Grant v. Target Corporation

Filing 17

ORDER denying 14 Motion to Compel as premature. Signed by Magistrate Judge G. R. Smith on 1/30/15. (wwp)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
SAVANNAH DIVISION
CHARITY GRANT,
Plaintiffs,
Case No. CV414-132

V.

TARGET CORPORATION,
Defendant.

ORDER
In this slip-and-fall case defendant moves to compel plaintiff to
undergo a Fed. R. Civ. P. 35 independent medical examination to
corroborate her claim that she suffers from severe back pain as a result
of the incident giving rise to her suit. (Doe. 14.) Plaintiff insists that
she already underwent an independent medical examination in 2012,
during the pendency of a prior state court action that she later
dismissed without prejudice and refiled in 2014. (Doe. 15-1 at 2-3.)
Plaintiff also points out, however, that defendant failed to submit a
certification showing that the parties conferred in a good faith effort to
resolve the dispute before coming to Court. (Id. at 5.)

Local Rule 26.5(c) reminds attorneys "that Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c)
and 37(a)(2) require a party seeking a protective order or moving to
compel discovery to certify that a good faith effort has been made to
resolve the dispute before coming to court." "That rule is enforced."

Hernandez v. Hendrix Produce, Inc., 2014 WL 953503 at * 1 (S.D. Ga.
Mar. 10, 2014). And the conference must be meaningful. Hernandez v.

Hendrix Produce, Inc., 297 F.R.D. 538, 540 (S.D. Ga. 2014). Since no
certification was provided, defendant's motion to compel a medical
examination (doc. 14) is DENIED as premature.
SO ORDERED, this 5O day of January, 2015.

UNITED TATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA