Union Pacific Railroad Company v. Advance Polybag (Nevada), Inc.

Filing 33

ORDER granting 32 Motion for Protective Order and Vacating 4/6/2018 deposition; Discovery due by 4/26/2018. Signed by Magistrate Judge Nancy J. Koppe on 4/5/2018. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - JM)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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DISTRICT OF NEVADA

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UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANY,
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Plaintiff(s),
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v.
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ADVANCE POLYBAG (NEVADA), INC.,
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Defendant(s).
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Case No. 2:17-cv-02077-RFB-NJK
ORDER
(Docket No. 32)

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Pending before the Court is Plaintiff’s emergency motion for protective order regarding a

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deposition scheduled for April 6, 2018. Docket No. 32. The gist of the dispute is that one of Plaintiff’s

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deponents is unavailable on the noticed date because of previously-scheduled vacation leave, and

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counsel have been unable to find a mutually agreeable alternative date. The Court begins by reminding

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counsel that “[d]iscovery is supposed to proceed with minimal involvement of the Court.” F.D.I.C. v.

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Butcher, 116 F.R.D. 196, 203 (E.D. Tenn. 1986). Counsel should strive to be cooperative, practical and

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sensible, and should seek judicial intervention only in extraordinary situations that implicate truly

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significant interests. Cardoza v. Bloomin’ Brands, Inc., 141 F. Supp. 3d 1137, 1145 (D. Nev. 2015)

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(quoting In re Convergent Techs. Securities Litig., 108 F.R.D. 328, 331 (N.D. Cal. 1985)). Had these

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principles been followed, the parties should have been able to agree on an alternative deposition date

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without resorting to Court intervention. The Court expects better cooperation moving forward.

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Turning to the merits of the motion, courts may issue protective orders to avoid annoyance,

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embarrassment, oppression, or undue burden. Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c). Here, Plaintiff’s counsel indicated

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to Defendant’s counsel on March 22, 2018, that one of the deponents is not available on the noticed date.

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See Docket No. 32-1 at ¶ 5 (declaration of counsel); see also Docket No. 32-6 (declaration of deponent).

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Given the circumstances, the Court GRANTS the emergency motion for protective order and

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VACATES the deposition scheduled for April 6, 2018.

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Counsel shall confer on a mutually agreeable alternative deposition date. To better facilitate the

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rescheduling of the deposition, the Court EXTENDS the discovery cutoff for purposes of this deposition

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only to April 26, 2018. All other deadlines in the scheduling order remain unchanged.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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DATED: April 5, 2018

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______________________________________
NANCY J. KOPPE
United States Magistrate Judge

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