Kwasniewski et al v. sanofi-aventis U.S., LLC et al
Filing
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ORDER Denying 121 Plaintiffs' Objections to the Magistrate Judge's Order granting in part their Motion to Compel. Signed by Judge Gloria M. Navarro on 10/29/2013. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - SLD)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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DISTRICT OF NEVADA
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JENNIFER KWASNIEWSKI, individually and as
Special Administrator of the ESTATE OF
ANDREW A. KWASNIEWSKI; TAYLOR L.
KWASNIEWSKI; DYLAN A. KWASNIEWSKI, a
minor, by and through Jennifer Kwasniewski, his
mother and guardian,
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Plaintiffs,
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vs.
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SANOFI-AVENTIS U.S., LLC, a Delaware limited )
liability company; NADINE LEONE, MFT;
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BEHAVIORAL HEALTHCARE OPTIONS, INC., a )
Nevada corporation,
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Defendants.
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Case No. 2:12-cv-00515-GMN-NJK
ORDER
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Before the Court is Plaintiffs Jennifer Kwasniewski, Taylor L. Kwasniewski, and Dylan
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A. Kwasniewski’s (collectively “Plaintiffs”) Objections to the Magistrate Judge’s Order granting
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in part their Motion to Compel. (ECF No. 121). For the reasons discussed below, the Motion is
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denied.
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I.
BACKGROUND
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The facts surrounding this Motion are adequately set forth in Magistrate Judge Koppe’s
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order and will not be recited here. Plaintiffs’ Motion to Compel complained that Defendant
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Sanofi-Adventis U.S., LLC (“Sanofi”) had not properly responded to their discovery requests
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because when Sanofi produced documents, it failed to provide any statement identifying to which
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request the produced documents were responsive. Sanofi replied that it had produced the
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documents as they were kept in the usual course of its business. Magistrate Judge Koppe granted
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the motion in part, requiring that Sanofi identify each specific request to which it had responded.
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However, Magistrate Judge Koppe held that Sanofi was not required to link specific documents
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with each corresponding specific request, Plaintiffs needed only make a “reasonable effort” to
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identify the desired information. Plaintiffs now object to Magistrate Judge Koppe’s holding that
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Sanofi was not required to link specific documents with specific requests, arguing that it
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improperly shifts the burden of discovery.
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II.
LEGAL STANDARD
When reviewing the order of a magistrate judge, the order should only be set aside if the
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order is clearly erroneous or contrary to law. Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(a); LR IB 3-1(a); 28 U.S.C. §
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636(b)(1)(A); Laxalt v. McClatchy, 602 F. Supp. 214, 216 (D. Nev. 1985). A magistrate judge’s
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order is “clearly erroneous” if the court has “a definite and firm conviction that a mistake has
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been committed.” See United States v. U.S. Gypsum Co., 333 U.S. 364, 395 (1948); Burdick v.
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Comm’r IRS, 979 F.2d 1369, 1370 (9th Cir. 1992). When reviewing the order, however, the
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magistrate judge “is afforded broad discretion, which will be overruled only if abused.”
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Columbia Pictures, Inc. v. Bunnell, 245 F.R.D. 443, 446 (C.D. Cal. 2007). The district judge
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“may not simply substitute its judgment” for that of the magistrate judge. Grimes v. City and
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County of San Francisco, 951 F.2d 236, 241 (9th Cir. 1991) (citing United States v. BNS, Inc.,
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858 F.2d 456, 464 (9th Cir. 1988)).
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III.
DISCUSSION
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Nothing in Plaintiffs’ objections gives rise to a “definite and firm conviction that a
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mistake has been committed.” Magistrate Judge Koppe properly noted that under Fed. R. Civ. P.
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34(b)(2)(E)(i), a party is entitled to produce documents as they are organized and kept in the
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usual course of business. Rule 34 does not require a responding party to organize documents to
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suit the requesting party’s convenience, but simply requires that the documents be organized in
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such a manner that the requesting party may, with reasonable effort, obtain the documents
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responsive to their requests. City of Colton v. Am. Promotional Events, Inc., 277 F.R.D. 578, 584
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(C.D. Cal. 2011). Upon reviewing the documents, Magistrate Judge Koppe determined that
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Sanofi’s production complied with Rule 34 because the documents were organized as they were
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kept in the usual course of business. Magistrate Judge Koppe further determined Sanofi had
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provided enough information about the organization that Plaintiffs, with reasonable effort, could
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determine the documents responsive to their requests. Plaintiffs’ complaint that performing a
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single search per request did not lead them to the exact information they were seeking is not
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sufficient to cast doubt on the Magistrate Judge’s determination.
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IV.
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IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiffs’ Objections to the Magistrate Judge’s Order
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CONCLUSION
granting in part their Motion to Compel (ECF No. 121) are DENIED.
DATED this 29th day of October, 2013.
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_____________________________
Gloria M. Navarro
United States District Judge
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