Julian v. MetLife, Inc. et al

Filing 141

ORDER granting 107 Letter Motion for Discovery; denying 140 Letter Motion to Stay. Application DENIED. The Court GRANTS plaintiffs' request for a pre-motion discovery conference (Dkt. No. 107) and will conduct a telephone pre-motion dis covery conference on May 14, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. At that time the parties are direct to call [phone] and enter the access code 7746387. In advance of the conference, and no later than May 11, 2020, the parties shall file a joint letter succinc tly stating their respective positions on the plaintiffs' motion and the status of their ongoing attempt to resolve the dispute among themselves. If the parties resolve the dispute among themselves prior to May 11, plaintiff shall promptly withdraw its request for a pre-motion conference. (Signed by Magistrate Judge Barbara C. Moses on 4/27/2020) (mro)

Sanford Heisler Sharp, LLP

04/27/2020
David Tracey, Senior Litigation Counsel
[phone]
[e-mail]

New York | Washington D.C. | San Francisco | San Diego | Nashville | Baltimore

April 24,
VIA ECF
Hon. Barbara Moses
Daniel Patrick Moynihan Courthouse
500 Pearl Street, Room 740
New York, NY 10007
Re:

1350 Avenue of the Americas, Floor 31
New York, NY 10019
Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
www.sanfordheisler.com

Application DENIED. The Court GRANTS plaintiffs' request for a premotion discovery conference (Dkt. No. 107) and will conduct a telephonic
pre-motion discovery conference on May 14, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. At
2020 that time the parties are direct to call [phone] and enter the access
code 7746387. In advance of the conference, and no later than May 11,
2020, the parties shall file a joint letter succinctly stating their respective
positions on the plaintiffs' motion and the status of their ongoing attempts
to resolve the dispute among themselves. If the parties resolve the dispute
among themselves prior to May 11, plaintiff shall promptly withdraw its
request for a pre-motion discovery conference.
___________________________________________
Barbara Moses, U.S.M.J.
April 27, 2020

Julian, et al. v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., No. 1:17-cv-00957-AJN-BCM
Motion to Compel 30(b)(6) Designee on MetLife’s ESI

Dear Magistrate Judge Moses:
We write regarding Plaintiffs’ request for a pre-motion conference to compel a 30(b)(6)
designee on Defendant Metropolitan Life Insurance Company’s (“MetLife”) electronically stored
information (“ESI”). Plaintiffs filed this request via letter motion on February 20, 2020, Dkt No.
107, and Defendant filed a response in opposition on February 25, 2020, Dkt. No. 110. On
February 28, 2020, the Parties jointly informed the Court that they had agreed to further meet and
confer on the issues raised in their letters in order to attempt to resolve their dispute without further
need for court intervention. Dkt. No. 113. On March 5, 2020, on March 13, 2020, on April 3, 2020,
and on April 10, 2020, the parties informed the court that they were continuing their efforts to
resolve their dispute. Dkt. No. 116, 123, 130, & 136.
In March and early April, Defendant’s counsel conducted interviews with potential
30(b)(6) designees and drafted written descriptions of certain systems about which Plaintiffs seek
testimony. On April 9, 2020, Defendant’s counsel provided those written descriptions to Plaintiffs’
counsel after relevant MetLife personnel reviewed the descriptions to ensure their accuracy. On
April 15, 2020, after reviewing ESI descriptions, Plaintiffs’ counsel provided Defendant’s counsel
with written questions concerning the systems, a request for documents relating to the ESI systems,
and a request that Defendant ultimately provide its written ESI summaries under oath. Defendant’s
counsel is working on providing responses to these requests, which may mitigate the need for
30(b)(6) testimony on certain of the ESI systems.
Accordingly, the Parties jointly request that the Court continue to hold Plaintiffs’ motion,
Dkt. No. 107, in abeyance, and not set a date for a pre-motion conference until May 11, 2020. The
Parties intend to inform the Court by May 8, 2020 as to whether they have resolved their dispute.

Hon. Barbara Moses
April 24, 2020
Page 2 of 2
Respectfully,

/s/ David H. Tracey
David H. Tracey
SANFORD HEISLER SHARP LLP
1350 Avenue of the Americas, 31st Floor
New York, New York 10019
[phone]

/s/ Melissa C. Rodriguez
Melissa C. Rodriguez
MORGAN, LEWIS & BOCKIUS
101 Park Avenue
New York, New York 10178
[phone]

Attorneys for Plaintiffs, the Members
of the Collective Action, and the
Members of the Proposed Classes

Attorneys for Defendant