Blaszkowski et al v. Mars Inc. et al

Filing 428

MOTION to Compel the Depositions of Plaintiffs and Incorporated Memorandum of Law by Mars Petcare US, Inc., Mars Inc.. Responses due by 8/7/2008 (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit B, # 3 Exhibit C, # 4 Exhibit D, # 5 Exhibit E, # 6 Exhibit F, # 7 Exhibit G, # 8 Exhibit H, # 9 Exhibit I, # 10 Exhibit J, # 11 Exhibit K, # 12 Exhibit L, # 13 Exhibit M, # 14 Exhibit N, # 15 Exhibit O, # 16 Exhibit P, # 17 Exhibit Q, # 18 Exhibit R, # 19 Exhibit S, # 20 Exhibit T, # 21 Exhibit U, # 22 Exhibit V, # 23 Exhibit W, # 24 Exhibit X)(Ortega, Omar)

Blaszkowski et al v. Mars Inc. et al

Doc. 428 Att. 24

EXHIBIT X

Dockets.Justia.com

KEEGAN & BAKER, LLP
A LIM I T E D LIA B I L I T Y PA R T N E R S H I P

4 3 7 0 LA JOLLA VILLAGE DRIVE · SUITE 640 S A N DIEGO, CA 92122 te le p h o n e ­ 858.552.6750 facsimile ­ 858.552.6749

July 17, 2008

VIA EMAIL Philip A. Sechler, Esq. WILLIAMS & CONNOLLY LLP 725 Twelfth Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20005-5901 Re: Blaszkowski v. Mars, Incorporated, et al. U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida Case No.: 07-21221-CIV Our File No.: 7009

Dear Mr. Sechler: This letter is in furtherance of our meet and confer communications and teleconference on July 15th concerning the staging of discovery. As you known, my firm has only recently made an appearance in this case on behalf of the plaintiffs. In order to properly advise and/or represent plaintiffs at their depositions and prepare their responses to written discovery, it is necessary for us to propose alternative dates for deposition to those proposed by Defendants. Furthermore, we believe that the discovery issues and depositions noticed by Defendant Mars Incorporated, and every other defendant in this case except those that relate to the claims of named plaintiffs Jennifer Damron, Renee Blaszkowski, Cindy Trejoe, Susan Peters, JoAnn Murphy, and Yvonne Thomas, regarding solely their purchases of pet food brands of Defendant Natura Pet Products, Inc. should be stayed given the preliminary approval of the class action settlement in In Re: Pet Food Products Liability Litigation, Civil Action No. 07-2867 (NLH), which is currently pending in the United States District Court, District of New Jersey (the "Menu Foods Case"). Defendants disagree and have refused to mutually agree to stay discovery until after the final approval hearing is held and an order issued determining whether or not the Menu Food Case class action settlement is granted final approval, notwithstanding the fact that the Court's Amended Order Setting Trial and PreTrial Schedule, dated April 25, 2008, permits the parties to "stipulate to extend" discovery. Moreover, Defendants have refusal to exclude this case from the release of the Menu Foods Case settlement agreement. As a result, Plaintiff will file a motion seeking a stay.

July 17, 2008 Philip A. Sechler, Esq. Re: Blaszkowski v. Mars, Incorporated, et al. Page No. 2 _________________ Notwithstanding Plaintiffs' intention to seek a stay, pursuant to my agreement during the teleconference, the following is Plaintiffs' proposed staging of the discovery. Since the parties are under a July 21st deadline to submit a joint discovery staging report, we request that Defendants submit a response to our proposal by no later than July 20th so that the parties may continue to meet and confer before the July 21st deadline. A. Plaintiffs' Proposed Written Discovery Schedule

Plaintiffs propose the following written discovery schedule. Defendants shall respond to the discovery propounded by Plaintiffs' as follows:
R esp o n se D ate 1 1 /3 /0 8 1 1 /3 /0 8 1 1 /3 /0 8 1 1 /3 /0 8 8 /2 5 /0 8 1 1 /3 /0 8 1 1 /3 /0 8 1 1 /3 /0 8 1 1 /3 /0 8 1 1 /3 /0 8 1 1 /3 /0 8 1 1 /3 /0 8 8 /2 5 /0 8 1 1 /3 /0 8 1 1 /3 /0 8 1 1 /3 /0 8 1 1 /3 /0 8 1 1 /3 /0 8 Propounded By P l a i n t i f fs P l a i n t i f fs P l a i n t i f fs P l a i n t i f fs P l a i n t i f fs P l a i n t i f fs P l a i n t i f fs P l a i n t i f fs P l a i n t i f fs P l a i n t i f fs P l a i n t i f fs P l a i n t i f fs P l a i n t i f fs P l a i n t i f fs P l a i n t i f fs P l a i n t i f fs P l a i n t i f fs P l a i n t i f fs Propounded To D e l Monte Foods, Co. H i l l' s Pet Nutrition M a r s Petcare US, Inc. M a r s , Inc. N a t u r a Pet Products, Inc. N e s t l e Purina Petcare Co. N u t r o Products, Inc. T h e Iams Co. D e l Monte Foods, Co. H i l l' s Pet Nutrition M a r s Petcare US, Inc. M a r s , Inc. N a t u r a Pet Products, Inc. N e s t l e Purina Petcare Co. N u t r o Products, Inc. T h e Iams Co. D e l Monte Foods, Co. H i l ls Pet Nutrition D e sc r ip t io n

F i r s t Request for Documents F i r s t Request for Documents F i r s t Request for Documents F i r s t Request for Documents F i r s t Request for Documents F i r s t Request for Documents F i r s t Request for Documents F i r s t Request for Documents S e c o n d Request for Documents S e c o n d Request for Documents S e c o n d Request for Documents S e c o n d Request for Documents S e c o n d Request for Documents S e c o n d Request for Documents S e c o n d Request for Documents S e c o n d Request for Documents T h i r d Request for Documents T h i r d Request for Documents

July 17, 2008 Philip A. Sechler, Esq. Re: Blaszkowski v. Mars, Incorporated, et al. Page No. 3 _________________
1 1 /3 /0 8 1 1 /3 /0 8 8 /2 5 /0 8 1 1 /3 /0 8 1 1 /3 /0 8 1 1 /3 /0 8 P l a i n t i f fs P l a i n t i f fs P l a i n t i f fs P l a i n t i f fs P l a i n t i f fs P l a i n t i f fs M a r s Petcare US, Inc. M a r s , Inc. N a t u r a Pet Products, Inc. N e s t l e Purina Petcare Co. N u t r o Products, Inc. T h e Iams Co. T h i r d Request for Documents T h i r d Request for Documents T h i r d Request for Documents T h i r d Request for Documents T h i r d Request for Documents T h i r d Request for Documents

Plaintiffs shall produce all relevant documents and supplement their written responses to the written discovery propounded Defendants to Jennifer Damron, Renee Blaszkowski, Cindy Trejoe, Susan Peters, JoAnn Murphy, and Yvonne Thomas by August 11, 2008. limited solely to their purchases of pet food brands of Defendant Natura Pet Products, Inc. Plaintiffs shall produce all relevant documents and supplement their written responses to the written discovery propounded Defendants to Donna Hopkins-Jones, Tone Gaglione, Michele Lucareli, Claire Kotzampaltiris, Pat Davis, Raul Isern, Danielle Valoras, and Lisa MacDonald by October 20, 2008. Plaintiffs shall produce all relevant documents and supplement their written responses to the written discovery propounded Defendants to Ann Quinn, Deborah Hock, Marlena Rucker, Sandy Shore, Patricia Hanrahan, Stephanie Stone, Carolyn White, Jane Herring, Marian Lupo, Julie Nelson, Beth Wilson, Lou Wiggins, Sharon Mathiesen, Debbie Rice, and Linda Brown by November 25, 2008. B. Plaintiffs' Proposed Deposition Schedule Plaintiffs propose the following deposition schedule as follows:
D eponent D e p o sit io n D ate A u g u s t 25, 2008 A u g u s t 28, 2008 S e p te m b e r 2, 2008 S e p te m b e r 24, 2008 S e p te m b e r 25, 2008 S e p te m b e r 29, 2008 M ia m i M ia m i M ia m i W a s h in g to n , DC W a s h in g to n , DC W a s h in g to n , DC D e p o s it io n L o c a tio n

P l a in tiff, Susan Peters P l a in tiff, Renee Blaszkowski P l a in tiff, Yvonne Thomas Plaintiff, Joanne Murphy P la in tiff, Jennifer Damron P la in tiff, Cindy Tregoe

July 17, 2008 Philip A. Sechler, Esq. Re: Blaszkowski v. Mars, Incorporated, et al. Page No. 4 _________________
P la i n tiff, Donna Hopkins-Jones P la i n tiff, Tone Gaglione P la i n tiff, Michele Lucareli P la i n tiff, Claire Kotzampaltiris P l a in tiff, Pat Davis P l a in tiff, Raul Isern P l a in tiff, Danielle Valoras P l a in tiff, Lisa MacDonald P la in tiff, Ann Quinn P la in tiff, Deborah Hock P la in tiff, Marlena Rucker P la in tiff, Sandy Shore P la in tiff, Patricia Hanrahan P la in tiff, Stephanie Stone P la in tiff, Carolyn W h ite P la in tiff, Jane Herring P la in tiff, Marian Lupo P l a i n t i f f, Julie Nelson P l a i n t i f f, Beth W i l s o n P l a i n t i f f, Lou W i g g i n s P l a i n t i f f, Sharon Mathiesen P l a i n t i f f, Debbie Rice P l a i n t i f f, Linda Brown N o v e m b e r 3, 2008 N o v e m b e r 4, 2008 N o v e m b e r 5, 2008 N o v e m b e r 6, 2008 N o v e m b e r 24, 2008 N o v e m b e r 25, 2008 D e c e m b e r 1, 2008 D e c e m b e r 2, 2008 D e c e m b e r 8, 2008 D e c e m b e r 9, 2008 D e c e m b e r 10, 2008 D e c e m b e r 11, 2008 D e c e m b e r 12, 2008 D e c e m b e r 22, 2008 D e c e m b e r 23, 2008 D e c e m b e r 26, 2008 D e c e m b e r 29, 2008 J a n u a r y 5, 2009 J a n u a r y 6, 2009 J a n u a r y 7, 2009 J a n u a r y 8, 2009 J a n u a r y 9, 2009 J a n u a r y 12, 2009 N e w York N e w York N e w York N e w York M ia m i M ia m i M ia m i M ia m i L a s Vegas L o s Angeles L o s Angeles L o s Angeles L o s Angeles W a s h in g to n , DC W a s h in g to n , DC W a s h in g to n , DC W a s h in g to n , DC S t . Louis S t . Louis S t . Louis S t . Louis S t . Louis M inn e a p o lis

The depositions of Jennifer Damron, Renee Blaszkowski, Cindy Trejoe, Susan Peters, JoAnn Murphy, and Yvonne Thomas limited solely to their purchases of pet food brands of Defendant Natura Pet Products, Inc. Plaintiffs Jennifer Damron, Renee Blaszkowski, Cindy Trejoe, Susan Peters, JoAnn Murphy, and Yvonne Thomas agree to be deposed for a second day by after completion of the remaining Plaintiffs' depositions. After completion of depositions of Jennifer Damron, Renee Blaszkowski, Cindy Trejoe, Susan Peters, JoAnn Murphy, and Yvonne

July 17, 2008 Philip A. Sechler, Esq. Re: Blaszkowski v. Mars, Incorporated, et al. Page No. 5 _________________ Thomas limited solely to their purchases of pet food brands of Defendant Natura Pet Products, Inc., the depositions of Defendant Natura Pet Products, Inc. will be required to sit for depositions on mutually dates to be completed before October 31, 2008. After completion of depositions of Donna Hopkins-Jones, Tone Gaglione, Michele Lucareli, Claire Kotzampaltiris, Pat Davis, Raul Isern, Danielle Valoras, and Lisa MacDonald, the depositions of all Defendants will be required to sit for depositions on mutually dates to be completed before February 2, 2009. C. Plaintiffs' Proposed Revisions to the Trial and Pre-Trial Schedule Plaintiffs would also stipulate to the following dates for the following trial and per-trial dates: Plaintiffs shall file their motion(s) for class certification by February 23, 2009. The parties shall select a mediator on or before May 4, 2009, and complete the mediation by May 26, 2009. All fact discovery shall be completed by May 11, 2009. Exchange expert witness summaries and reports required by June 18, 2009, exchange rebuttal expert witness summaries and reports by July 9, 2009, and all expert discovery completed by September 14, 2009. All pre-trial motions, other than motions in limine, filed by November 2, 2009. Parties submit joint pre-trial stipulation and motions in limine by January 4, 2010, and submit proposed jury instructions by January 18, 2010. We look forward to your response. Sincerely, Patrick N. Keegan, Esq. PNK/sj cc: Catherine J. MacIvor, Esq. (by email) All Defendants' counsel (by email)