Bush et al v. FedEx Freight, Inc.
Filing
120
ORDER granting 69 Motion for Attorney Fees. ORDERED that Defendant shall file an affidavit in support of the award of fees and costs in accordance with D.C.COLO.LCivR 54.3B. on or before September 23, 2013. Plaintiffs may respond on or before October 4, 2013. No reply will be permitted by Magistrate Judge Kristen L. Mix on 08/22/13.(jjhsl, )
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
Civil Action No. 12-cv-00230-WYD-KLM
CHARLES BUSH,
BRAD GRIMSLEY,
MARK L. HANSON, and
JOHN F. NOBLE, all individuals residing in Colorado,
Plaintiffs,
v.
FEDEX FREIGHT, INC., an Arkansas corporation doing business in Colorado,
Defendant.
_____________________________________________________________________
ORDER
_____________________________________________________________________
ENTERED BY MAGISTRATE JUDGE KRISTEN L. MIX
This matter is before the Court on Defendant’s Motion for Award of Fees and
Expenses Relating to Additional Discovery [Docket No. 69; Filed March 17, 2013] (the
“Motion”). On April 11, 2013, Plaintiffs filed a Response to the Motion [#87]. On April 29,
2013, Defendant filed a Reply [#88].
Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(A) and
D.C.COLO.LCivR 72.1C., the Motion was referred to this Court for recommendation [#71].
The Court has reviewed the Motion, the Response, the Reply, the entire docket, and the
applicable law, and is sufficiently advised in the premises. For the reasons set forth below,
the Motion is GRANTED.
I. Background
Plaintiffs’ Complaint asserts claims for alleged age discrimination and retaliation
against Defendant FedEx Freight, Inc. (“Defendant”), arising from “the suspension,
-1-
demotion, and/or discharge of [Plaintiffs], purportedly for accidents that occurred while they
were driving [as employees of Defendant].” Compl. [#1] at 1. Plaintiffs, all of whom were
over forty years of age when employed by Defendant, allege that younger “drivers who
were involved in similar or even more serious accidents . . . were not suspended from
driving, and/or did not suffer the other adverse actions to which [Plaintiffs] were subjected.”
Id. at 1-2.
In their responses to interrogatories and document requests, Plaintiffs initially
identified eleven drivers who Plaintiffs contend support their claims of age discrimination.
Motion [#69] ¶ 3. Plaintiffs indicated in their response to Interrogatory No. 9 that these
eleven drivers were all under the age of 40, had allegedly been involved in rollover
accidents, and had allegedly been treated more leniently than Plaintiffs in the resulting
safety review process. Id.; Def. Ex. 1, Bush Resp. To Interrogatories [#69-1] at 4; Def. Ex.
2, Additional Resps. To Interrogatories [#69-2] at 4, 11, 18. These responses repeatedly
assert that “discovery in this case is ongoing and, thus far, incomplete[,]” in part because
“Plaintiffs have not had the opportunity fully to review discovery responses and
accompanying documents from [Defendant] yet.” Def. Ex. 1, Bush Resp. To Interrogatories
[#69-1] at 2, 5, 6; Def. Ex. 2, Additional Resps. To Interrogatories [#69-2] at 2, 5, 9, 12, 17,
19.
Defendant “conducted depositions, written discovery, and prepared expert reports
in reliance upon Plaintiffs’ [interrogatory] Responses.” Motion [#69] ¶ 11. “In addition,
[Defendant] deposed five of the [eleven] individuals Plaintiffs identified in their discovery
responses as potential witnesses that would support their claims.” Id. Defendant also
retained Mr. John Hill, an expert in motor carrier safety, “to evaluate whether Plaintiffs were
-2-
treated consistently in the disqualification review process with how the [eleven witnesses]
identified by Plaintiffs [in their interrogatory responses] were treated.” Id. ¶ 12. Defendant
“also conducted the deposition of Plaintiffs’ accident reconstruction expert, Mr. Jerry
Ogden, concerning his evaluation of how some of these drivers were treated.” Id.
On February 22, 2013, the Court held a telephonic discovery hearing to address
discovery issues raised by both parties. Minute Entry [#58]. Among other issues, the Court
addressed Defendant’s oral Motion to Strike witnesses and evidence endorsed or disclosed
by Plaintiffs after the discovery cutoff in early January. Id. at 1; Tr. of Telephonic Disc.
Hearing (“Hearing Tr.”) [#77] at 31. Defendant argued that after the discovery cutoff,
Plaintiffs disclosed for the first time “the names of nine additional drivers that Plaintiffs
contend were either additional examples of drivers under the age of 40 who were allegedly
treated more leniently or who[m] Plaintiffs contend had knowledge relating to Plaintiffs’
claims.” Motion [#69] ¶ 4. The Court found that Defendant had been prejudiced, but
denied Defendant’s Motion to Strike these witnesses, instead extending the discovery
deadline to April 15th, 2013, and the dispositive motion deadline to May 15th, 2013, in
order to permit Defendant to conduct discovery relating to this evidence. Hearing Tr. [#77]
at 44-45; see Minute Order [#72] at 1 (“The Court’s previous ruling to reopen discovery was
for the limited purpose of allowing the Defendant to conduct discovery to address the
prejudice which Defendant had suffered as a result of the late disclosure of evidence to be
utilized by the Plaintiffs.”). At the conclusion of the hearing, when Defendant’s counsel
asked if Defendant would be permitted to “submit a request for fees in connection with
having to go back and conduct the additional discovery,” the Court informed Defendant that
it “may make any such motion in writing and [that P]laintiff [would] have an opportunity to
-3-
respond.” Id. at 46.
Defendant seeks reasonable expenses, including attorneys’ and experts’ fees and
costs, that it claims it will incur “as a result of conducting discovery, and obtaining a revised
report from Defendant’s expert, John Hill, relating to the late disclosures.” Motion [#69] ¶
6. Referring to the late disclosed witnesses and evidence collectively as the “New
Evidence,” Defendant alleges that its expenses will include:
a. Fees and costs relating to reopening the depositions of Plaintiffs for the
purpose of inquiring into issues relating to the New Evidence;
b. Fees and costs relating to the depositions of at least some of the nine late
disclosed witnesses and/or the two witnesses disclosed just one day before
the discovery cutoff; and
c. Fees and costs relating to supplementation of FXFI’s expert disclosures
to address information relating to the New Evidence, including any expert
witness fees incurred in analyzing the New Evidence and supplementing
Defendant’s expert reports.
Id. Defendant does not address what these expenses will amount to, and instead assures
the Court that if the Motion is granted, Defendant “will submit a supplemental statement
and supporting documentation detailing the amount of fees incurred once the discovery has
been completed.” Id. ¶ 23; see Reply [#88] at 10.
Plaintiffs respond by arguing that the Motion is baseless and moot for several
reasons. Response [#87] at 1. First, Plaintiffs allege that “[a] party is not entitled to
attorney[s’] fees and costs related to a motion on which it does not prevail,” and that the
Court’s denial of Defendant’s oral Motion to Strike the late disclosed evidence forecloses
the possibility of recovering attorneys’ fees and costs related to the evidence. Id. at 1; see
id. at 3. Second, Plaintiffs also argue that the requested expenses are exaggerated,
unreasonable, and unnecessary. Id. at 2; see id. at 4-8. Third, Plaintiffs allege that “any
-4-
prejudice the Court found in Plaintiffs’ late supplemental disclosures has already been
corrected” by the extension of unilateral discovery and the dispositive motion deadline. Id.
at 3; see id. at 8-9. Fourth, Plaintiffs allege that the Motion has been brought in bad faith,
either as “an attempt to intimidate Plaintiffs and drive up their costs, [or] an attempt to
bolster the plainly deficient report prepared by [Defendant’s] proffered safety expert [in
response to] Plaintiffs[’] ripe and pending Daubert Motion to exclude him.” Id. at 3; see id.
at 9-10. In reply, Defendant argues that Plaintiffs’ arguments are without merit for the
purpose of the present Motion because they do not challenge the Court’s authority to grant
the relief sought. Reply [#88] at 3. Defendant asserts that “these arguments are red
herrings intended to deflect attention from Plaintiffs’ inability to deny the crucial facts
entitling [Defendant] to the relief it requests.” Id.
II. Analysis
A.
Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a) and (e)
Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1)(A) requires, with some exceptions inapplicable here, that
“a party must, without awaiting a discovery request, provide to the other parties . . . the
name and, if known, the address and telephone number of each individual likely to have
discoverable information—along with the subjects of that information—that the disclosing
party may use to support its claims or defenses.” These disclosures must be made “at or
within 14 days after the parties’ Rule 26(f) conference.” Fed. R. Civ .P. 26(a)(1)(C).
Litigants’ disclosure obligations do not cease after initial compliance with the Rule,
however. “A party who has made a disclosure under Rule 26(a) . . . must supplement or
correct its disclosure or response . . . in a timely manner if the party learns that in some
material respect the disclosure or response is incomplete or incorrect . . . .” Fed. R. Civ.
-5-
P. 26(e).
The Court need only briefly address Plaintiffs’ argument that the Court’s denial of
Defendant’s oral Motion to Strike bars Defendant from receiving the relief it requests.
Response [#87] at 3. While the wholesale exclusion of Plaintiffs’ late disclosures would
have been an inappropriate remedy, there is no doubt that the late disclosures violated
Rule 26. See Adams v. Cline Agency, Inc., No. 10-cv-02758-WJM-KLM, 2013 WL
2444696, at *4 (D. Colo. Jun. 5, 2013). “The failure to disclose witnesses prior to the close
of discovery, which effectively forecloses the opposing party from conducting discovery on
the supplemental disclosures, constitutes a violation of Rule 26,” and the Court’s selection
of a remedy less severe than complete exclusion of the evidence does not alter the fact
that a violation did occur.
Four Corners Nephrology Assoc., P.C. v. Mercy, No.
05-CV-02084, 2007 WL 1613352 at *1 (D. Colo. June 1, 2007) (citing Owner-Operator
Indep. Driver Assoc., Inc. v. USIS Commercial Servs., Inc., No. 04RB1384, 2006 WL
2331003, at *1 (D. Colo. 2006)); cf. Brockmann v. Bd. of Cnty. Comm’rs, 404 F. App’x 271,
288 (10th Cir. 2010) (“The fact that [the p]laintiffs had already provided the information in
another form does not relieve [the p]laintiffs of their obligation to comply with Rule 36(a)(4);
instead, this fact goes to the amount of reasonable expenses the requesting party could
demand.”). Rule 37(c) “vests the court with discretion to impose ‘other appropriate
sanctions’ in addition to or in lieu of an order striking witnesses or evidence not properly
disclosed,” and the fact that the Court has chosen not to strike the newly identified
witnesses does not foreclose the possibility of ‘other appropriate sanctions.’ Sender v.
Mann, 225 F.R.D. 645, 656 (D. Colo. 2004). Plaintiffs cite no authority, binding or
persuasive, to the contrary. See Response [#87] at 3. Thus, the Court proceeds to
-6-
consider whether Rule 37(c) sanctions are appropriate in this case.
B.
Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(c)
Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(c)(1), violation of Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a) or 26(e) may
provide additional grounds for sanctions, at the discretion of the Court. Such sanctions
may include “payment of the reasonable expenses, including attorney’s fees, caused by
the failure” to identify a witness as required by Rule 26(a) or (e). Fed. R. Civ. P.
37(c)(1)(A). In considering what sanctions to impose, the Court must bear in mind the
rationale and purposes to be served by sanctions, including: (1) deterring future litigation
abuse; (2) punishing present litigation abuse; (3) compensating victims of litigation abuse;
and (4) streamlining court dockets and facilitating case management. See Hirpa v. IHC
Hosps., Inc., 50 F. App’x 928, 932 (10th Cir. 2002) (citing Woodworker’s Supply, Inc. v.
Principal Mut. Life Ins. Co., 170 F.3d 985, 993 (10th Cir. 1999)); White v. Gen. Motors
Corp., 908 F.2d 675, 683 (10th Cir. 1990).1 “Rule 37 sanctions must be applied diligently
both ‘to penalize those whose conduct may be deemed to warrant such a sanction, [and]
to deter those who might be tempted to such conduct in the absence of such a deterrent.’”
Roadway Exp., Inc. v. Piper, 447 U.S. 752, 763-64 (1980) (citing Nat’l Hockey League v.
Metro. Hockey Club, 427 U.S. 639, 643 (1976)). “Where preclusion of the undisclosed
evidence is not a proper sanction, the appropriate alternative sanction should be in keeping
with the significance of the violation.” Trattler v. Citron, 182 P.3d 674, 683 (Colo. 2008).
“The sanctions available under Rule 37(c) are often described as ‘self executing’ and
‘automatic.’” Adams, 2013 WL 2444696, at *2 (citing Steven S. Gensler, Federal Rules of
1
Although White involved sanctions under Rule 11, its principles and policy interests apply
equally to sanctions under Rules 26 and 37.
-7-
Civil Procedure, Rules and Commentary Rule 37 (2012)). However, in addressing Rule 37
generally, the Tenth Circuit has made clear that “[t]he protections and sanctions found in
the discovery rules are not absolute and contemplate the use of judicial discretion.”
Marshall v. Ford Motor Co., 446 F.2d 712, 713 (10th Cir. 1971); see also Woodworker’s
Supply, 170 F.3d at 993 (recognizing that Rule 37(c) vests broad discretion with the trial
court); Yeti by Molly, Ltd. v. Deckers Outdoor Corp., 259 F.3d 1101, 1106 (9th Cir. 2001)
(noting that the district court’s discretion should be given particularly wide latitude in
imposing sanctions under Rule 37(c)(1)); Ortiz-Lopez v. Sociedad Espanola de Auxilio
Mutuo Y Beneficiencia de Puerto Rico, 248 F.3d 29, 34 (1st Cir. 2001) (holding that district
courts have broad discretion in meting out Rule 37(c) sanctions for Rule 26 violations).
Therefore, although Rule 37(c) refers to Rule 37(b)(2)(A)(I)-(v), which provides a list of
potential options for a court’s consideration in fashioning an appropriate sanction, the
determination of an appropriate sanction is left to the sound discretion of the court, limited
only by the requirements that the sanction be “just,” and “related to the particular claim” at
issue. See Olcott v. Del. Flood Co., 76 F.3d 1538, 1555 (10th Cir. 1996); Ehrenhaus v.
Reynolds, 965 F.2d 916, 920-21 (10th Cir. 1992)
To avoid sanctions, the non-moving party has the burden of showing that it was
substantially justified in failing to comply with Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a) and that such failure was
harmless. See Hirpa, 50 F. App’x at 932 (“Our analysis will focus exclusively on whether
the district court abused its discretion in determining that the Hospital met its burden of
demonstrating, under Rule 37(c)(1), that the failure to disclose the existence of the autopsy
slides was substantially justified and harmless.”); Sender, 225 F.R.D. at 655 (citation
omitted). In construing Rule 37(c)(1), the Tenth Circuit has held that:
-8-
[a] district court need not make explicit findings concerning the existence of
a substantial justification or the harmlessness of a failure to disclose.
Nevertheless, the following factors should guide its discretion: (1) the
prejudice or surprise to the party against whom the testimony is offered; (2)
the ability of the party to cure the prejudice; (3) the extent to which
introducing such testimony would disrupt the trial; and (4) the moving party’s
bad faith or willfulness.”
Woodworker’s Supply, 170 F.3d at 993 (citations omitted). Even read liberally, Plaintiffs’
Response makes no attempt to show that they were “substantially justified” in delaying their
witness disclosures,2 and instead reads as an argument against the reasonableness of the
requested expenses, despite the fact that Defendant’s Motion does not yet seek a
determination of the amount or reasonableness of their prospective discovery costs. See
Motion [#69] ¶ 23; Reply [#88] at 10. However, Plaintiffs’ arguments do address some of
the factors that guide the Court’s determination of harm,3 and these the Court will consider.
1.
Ability to Cure
Plaintiffs allege that “any prejudice the Court found in Plaintiffs’ late supplemental
2
To the extent that Plaintiffs argued at the February 22, 2013 Discovery Hearing that the
late disclosures were justified because the newly identified witnesses’ names were pulled from
Defendant’s own documents, the Court finds this argument unpersuasive. Hearing Tr. [#77] at 4143. “[T]his assertion would require the Court to attribute an uncanny level of prescience to
Defendant.” Jama v. City & Cnty. of Denver, 280 F.R.D. 581, 584 (D. Colo. 2012). Knowledge of
the existence of a person is distinctly different from knowledge that the person will be relied on as
a fact witness. See Gallegos v. Swift & Co., No. 04-cv-01295-LTB-CBS, 2007 WL 214416, at *3
(D. Colo. Jan. 25, 2007) (rejecting the plaintiff’s argument that the defendant was on notice of
certain witnesses identified in an untimely disclosure because the names of the witnesses were
obtained from the defendant’s own document production). Therefore, this argument does not
suggest that the delay in disclosure was “substantially justified.”
3
Although Plaintiffs’ arguments that the requested expenses are exaggerated,
unreasonable, and unnecessary could have been framed as an argument denying that any
prejudice occurred from Plaintiffs’ delayed disclosures, these arguments are clearly framed instead
as objections to the reasonableness of Defendant’s requested expenses. Response [#87] at 2, 4-8.
As the question of the expenses’ reasonableness is not yet before the Court, these objections are
more appropriately addressed at a later date.
-9-
disclosures has already been corrected” by the extension of unilateral discovery and the
dispositive motion deadline. Response [#87] at 3; see id. at 8-9. At the February 22, 2013
Hearing, the Court found that Defendant was prejudiced by the delayed disclosure.4 The
Court stated: “In order to overcome the prejudice, I will extend the discovery deadline for
the sole purpose of conducting either written or oral discovery with respect to these late
disclosed witnesses.” Hearing Tr. [#77] at 44-45. It is true that reopening discovery for the
limited purpose of allowing Defendants to prepare their case with respect to Plaintiffs’ newly
disclosed witnesses may alleviate some prejudice. See Adams, 2013 WL 2444696, at *4.
However, even if, as Plaintiffs argue, the extended discovery deadline allowed Defendant
to properly react to the disclosures and to collect the evidence necessary for its defense,
Defendant would be further prejudiced to the extent the delayed disclosures disrupted the
case management schedule and required previously unnecessary expenditures. Cf. Saudi
v. Northrup Grumman Corp., 427 F.3d 271, 278-79 (4th Cir. 2005) (suggesting that a
party’s failure to provide proper expert disclosures “unfairly inhibits its opponent’s ability to
properly prepare, unnecessarily prolongs litigation, and undermines the district court’s
management of the case.”); Wong v. Regents of the Univ. of Calif., 410 F.3d 1052, 1062
4
The Court notes a single instance in the transcript of the February 22, 2013 Hearing that
suggests otherwise: “I don’t find that the defendant has been prejudiced.” Hearing Tr. [#77] at
44:17-18. However, this single sentence is inconsistent with the rest of the transcript, which
uniformly suggests a finding of prejudice. The Court’s review of the audio recording revealed that
this sentence was mistranscribed by the court reporter, and should read “I do find that the
defendant has been prejudiced.” “Judges, witnesses-even counsel-occasionally misspeak, and
court reporters occasionally misapprehend, on the record. Where an omitted “but” or “not” changes
the meaning of a sentence in a manner inconsistent with the context in which it is made, reviewing
courts are capable of reading the sentence in its overall context.” Cook v. Rockwell Intern. Corp.,
428 F. Supp. 2d 1152, 1160-61 (D. Colo. 2006). As neither party directly contests this reading of
the transcript, the Court accepts that the parties have understood the Court to have found prejudice
to Defendant, and that the remaining argument is over the extent to which said prejudice has been
remedied.
-10-
(9th Cir. 2004) (holding that disruption to the case management schedule caused by late
disclosures is not harmless). The reopening of discovery and extension of the dispositive
motion deadline imposes additional expenses and delay on Defendant that are solely due
to Plaintiffs’ late disclosures. Any financial prejudice to Defendant may be substantially
cured only by requiring Plaintiffs to pay the costs related to the untimely disclosure, should
Defendant later show such costs to be reasonable. See, e.g., Seubert v. FFE Transp.
Servs., Inc., No. 4:11CV01651AGF, 2013 WL 1755371, at *3 (E.D. Mo. Apr. 23, 2013).
Therefore, this argument does not weigh in favor of a finding that Plaintiffs’ late disclosures
were harmless.
2.
Bad Faith
Plaintiffs allege that the Motion has been brought in bad faith, either as “an attempt
to intimidate Plaintiffs and drive up their costs, [or] an attempt to bolster the plainly deficient
report prepared by [Defendant’s] proffered safety expert [in response to] Plaintiffs[’] ripe
and pending Daubert Motion to exclude him.” Response [#87] at 3; see id. at 9-10.
Plaintiffs assert that Defendant “is well aware from the discovery conducted that each
Plaintiff is either unemployed or employed in a manner that would devastate him should he
be burdened with even a thousand dollars of costs, let alone the large sum [Defendant] will
claim against the Plaintiffs.” Id. at 9. Defendant replies by arguing that Plaintiffs are
responsible for the late disclosures, and are thus responsible for the increased costs.
Reply [#88] at 7. Defendant also reiterates that the Court found that the late disclosures
were prejudicial to Defendant and that additional discovery was necessary. Id.; see
Hearing Tr. [#77] at 44.
Defendant does not address Plaintiffs’ allegation that the Motion is intended to
-11-
bolster Defendant’s safety expert’s report. The Court, sua sponte, determined at the
February 22, 2013 hearing that the discovery deadline should be extended, and thus
Defendant cannot reasonably be accused of seeking to bolster a witness’s report in
preparation for a Daubert motion. Hearing Tr. [#77] at 44. Additionally, the Court sees no
reason why Defendant should be unable to use evidence properly discovered in response
to late disclosures for any purpose related to those disclosures, including purposes related
to the admissibility of expert statements. Such discoveries may impact important factors
of a Daubert analysis, such as the quantitative assessment of the facts and data upon
which the expert relied. See United States v. Lauder, 409 F.3d 1254, 1264 n.5 (10th Cir.
2005); Fed. R. Evid. 702, advisory committee notes.
There is no basis for Plaintiffs’ claim that Defendant has conducted discovery or filed
this Motion for any reason other than to remedy the prejudice caused by Plaintiffs’ delayed
disclosures. Plaintiffs essentially allege a violation of Fed. R. Civ. P. 11 by alleging that the
Motion “is . . . being presented for an[ ] improper purpose, such as to harass, cause
unnecessary delay, or needlessly increase the cost of litigation[.]” Fed. R. Civ. P. 11(b)(1).
Rule 11 imposes a standard of objective reasonableness, which asks the trial court to
determine “whether a reasonable and competent attorney would believe in the merit of an
argument.” See Dodd Ins. Servs., Inc. v. Royal Ins. Co. of Am., 935 F.2d 1152, 1155 (10th
Cir. 1991); see also Bridge Publ’ns, Inc. v. F.A.C.T.Net, Inc., 183 F.R.D. 254, 263 (D. Colo.
1998) (denying motion for sanctions after determining that defendant’s affirmative defenses
were not unreasonable under the circumstances).
The Tenth Circuit has noted “that attorneys, as a whole, usually represent their
clients in a professional, competent, and reasonable manner.” Bullock v. Carver, 297 F.3d
-12-
1036, 1046 (10th Cir. 2002) (citing Bell v. Cone, 535 U.S. 685 (2002) (Stevens, J.,
dissenting) (“[A] presumption that every lawyer in every capital case has performed
ethically, diligently, and competently is appropriate because such performance
characterizes the members of an honorable profession.”). The Tenth Circuit has further
explained that “[s]trategic or tactical decisions on the part of counsel are presumed correct,
unless they were completely unreasonable, not merely wrong.” Moore v. Marr, 254 F.3d
1235, 1239 (10th Cir. 2001) (citations and quotation omitted); see also Romano v. Gibson,
278 F.3d 1145, 1151 (10th Cir. 2002) (explaining the difficulty in challenging an attorney’s
strategic choices). Given the Court’s finding of prejudice to the Defendant, Hearing Tr.
[#77] 44-46, the Court finds that it is objectively reasonable for Defendant to seek
reasonable fees and expenses in connection with its additional discovery. See Bullock, 297
F.3d at 1046 (“[W]here it is shown that a particular decision was, in fact, an adequately
informed strategic choice, the presumption that the attorney’s decision was objectively
reasonable becomes “virtually unchallengeable.’”) (internal citation omitted).
III. Conclusion
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Motion [#69] is GRANTED, and that Defendant
is entitled to an award of reasonable fees and costs incurred conducting the limited
discovery permitted by the Court’s holding in the February 22, 2013 Telephonic Discovery
Hearing. Minute Order [#58]; Hearing Tr. [#77] at 44-46; see Asher Assocs., LLC v. Baker
Hughes Oilfield Operations, Inc., No. 07-cv-01379-WYD-CBS, 2009 WL 1328483, at *12
(D. Colo. May 12, 2009); FatPipe Networks India, Ltd. v. Xroads Networks, Inc., No. 2:09CV-186 TC DN, 2012 WL 192792, at *6-7 (D. Utah Jan. 23, 2012).
-13-
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendant shall file an affidavit in support of the
award of fees and costs in accordance with D.C.COLO.LCivR 54.3B. on or before
September 23, 2013. Plaintiffs may respond on or before October 4, 2013. No reply will
be permitted.
Dated: August 22, 2013
-14-
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?