Electronic Case File (ECF);
pinpoint citations are to the ECF-generated page numbers at the top of documents.
ORDER – No. 22-mc-80108-EMC (LB)
Case 4:22-mc-80108-EMC Document 33 Filed 05/09/22 Page 2 of 6
1
court recently addressed a similar dispute. Order, ECF Nos. 950 (sealed) and 952 (redacted)
2
(denying motion to quash non-party subpoena to former board member Dr. John Cogan).2
3
IT IS SO ORDERED.
4
Dated: May 9, 2022
______________________________________
LAUREL BEELER
United States Magistrate Judge
5
6
7
8
9
10
United States District Court
Northern District of California
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
2
Staley et al. v. Gilead Sciences, Inc. et al., No. 3:19-cv-02573-EMC (LB).
ORDER – No. 22-mc-80108-EMC (LB)
2
Case 4:22-mc-80108-EMC Document 33 Filed 05/09/22 Page 3 of 6
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION
1
2
STANDING ORDER FOR
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE LAUREL BEELER
(Effective October 27, 2021)
3
4
5
Parties must comply with the procedures in the Federal Rules of Civil and Criminal Procedure,
6
the local rules, the general orders, this standing order, and the Northern District’s standing order
7
for civil cases titled “Contents of Joint Case Management Statement.” These rules and a summary
8
of electronic-filing requirements (including the procedures for emailing proposed orders to
9
chambers) are available at http://www.cand.uscourts.gov (click “Rules” or “ECF-PACER”). A
failure to comply with any of the rules may be a ground for monetary sanctions, dismissal, entry of
11
United States District Court
Northern District of California
10
judgment, or other appropriate sanctions.
12
I. CALENDAR DATES AND SCHEDULING
13
Motions are heard each Thursday: civil motions at 9:30 a.m. and criminal motions at 10:30
14
a.m. Case-management conferences are every Thursday: criminal cases at 10:30 a.m. and civil
15
cases at 11:00 a.m. Parties must notice motions under the local rules and need not reserve a
16
hearing date in advance if the date is available on the court’s calendar (click “Calendars” at
17
http://www.cand.uscourts.gov). Depending on its schedule, the court may reset or vacate hearings.
18
Please call courtroom deputy Elaine Kabiling at (415) 522-3140 with scheduling questions.
19
II. CHAMBERS COPIES
20
The parties must lodge a paper “Chambers” copy of any filing with exhibits or attachments
21
unless another format makes more sense (such as for spreadsheets, pictures, or exhibits that are
22
better lodged electronically). Paper copies must be printed on both sides and three-hole punched,
23
and they must be the electronically filed copies with the PACER/ECF-generated header (with the
24
case number, docket number, date, and ECF page number). Exhibits must be tabbed. Parties do
25
not need to submit copies of certificates of service, certificates of interested entities or persons,
26
consents or declinations to the court’s jurisdiction, stipulations that do not require a court order
27
(see Civil Local Rule 6-1), or notices of appearance or substitution of counsel. Please read Civil
28
Local Rule 79-5 regarding the requirements for filing documents under seal and providing copies.
STANDING ORDER
Case 4:22-mc-80108-EMC Document 33 Filed 05/09/22 Page 4 of 6
1
2
III. CIVIL DISCOVERY
1. Evidence Preservation. After a party has notice of this order, it must take the steps needed
3
to preserve information relevant to the issues in this action, including suspending any document-
4
destruction programs (including destruction programs for electronically maintained material).
5
2. Production of Documents In Original Form. When searching for material under Federal
6
Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(1) or after a Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 34(a) request, parties
7
(a) must search all locations — electronic and otherwise — where responsive materials might
8
plausibly exist, and (b) to the extent feasible, produce or make available for copying and/or
9
inspection the materials in their original form, sequence, and organization (including, for example,
10
United States District Court
Northern District of California
11
file folders).
3. Privilege Logs. If a party withholds material as privileged, see Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(5) and
12
45(d)(2)(A), it must produce a privilege log that is sufficiently detailed for the opposing party to
13
assess whether the assertion of privilege is justified. The log must be produced as quickly as
14
possible but no later than fourteen days after the party’s disclosures or discovery responses are due
15
unless the parties stipulate to, or the court sets, another date. Unless the parties agree to a different
16
logging method, privilege logs must contain the following: (a) the title and description of the
17
document, the number of pages, and the Bates-number range; (b) the subject matter or general
18
nature of the document (without disclosing its contents); (c) the identity and position of its author;
19
(d) the date it was communicated (or prepared, if that is the more relevant date); (e) the identity
20
and position of all addressees and recipients of the communication; (f) the document’s present
21
location; (g) the specific basis for the assertion that the document is privileged or protected
22
(including a brief summary of any supporting facts); and (h) the steps taken to ensure the
23
confidentiality of the communication, including an affirmation that no unauthorized persons
24
received the communication.
25
4. Expedited Procedures for Discovery Disputes. The parties may not file formal discovery
26
motions. Instead, and as required by the federal rules and local rules, the parties must meet and
27
confer to try to resolve their disagreements. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(a)(1); Civil L. R. 37-1. Counsel
28
may confer initially by email, letter, or telephone to try to narrow their disputes. After trying those
STANDING ORDER
2
Case 4:22-mc-80108-EMC Document 33 Filed 05/09/22 Page 5 of 6
means, lead trial counsel then must meet and confer in person to try to resolve the dispute. (If
2
counsel are located outside of the Bay Area and cannot confer in person, lead counsel may meet
3
and confer by telephone.) Either party may demand such a meeting with ten days’ notice. If the
4
parties cannot agree on the location, the location for meetings will alternate. The plaintiff’s
5
counsel will select the first location, defense counsel will select the second location, and so forth.
6
If the parties do not resolve their disagreements through this procedure, lead counsel must file a
7
joint letter brief no later than five days after lead counsels’ in-person meet-and-confer. The letter
8
brief must be filed under the Civil Events category of “Motions and Related Filings > Motions —
9
General > Discovery Letter Brief.” It may be no more than five pages (12-point font or greater,
10
margins of no less than one inch) without leave of the court. Lead counsel for both parties must
11
United States District Court
Northern District of California
1
sign the letter and attest that they met and conferred in person. Each issue must be set forth in a
12
separate section that includes (1) a statement of the unresolved issue, (2) a summary of each
13
parties’ position (with citations to supporting facts and legal authority), and (3) each party’s final
14
proposed compromise. (This process allows a side-by-side, stand-alone analysis of each disputed
15
issue.) If the disagreement concerns specific discovery that a party has propounded, such as
16
interrogatories, requests for production of documents, or answers or objections to such discovery,
17
the parties must reproduce the question/request and the response in full either in the letter or, if the
18
page limits in the letter are not sufficient, in a single joint exhibit. The court then will review the
19
letter brief and determine whether formal briefing or future proceedings are necessary. In
20
emergencies during discovery events such as depositions, the parties may contact the court
21
through the court’s courtroom deputy pursuant to Civil Local Rule 37-1(b) but first must send a
22
short joint email describing the nature of the dispute to lbpo@cand.uscourts.gov.
23
IV. CONSENT CASES
24
1. In cases that are assigned to Judge Beeler for all purposes, the parties must file their written
25
consent or declination of consent to the assignment of a United States Magistrate Judge for all
26
purposes as soon as possible. If a party files a dispositive motion (such as a motion to dismiss or a
27
motion for remand), the moving party must file the consent or declination simultaneously with the
28
motion, and the party opposing the motion must file the consent or declination simultaneously
STANDING ORDER
3
Case 4:22-mc-80108-EMC Document 33 Filed 05/09/22 Page 6 of 6
1
with the opposition.
2
2. The first joint case-management conference statement in a case must contain all of the
3
information in the Northern District’s standing order titled “Contents of Joint Case Management
4
Statement.” Subsequent statements for further case-management conferences must not repeat
5
information contained in an earlier statement and instead must report only progress or changes
6
since the last case-management conference and any new recommendations for case management.
7
V. SUMMARY-JUDGMENT MOTIONS
8
The parties may not file separate statements of undisputed facts. See Civil L. R. 56-2. Joint
statements of undisputed facts are not required but are helpful. Any joint statement must include
10
— for each undisputed fact — citations to admissible evidence. A joint statement generally must
11
United States District Court
Northern District of California
9
be filed with the opening brief, and the briefs should cite to that statement. A reasonable process
12
for drafting a joint statement is as follows: (1) two weeks before the filing date, the moving party
13
proposes its undisputed facts, and (2) one week later, the responding party replies and the parties
14
meet and confer about any disagreements. For oppositions, a responding party may propose
15
additional undisputed facts to the moving party within seven days after the motion is filed and ask
16
for a response within two business days.
17
IT IS SO ORDERED.
18
______________________________________
LAUREL BEELER
United States Magistrate Judge
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
STANDING ORDER
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?