Herb Reed Enterprises, Inc. et al v. Monroe Powell's Platters, LLC et al
Filing
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ORDER Denying without prejudice 86 Motion to Compel. Plaintiffs pending motion to compel suffers from two threshold defects: (1) it does not contain a proper meet and confer certification and (2) it provides no discussion why it should be considered despite being filed after the dispositive motion cut-off. Signed by Magistrate Judge Nancy J. Koppe on 2/26/2013. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - SLD)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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DISTRICT OF NEVADA
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HERB REED ENTERPRISES, INC., et al.,
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Plaintiffs,
vs.
MONROE POWELL’S PLATTERS, LLC, et al.,
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Defendants.
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Case No. 2:11-cv-02010-PMP-NJK
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO
COMPEL (Docket No. 86)
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Pending before the Court is Plaintiff Herb Reed Enterprises’ (“Plaintiff”) Motion to Compel,
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filed on February 25, 2013. Docket No. 37. The Court finds the motion to have two threshold
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defects that require that it be DENIED without prejudice as discussed more fully below.
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I.
MEET AND CONFER REQUIREMENTS
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The Court’s initial inquiry regarding a motion to compel is whether the movant made
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adequate meet and confer efforts. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(a)(2)(B) requires that a “party
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bringing a motion to compel discovery must include with the motion a certification that the movant
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has in good faith conferred or attempted to confer with the nonresponsive party.” Similarly, Local
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Rule 26-7(b) provides that “[d]iscovery motions will not be considered unless a statement of the
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movant is attached thereto certifying that, after personal consultation and sincere effort to do so, the
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parties have not been able to resolve the matter without Court action.”
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Judges in this District have previously held that “personal consultation” means the movant
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must “personally engage in two-way communication with the nonresponding party to meaningfully
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discuss each contested discovery dispute in a genuine effort to avoid judicial intervention.”
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ShuffleMaster, Inc. v. Progressive Games, Inc., 170 F.R.D. 166, 171 (D. Nev. 1996). The
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consultation obligation “promote[s] a frank exchange between counsel to resolve issues by
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agreement or to at least narrow and focus matters in controversy before judicial resolution is
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sought.” Nevada Power v. Monsanto, 151 F.R.D. 118, 120 (D.Nev.1993). To meet this obligation,
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parties must “treat the informal negotiation process as a substitute for, and not simply a formal
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prerequisite to, judicial review of discovery disputes.” Id. This is done when the parties “present to
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each other the merits of their respective positions with the same candor, specificity, and support
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during the informal negotiations as during the briefing of discovery motions.” Id. To ensure that
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parties comply with these requirements, movants must file certifications that “accurately and
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specifically convey to the court who, where, how, and when the respective parties attempted to
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personally resolve the discovery dispute.” ShuffleMaster, 170 F.R.D. at 170 (emphasis added).
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The Court was unable to locate any certification filed with the pending motion to compel.
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Plaintiff did submit a history of the discovery at issue and the responses provided. See Declaration
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of Eric Sommers at ¶¶ 3-11, Exhs. 1-5.1 But there is no discussion of any personal consultation
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during which the parties discussed the pending motion and attempted to resolve the issues raised
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therein, as contemplated in ShuffleMaster.
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II.
TIMELINESS
The motion to compel also provides no discussion of why the Court should consider it at this
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late stage of the litigation. Judge Johnston issued a scheduling order on October 9, 2012 requiring
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discovery to be completed by January 9, 2013 and stated that no further extensions would be
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granted. Docket No. 71. That scheduling order also set a dispositive motion cut-off date for
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February 11, 2013. Id.
In this District, motions to compel are generally considered untimely if filed after the
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dispositive motion cut-off. See, e.g., Gault v. Nabisco Biscuit Co., 184 F.R.D. 620, 622 (D. Nev.
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1999) (“Absent unusual circumstances, [a motion to compel] should be filed before the scheduled
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date for dispositive motions.”). The pending motion to compel was filed after the dispositive motion
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cut-off date, but provides no explanation why it should not be denied as untimely.
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The exchange of letters or emails regarding the discovery is also insufficient. See, e.g.,
ShuffleMaster, 170 F.R.D. at 172.
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III.
CONCLUSION
Plaintiff’s pending motion to compel suffers from two threshold defects: (1) it does not
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contain a proper meet and confer certification and (2) it provides no discussion why it should be
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considered despite being filed after the dispositive motion cut-off. Accordingly, the Motion to
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Compel is hereby DENIED without prejudice.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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DATED: February 26, 2013
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______________________________________
NANCY J. KOPPE
United States Magistrate Judge
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