Van Orden et al v. Caribou County et al

Filing 187

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER Granting 181 MOTION and Memorandum to Permit Additional Discovery. Signed by Judge B. Lynn Winmill. (jp)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF IDAHO
ALAN K. VAN ORDEN, et. al.,
Case No. 4:10-cv-00385-BLW
Plaintiffs,

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND
ORDER

v.
CARIBOU COUNTY, et. al.,
Defendants.

INTRODUCTION
The Court has before it Plaintiff’s Motion and Memorandum to Permit Additional
Discovery (Dkt. 181). For the reasons explained below, the Court will grant the motion.
LEGAL STANDARD
Plaintiffs ask the Court to re-open discovery for the limited purpose of addressing
Caribou County’s knowledge of the Rocky Mountain Corrections Report. This case is on
remand from the Ninth Circuit. Accordingly, the deadline for completing discovery set
forth in the Case Management Order has obviously passed. Plaintiffs therefore must show
good cause to justify reopening discovery. Fed.R.Civ.P. 16(b).
“Rule 16(b)’s ‘good cause’ standard primarily considers the diligence of the party
seeking the amendment. “The district court may modify the pretrial schedule ‘if it cannot
reasonably be met despite the diligence of the party seeking the extension.’” Johnson v.
Mammoth Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604, 609 (9th Cir.1992) (quoting Fed.R.Civ.P. 16

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER - 1

advisory committee’s notes (1983 amendment)). “If the party seeking the modification
was not diligent, the inquiry should end and the motion to modify should not be granted.”
Zivkovic v. Southern California Edison Co., 302 F.3d 1080, 1087 (9th Cir.2002) (citation
and internal quotation marks omitted).
ANALYSIS
Plaintiffs have met their burden. The Rocky Mountain Corrections Report should
have been provided to Plaintiffs early in this case pursuant to discovery requests – at least
a year before dispositive motions were due. However, it was not provided to them until
after Plaintiffs noticed up the 30(b)(6) deposition of Rocky Mountain Corrections, Inc. At
that point, Plaintiffs had very limited time to review the document and conclude
discovery, which was all but finished.
Defendants explain that counsel for Caribou County was not aware of the report
until the day it produced it to Plaintiffs, so it could not have provided it to Plaintiffs any
earlier. This may be true. However, that does not mean Plaintiffs were not diligent in
seeking the document, or that they were not disadvantaged by the late disclosure.
Accordingly, the Court finds that Plaintiffs should be afforded an opportunity to do
limited discovery on the matter.
To that end, the Court will re-open discovery for the limited purpose of allowing
Plaintiffs to do discovery concerning Caribou County’s knowledge of the report. Such
discovery must be completed within approximately 45 days of the date of this Order.

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER - 2

ORDER
IT IS ORDERED:
1.

Plaintiff’s Motion and Memorandum to Permit Additional Discovery (Dkt.
181) is GRANTED. Plaintiffs may conduct limited discovery concerning
Caribou County’s knowledge of the Rocky Mountain Corrections Report.
Such discovery must be completed by April 7, 2014.

2.

As discussed during the informal status conference, any motions to
reconsider the Court’s earlier decisions and motion to remand shall be filed
after the limited discovery is completed. Such motions shall be filed no
later than April 28, 2014.

DATED: February 21, 2014

_________________________
B. Lynn Winmill
Chief Judge
United States District Court

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