Campbell v. Feld Entertainment, Inc et al
Filing
185
ORDER by Judge Lucy H. Koh denying 179 Motion (lhklc3S, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 9/15/2014)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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United States District Court
For the Northern District of California
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SAN JOSE DIVISION
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SHANNON CAMPBELL,
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Plaintiff,
v.
FELD ENTERTAINMENT, INC., et al.,
Defendants.
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MARK ENNIS,
Plaintiff,
v.
FELD ENTERTAINMENT, INC., et al.,
Defendants.
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Case Nos.: 12-CV-04233-LHK
13-CV-00233-LHK
ORDER DENYING SHANNON
CAMPBELL’S MOTION FOR RELIEF
FROM NON-DISPOSITIVE PRETRIAL
ORDER OF MAGISTRATE JUDGE
Plaintiffs Shannon Campbell (“Campbell”) and Mark Ennis (“Ennis”) (collectively,
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“Plaintiffs”) bring this action against Defendants Feld Entertainment, Inc., doing business as
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Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, and several employees thereof (collectively,
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“Defendants” or “FEI”), for assault, battery, and interference with their rights arising from
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numerous incidents in which Plaintiffs were allegedly harassed while protesting FEI’s circus
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events. Campbell now moves for partial relief from Magistrate Judge Lloyd’s August 5, 2014
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Order, (“August 5 Order”) ECF No. 178, resolving numerous discovery disputes between the
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Case Nos.: 12-CV-04233-LHK; 13-CV-00233-LHK
ORDER DENYING SHANNON CAMPBELL’S MOTION FOR RELIEF FROM NON-DISPOSITIVE PRETRIAL
ORDER OF MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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parties. (“Mot.”) ECF No. 179. Defendants have not filed a response, and the time in which to
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respond has now passed. Having considered Campbell’s submission and the relevant law, the Court
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hereby DENIES Campbell’s Motion for Relief.
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I.
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PROCEDURAL HISTORY
On May 5, 2014, Defendants submitted Unilateral Discovery Dispute Report #4 to Judge
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Lloyd, which reported, among other things, that Campbell had refused to fully comply with various
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requests for production of videos depicting interactions between Campbell and fellow members of
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the animal rights group Humanity Through Education (“HTE”) and Defendants. ECF No. 165.
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Campbell filed a Response to Defendants’ Report on May 12, 2014. ECF No. 167. In her
United States District Court
For the Northern District of California
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Response, Campbell took the position that Defendants’ video production requests were “grossly
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overly broad” and threatened Campbell’s and HTE members’ First Amendment rights. Id. at 2.
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Campbell further represented that she had produced all videos depicting the incidents specifically
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identified in her complaint. Id.
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Judge Lloyd issued a ruling on this discovery dispute on August 5, 2014. Aug. 5 Order. In
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the August 5 Order, Judge Lloyd concluded that although Defendants’ original requests for
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production of videos were overbroad, Campbell was nevertheless required to produce additional
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videos beyond those depicting the specific incidents identified in Campbell’s complaint. Id. at 9
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(“[P]revious interactions between the parties are potentially relevant, and requests to produce
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videos depicting these previous interactions, albeit requests more narrowly tailored than FEI’s are
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here, are reasonably calculated to discover admissible evidence.”). Accordingly, Judge Lloyd
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ordered Campbell to “produce videos depicting public protests of FEI circus events which were
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filmed by Campbell or Ennis or in which Campbell or Ennis appear.” Id. Campbell filed the instant
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Motion for Relief on August 19, 2014. Mot.
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II.
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LEGAL STANDARD
A district court may designate any non-dispositive pretrial matter to be determined by a
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magistrate judge, whose ruling on the matter will be modified or set aside only if “clearly
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erroneous or contrary to law.” 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(A); see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(a); Grimes v.
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Case Nos.: 12-CV-04233-LHK; 13-CV-00233-LHK
ORDER DENYING SHANNON CAMPBELL’S MOTION FOR RELIEF FROM NON-DISPOSITIVE PRETRIAL
ORDER OF MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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City & Cnty. of S.F., 951 F.2d 236, 241 (9th Cir. 1991). In reviewing for clear error, the district
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judge may not simply substitute his or her judgment for that of the magistrate judge. See Grimes,
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951 F.2d at 241. Rather, a magistrate judge’s non-dispositive ruling is clearly erroneous only when
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the district court is left with a “definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed.”
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Burdick v. Comm’r Internal Rev. Serv., 979 F.2d 1369, 1370 (9th Cir. 1992); see also United States
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v. Abonce-Barrera, 257 F.3d 959, 969 (9th Cir. 2001) (noting that a magistrate judge’s decisions
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with regard to discovery disputes and other non-dispositive matters are entitled to great deference).
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“[A]ny motion not listed [under § 636(b)(1)(A) ], nor analogous to a motion listed in this category,
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falls within the non-dispositive group of matters which a magistrate may determine.” Maisonville
United States District Court
For the Northern District of California
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v. F2 Am., Inc., 902 F.2d 746, 748 (9th Cir. 1990).
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III.
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DISCUSSION
Campbell objects to the August 5 Order as overbroad. Mot. at 4. As Campbell sees it,
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“videos depicting public protests of FEi circus events which were filmed by Campbell or Ennis or
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in which Campbell or Ennis appear” could encompass video footage that does not depict
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interactions between Campbell and/or Ennis and Defendants and that is therefore irrelevant to the
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claims and disputes in this case. Id. Campbell further appears to suggest that the August 5 Order is
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actually too narrow. Specifically, Campbell contends that certain interactions between the parties,
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such as interactions that occur during the “animal walks,” do not constitute “public protests,” and
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are thus not covered by the August 5 Order. Id.
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The Court is not persuaded that the August 5 Order is overbroad. The standard for
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discovery under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(1) is intentionally broad and excludes only
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discovery that is not “reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.”
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Oppenheimer Fund, Inc. v. Sanders, 437 U.S. 340, 352 (1978) (internal quotation marks
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omitted). Campbell fails to show that the August 5 Order violates this liberal standard. Given that a
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video of a public protest of one of FEI’s circus events that was either filmed by Campbell or Ennis
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or in which Campbell or Ennis appears, by definition, constitutes an interaction between the
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parties, such video footage is likely to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence, as the history
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Case Nos.: 12-CV-04233-LHK; 13-CV-00233-LHK
ORDER DENYING SHANNON CAMPBELL’S MOTION FOR RELIEF FROM NON-DISPOSITIVE PRETRIAL
ORDER OF MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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of Plaintiffs’ protest activities at FEI circus events is central to Defendants’ defense theory that
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Campbell and Ennis “ incite altercations at the protests to manufacture claims against the circus.”
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Aug. 5 Order at 3. The Court therefore concludes that the August 5 Order is not clearly erroneous
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and thus DENIES Campbell’s Motion for Relief.
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After all the litigation in the instant case about the San Jose animal walks, the Court was
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surprised to see that Plaintiff claims that her activities at the San Jose animal walks do not
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constitute “public protests.” Although concrete disputes about specific discovery should be brought
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before Judge Lloyd, the Court hereby advises Plaintiff that she should not use an overly narrow
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definition of “public protests” and must comply fully with her discovery obligations pursuant to
United States District Court
For the Northern District of California
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Judge Lloyd’s August 5 Order.
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IV.
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CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, Campbell’s Motion for Relief from a Non-Dispositive Pretrial
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Order of a Magistrate Judge is DENIED.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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Dated: September 15, 2014
_________________________________
LUCY H. KOH
United States District Judge
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Case Nos.: 12-CV-04233-LHK; 13-CV-00233-LHK
ORDER DENYING SHANNON CAMPBELL’S MOTION FOR RELIEF FROM NON-DISPOSITIVE PRETRIAL
ORDER OF MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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