Stevens v. Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation

Filing 87

ORDER memorializing November 18, 2013 status conference. Signed by Magistrate Judge James P. O'Hara on 11/19/2013. (ah)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF KANSAS
GARY STEVENS,
Plaintiff,
v.
NOVARTIS PHARMACEUTICALS
CORPORATION,
Defendant.

)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)

Case No. 12-1414-EFM

ORDER
The undersigned U.S. Magistrate Judge, James P. O’Hara, held a status conference
in this case on November 18, 2013. Participating in the conference were Daniel Osborn and
Lawrence Lennemann on behalf of plaintiff; Todd Tedesco and Matthew Malinowski on
behalf of defendant; and John Vecchione on behalf of the plaintiff steering committee of
MDL 1760, In re Aredia/Zometa Products Liability Litigation (pending before the United
States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee), which has filed a motion to
intervene in this action (see doc. 83).
During the conference, the parties discussed their differing interpretations of footnote
4 to the April 25, 2013 Scheduling Order. Footnote 4 stated that at the time the parties
disclose their experts, “at least three full-day deposition settings shall be made available to
opposing counsel within the ensuing 30-day period.”1 The undersigned clarified that

1

Doc. 46 at 7 n.4.

O:\ORDERS\12-1414-EFM-Nov18StatConf.wpd

footnote 4 requires each party to provide, for each expert disclosed, three dates on which that
expert is available to be deposed. It is the court’s understanding that the parties plan to move
forward with scheduling the depositions of plaintiff’s experts despite plaintiff’s pending
motion for review of the undersigned’s order compelling plaintiff to provide the possible
deposition dates (doc. 77).
The court and parties also briefly discussed the MDL plaintiff steering committee’s
motion for leave to intervene in this action. Defendant filed its opposition to the motion on
November 18, 2013 (doc. 85). The proposed intervenors have committed to file their reply
on November 19, 2013.
Dated November 19, 2013, at Kansas City, Kansas.
s/ James P. O’Hara
James P. O’Hara
U.S. Magistrate Judge

O:\ORDERS\12-1414-EFM-Nov18StatConf.wpd

-2-