Gulf Restoration Network v. City of Hattiesburg

Filing 164

ORDER granting 160 Motion for leave to conduct depositions of EPA officials and to serve additional discovery on Plaintiff. The Court hereby extends the discovery period in this matter to July 31, 2017.Both parties may serve additional discovery requests upon the opposing party, but such discovery requests must be served on or before July 17, 2017. Responses to these requests must be provided on or before July 21, 2017. Any supplemental expert reports must be produced to opposing party on or before July 31, 2017. Signed by District Judge Keith Starrett on 7/13/2017 (dtj)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF MISSISSIPPI
HATTIESBURG DIVISION
GULF RESTORATION NETWORK
v.

PLAINTIFF
CIVIL ACTION NO. 2:12-CV-36-KS-JCG

CITY OF HATTIESBURG

DEFENDANT

ORDER
The Court grants Defendant’s Motion [160] for leave to conduct depositions of
EPA officials and to serve additional discovery on Plaintiff. The Court hereby extends
the discovery period in this matter to July 31, 2017. Both parties may depose up to
three employees of the EPA, but the depositions must occur on or before July 31, 2017.
Both parties may also serve additional discovery requests upon the opposing party, but
such discovery requests must be served on or before July 17, 2017. Responses to these
additional discovery requests must be provided on or before July 21, 2017. To the
extent any information gleaned during this extended discovery period alters or
supplements the opinions of any party’s experts, supplemental expert reports must be
produced to opposing party on or before July 31, 2017.
The Court considered Plaintiff’s objections to any extension of the discovery
deadlines, but the Court believes that any information provided by the EPA is
important to ensure a just disposition of this matter. The Court further notes that the
production of emails between Plaintiff’s counsel and EPA officials two days before the
discovery deadline left virtually no time for Defendant to investigate the matter. The

Court does not imply any wrongdoing on the part of counsel; to the contrary, Plaintiff’s
counsel only received the emails two days before they were produced. But the EPA’s
opinion on these matters is too important to leave unexplored, and both parties shall
have the opportunity to do so.
SO ORDERED AND ADJUDGED this 13th__ day of __July________, 2017.

s/Keith Starrett
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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