Holiday Systems International Of Nevada v. Vivarelli, Schwarz and Associates, S.A. de C.V. et al
Filing
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ORDER Denying 73 Defendants' Emergency Motion to Stay and Granting 79 Plaintiff's Motion for Leave to File Sur-Response. Signed by Judge Miranda M. Du on 09/05/2012. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - AC)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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DISTRICT OF NEVADA
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HOLIDAY SYSTEMS INTERNATIONAL
OF NEVADA,
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***
Case No. 2:10-cv-00471-MMD-GWF
Plaintiff,
ORDER
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v.
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VIVARELLI, SCHWARZ, AND
ASSOCIATES, S.A. de. C.V., et al.,
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(Defs.’ Objection to Discovery Plan and
Scheduling Order and Emergency Motion
to Stay Discovery – dkt. no. 73;
Plf.’s Motion for Leave to File SurResponse – dkt. no. 79)
Defendants.
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Before the Court is Defendants Resort Solutions, Inc. (“RSI”), Royal Elite
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Vacation, LLC (“REV”), and Royal Elite Exchanges, LLC’s (“REE”) Objection to
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Discovery Plan and Scheduling Order and Emergency Motion to Stay Discovery
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(“Objection”). (Dkt. no. 73.) Plaintiff Holiday Systems International of Nevada also filed
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a Motion for Leave to File Sur-Response. (Dkt. no. 79.) The Court grants the latter
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Motion and affirms the Magistrate Judge’s Discovery Plan and Scheduling Order.
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I.
BACKGROUND
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Plaintiff Holiday Systems International of Nevada (“HSI”) provides vacation-
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related business services for vacation ownership resorts and their owners. It has used
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its name since March 31, 2004, and registered its name as a trademark with the United
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States Patent and Trademark Office on February 24, 2009.
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On or about March 16, 2007, HSI entered into an agreement with Defendant
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Vivarelli, Schwarz and Associations (“VSA”) to market and sell HSI services in Mexico,
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VSA’s principal place of business. On or about February 1, 2008, HSI entered into a
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second agreement with VSA for the right to market and sell lodging week packages to
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members of HSI whom VSA had enrolled pursuant to the first agreement. HSI alleges
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that VSA breached various provisions of the two contracts beginning in January 2008,
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including but not limited to continuing to market to VSA clients services that compete
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with HSI, infringing on an HSI mark, and wrongfully appropriating HSI’s confidential
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assets to benefit HSI competitors. HSI alleges that Defendants RSI, REV, and REE
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were complicit in these various breaches.
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HSI filed this Complaint on April 5, 2010, against VSA, Aaron Schwarz, RSI, REV,
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and REE alleging Lanham Act trademark infringement, Lanham Act unfair competition
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and false designation of origin, breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith
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and fair dealing, misappropriation, interference with contractual relationships, unjust
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enrichment, conversion, inducement to breach contract, and declaratory judgment.
RSI, REV, and REE are Virginia corporations. VSA is a Mexico corporation, and
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Schwarz is alleged to be a Mexican citizen.
RSI, REV, and REE filed a Motion to
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Dismiss on May 7, 2012, arguing inter alia that the suit should be dismissed for lack of
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personal jurisdiction. (Dkt. no. 56.)
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On June 27, 2012, Magistrate Judge Foley ordered the parties to submit a
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proposed discovery plan and scheduling order pursuant to Local Rule 26-1. (Dkt. no.
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69.)
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position that discovery ought not commence until a dispositive ruling on their motion to
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dismiss, while HSI proposed that discovery begin. (Dkt. no. 71 at 2.) After considering
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both parties’ positions and determining that discovery should not be stayed, Judge Foley
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entered a scheduling order. (Dkt. no. 72 at 1.) Thereafter, the Moving Defendants filed
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their Objection and again seeking a stay of discovery until their Motion to Dismiss is
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decided by the Court. HSI filed its Response on August 13, 2012, (dkt. no. 76), and the
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In the joint proposed discovery plan, the Moving Defendants articulated their
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Moving Defendants filed their Reply on August 21, 2012 (dkt. no. 78). 1 As a result, the
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Court will construe their Objection as a request to review Judge Foley’s decision in light
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of the authority vested in Magistrate Judges to decide pretrial discovery matters. See 28
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U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(A).
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II.
LEGAL STANDARD
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The Court reviews a magistrate judge’s discovery rulings under the “clearly
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erroneous or contrary to law” standard set forth in 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(A); see also
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Anderson v. Equifax Info. Servs. LLC, No. 05-1741-ST, 2007 WL 2412249 at *1 (D. Or.
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Aug. 20, 2007) (“Though Section 636(b)(1)(A) has been interpreted to permit de novo
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review of the legal findings of a magistrate judge, magistrate judges are given discretion
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on discovery matters and should not be overruled absent a showing of clear abuse of
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discretion.”). “A finding is ‘clearly erroneous' when although there is evidence to support
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it, the reviewing court on the entire evidence is left with the definite and firm conviction
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that a mistake has been committed.” United States v. U.S. Gypsum Co., 333 U.S. 364,
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395 (1948).
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III.
DISCUSSION
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RSI, REV, and REE (“the Moving Defendants”) request that the Court stay
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discovery until their Motion to Dismiss is decided. They justify their request on the
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grounds that jurisdictional challenges are exceptions to the traditional rule that motions
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to dismiss do not ordinarily warrant a stay of discovery. Since their dismissal motion
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challenges the Court’s personal jurisdiction over this case, the Moving Defendants argue
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that discovery should be stayed pending a dispositive ruling.
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Applying this standard, the Court holds that Judge Foley did not abuse his
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discretion in denying a stay of discovery. “A party seeking a stay of discovery carries the
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heavy burden of making a ‘strong showing’ why discovery should be denied.”
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HSI also filed a Motion for Leave to File Sur-Response. (Dkt. no. 79.) The Court
grants the Motion, and considered the Sur-Response in preparing this Order.
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Blankenship v. Hearst Corp., 519 F.2d 418, 429 (9th Cir. 1975).” Ordinarily, a pending
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motion to dismiss is not a situation that would mandate a stay of discovery. See Twin
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City Fire Ins. Co. v. Employers Ins. of Wausau, 124 F.R.D. 652, 653 (D. Nev. Mar. 8,
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1989). However, preliminary issues such as jurisdiction, venue, or immunity can justify
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such a stay. Id. In such circumstances, a court may stay discovery. See C. A. Wright,
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Discovery, 35 F.R.D. 39, 60 (1964) (“An obvious application of this principle – salutary if
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applied sparingly and with real discretion rather than as an absolute rule – is that courts
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may stay discovery on the merits of an action until challenges to jurisdiction have been
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resolved.”).
Since the decision whether to grant or deny a stay rests firmly in the
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discretion of the presiding judge, see Jarvis v. Regan, 833 F.2d 149, 155 (9th Cir. 1987),
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this Court will not disturb Magistrate Judge Foley’s considered decision in the absence of
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an abuse of discretion. The Moving Defendants have not demonstrated such an abuse.
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IV.
CONCLUSION
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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendants Resort Solutions, Inc.,
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Royal Elite Vacation, LLC, and Royal Elite Exchanges, LLC’s Objection to Discovery
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Plan and Scheduling Order and Emergency Motion to Stay Discovery (dkt. no. 73) is
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DENIED.
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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff Holiday Systems International of
Nevada’s Motion for Leave to File Sur-Response (dkt. no. 79) is GRANTED.
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ENTERED THIS 5th day of September 2012.
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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