Beell v. First National Collection Bureau, Inc.

Filing 31

PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE ORDER. Signed by Judge Kent J. Dawson on 5/1/2014. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - SLR)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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DISTRICT OF NEVADA

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MDL No. 2527
IN RE: FIRST NATIONAL COLLECTION
BUREAU, INC. TELEPHONE CONSUMER
PROTECTION ACT (TCPA) LITIGATION

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ALL CASES

Case No. 2:14-CV-557-KJD-CWH
(Base File)
Case No. 2:14-CV-544-KJD-CWH
Case No. 2:14-CV-556-KJD-CWH
Case No. 2:13-CV-1303-KJD-CWH

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PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE ORDER
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This Order governs the practice and procedure in the actions transferred to this Court by

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the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation by the Transfer Order (#1). Those actions are listed

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on Schedule A of the Transfer Order (#1) and appended to this Order. This Order also governs

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all related actions transferred or removed to this Court, as well as any tag-along actions

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transferred to this Court by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation and any related actions

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subsequently filed in, or transferred or removed to this Court.

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I. Consolidation of Actions

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Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 42(a) and 28 U.S.C. § 1407, the actions listed in Schedule A

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are consolidated for pretrial proceedings until such time as the actions shall be remanded to their

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transferor courts for trial. These consolidated actions and any similar actions that may be

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consolidated later with these actions shall be collectively referred to as “In re: First National

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Collection Bureau, Inc., Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) Litigation,” MDL No.

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2527, Case No. 2:14-CV-557-KJD-CWH.

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II. Master Docket, Master File, and Separate Action Dockets

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A Master Docket and Base File are hereby established for the consolidated proceedings

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filed in or transferred to this Court as part of MDL No. 2527. The Base File is Case No. 2:14-

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CV-557-KJD-CWH, In re: First National Collection Bureau, Inc., Telephone Consumer

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Protection Act (TCPA) Litigation. The Clerk of Court shall file this Order in the Master File, and

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in the separate file of each action which is or may be consolidated with MDL No. 2527. Separate

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dockets and files shall be maintained for each action consolidated with MDL No. 2527.

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III. Attorney Appearances, Registration, Etc.

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A. Counsel who appeared in the transferor district court prior to the transfer need not
enter a separate appearance before this Court.

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B. No parties to any of these actions shall be required to obtain local counsel in this

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District and the requirements of Local Rule IA 10-2 are waived as to any attorney appearing in

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these actions who is duly admitted to practice and in good standing before any United States

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District or Appellate Court. Accordingly, pro hac vice motions shall not be required for such

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counsel.

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C. All counsel are required to register and abide by the Electronic Filing Procedures

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pursuant to Special Order #109 for the District of Nevada.

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IV. Filing

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A. Generally
i. All filings in any of these actions shall be filed with the Clerk of this Court and
not with the transferor district court.

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ii. All filings must in an electronically searchable format.

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iii. Where counsel for more than one party plan to file substantially identical

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papers, they shall join in the submission of such papers and shall file only one paper on

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behalf of all so joined.

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B. Captions

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All pleadings and motions shall bear the following caption:

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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DISTRICT OF NEVADA

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***

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IN RE: FIRST NATIONAL COLLECTION
BUREAU, INC. TELEPHONE CONSUMER
PROTECTION ACT (TCPA) LITIGATION

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MDL No. 2527

THIS DOCUMENT RELATES TO:

Case No. 2:14-CV-557-KJD-CWH
(Base File)

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When a document relates to all the actions consolidated here, the line below “THIS

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DOCUMENT RELATES TO:” will read “ALL CASES.” When the document does not

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relate to all the consolidated actions, the relevant individual docket numbers assigned by the

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Clerk of this Court shall be listed below “THIS DOCUMENT RELATES TO:.”

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C. CM/ECF

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Pursuant to Special Order #109, all documents filed in connection with these MDL

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proceedings shall be filed electronically. It shall be the responsibility of counsel for all parties to

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comply with Special Order #109 and register with the Case Management/Electronic Case Filing

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(CM/ECF) system in the District of Nevada. Further instructions for registration may be obtained

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from the Court’s website at www.nvd.uscourts.gov.

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V. Rules of Procedure

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A. Except as otherwise provided by this Court, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and

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the Local Civil Rules for the United States District Court for the District of Nevada shall govern

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all proceedings herein.

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B. All discovery proceedings in these actions are stayed until further Order of this Court

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and the time requirements to perform any acts or file any papers pursuant to Federal Rules of

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Civil Procedure 26 and 37, and Local Rule of Civil Practice 26-1 are tolled until the first Pretrial

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Conference at which time a discovery schedule will be established.

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C. Any Orders including protective orders previously entered by this Court or any

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transferor court shall remain in full force and effect unless modified by this Court upon

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application.

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D. Hearings shall not be held on any motions filed except by Order of the Court upon

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such notice as the Court may direct.

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VI. Preparation for the First Pretrial Conference

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A. Co-Lead Counsel

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Prior to the first pretrial conference, counsel for each group of parties whose interests are

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similarly aligned shall designate two (2) Co-Lead Counsel, subject to the approval of the Court.

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Plaintiffs’ Co-Lead Counsel shall have sole authority over the following matters on behalf of all

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Plaintiffs in actions consolidated in MDL No. 2527: (1) convening meetings of counsel for the

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parties; (2) initiation, response, scheduling, briefing and argument of all motions; (3) the scope,

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order, and conduct of all discovery proceedings; (4) the retention and preparation of experts; (5)

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delegation of work assignments to other counsel as Co-Lead Counsel shall deem appropriate; (6)

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designation of counsel to appear at hearings and conferences with the Court; (7) the timing and

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substance of any settlement negotiation with Defendants; (8) communications between the Court

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and other Plaintiffs’ counsel, including receiving and distributing notices, orders, motions, and

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briefs on behalf of the group; and (9) otherwise assisting in the coordination of activities and

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positions. No motion, discovery request, or other pre-trial proceeding shall be initiated by any

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Plaintiff except through Plaintiffs’ Co-Lead Counsel.

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Plaintiff’s Co-Lead Counsel shall have sole authority to communicate with Defendants

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and the Court on behalf of all Plaintiffs in these actions. Agreements made between Plaintiffs’

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Co-Lead Counsel and Defendants shall be binding upon all counsel in these actions. Plaintiffs’

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Co-Lead Counsel shall reasonably coordinate with Defendants in scheduling depositions so as to

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avoid subjecting witnesses to duplicative depositions in the various actions.

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Plaintiffs’ Co-Lead Counsel shall direct all Plaintiffs’ counsel to submit a periodic record

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of time expended on this litigation. Counsel who anticipate seeking an award of attorneys’ fees

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from the Court shall keep daily time records of their time spent and expenses incurred in

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connection with this litigation, indicating with specificity the hours and particular activity.

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Failure to maintain and timely submit such records may, at the time of any fee allocation, be

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grounds for denying fees to that attorney. Insufficient description of hourly activity may likewise

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be a ground for denying fees.

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B. Service of All Papers

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Prior to the first pretrial conference, service of all papers shall be made on each of the attorneys

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of record in the Base File, Case No. 2:14-CV-557-KJD-CWH. At the first pretrial conference,

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the parties shall present to the Court a list of designated attorneys for purposes of service. Only

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one attorney for each party separately represented shall be included on this list.

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C. Schedule and Agenda for First Pretrial Conference

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All other matters will be discussed at the first Pretrial Conference to be held on June 16,

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2014 at 9:00am in Courtroom 3C before Judge Hoffman. Counsel shall file suggestions for items

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to be included on the agenda no later than two weeks prior to this Conference.

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VII. Communication Among Counsel

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The Court recognizes that cooperation by and among Plaintiffs’ counsel and by and

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among Defendants’ counsel is essential for the orderly and expeditious conduct of this litigation.

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The communication of information among and between Plaintiffs’ counsel, or among and

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between Defendants’ counsel, shall not be deemed a waiver of the attorney-client privilege or the

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protection afforded attorneys’ work product, to the extent that such communications fall within

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the ambit of the attorney-client privilege, the work-product doctrine, and/or the common interest

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doctrine, and the cooperative efforts contemplated herein shall not in any way be used against

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any party to obtain discovery or other information that would otherwise be protected from

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disclosure. Nothing contained in this provision shall be construed to limit the rights of any party

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or counsel to assert any of the above referenced doctrines.

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VIII. Miscellany

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A. These proceedings are before United States District Judge Kent J. Dawson and the

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Honorable Carl W. Hoffman, United States Magistrate Judge. All pre-trial non-dispositive

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matters shall be addressed to Judge Hoffman. All other matters shall be addressed to Judge

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Dawson.

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B. Questions regarding filing and docketing of papers in the above action shall be directed to
Summer Rivera, Docket Clerk at 702-464-5557.
C. Questions regarding conducting hearings or the status of motions filed shall be directed to
Denise Saavedra, Courtroom Administrator at 702-464-5467.

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D. The Court will be guided by the Manual for Complex Litigation, Fourth published by the

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Federal Judicial Center in 2004. Counsel are directed to familiarize themselves with that

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publication.

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DATED this 1st day of May 2014.

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_____________________________
Kent J. Dawson
United States District Judge

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SCHEDULE A

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Eastern District of California
NEAL V. FIRST NATIONAL COLLECTION BUREAU, INC., C.A. No. 2:13-01206
Southern District of California
HUNTER V. FIRST NATIONAL COLLECTION BUREAU, INC., C.A. No.

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3:13-01515

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District of Nevada

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BEELL V. FIRST NATIONAL COLLECTION BUREAU, INC., C.A. No. 2:13-01303

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