Julian v. MetLife, Inc. et al

Filing 214

ORDER denying as moot 206 Letter Motion to Compel. The letter-motion seeking to compel discovery from opt-in plaintiff Sarah Martinec (Dkt. No. 206) is DENIED AS MOOT. Judge Moses will conduct a telephonic status conference to address the rema ining letter-motions on September 24, 2020, at 11:00 a.m. At that time, counsel are directed to call the Court's conference line [phone] and enter the access code 7746387. Plaintiffs shall file any letter-briefs opposing or otherwise re sponding to Dkt. Nos.212 and 213 no later than September 23, 2020 at 12:00 noon. The Clerk of Court is respectfully directed to close the letter-motion at Dkt. No. 206. (As further set forth in this Order.) (Signed by Magistrate Judge Barbara C. Moses on 9/22/2020) (cf)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
09/22/2020

DEBRA JULIAN, et al.,
Plaintiffs,
-againstMETROPOLITAN LIFE INS. CO.,

17-CV-957 (AJN) (BCM)
ORDER

Defendant.
BARBARA MOSES, United States Magistrate Judge.
By order dated June 30, 2020 (June 30 Order) (Dkt. No. 188), the Court authorized
defendant MetLife to conduct depositions of 13 additional opt-in plaintiffs, which (together with
the 7 depositions already conducted) would permit defendant to conduct a total of 20 depositions
(out of 80 opt-in plaintiffs). June 30 Order ¶ 1. Defendant was also authorized to serve certain
written discovery requests on the opt-in deponents. Id. ¶ 2. The June 30 Order set the close of
pre-certification class discovery as August 28, 2020, id. ¶ 6, which was thereafter extended to
September 21, 2020 for the limited purpose of completing responses to existing discovery
requests and conducting the authorized depositions. (Dkt. No. 202.)
Since then, two of the opt-in plaintiffs selected for deposition, Janet Engle and Sarah
Martinec, have withdrawn from this case. (Dkt. Nos. 204, 208.)
The Court is now in receipt of:
(a) defendant's letter-motion dated September 11, 2020, seeking to compel opt-in plaintiff
Sarah Martinec to respond to discovery requests and appear for deposition (Dkt. No. 206),
together with plaintiffs' opposition thereto (Dkt. No. 209);
(b) defendant's letter-motion dated September 15, 2020, seeking to serve discovery on
and depose opt-in plaintiff Sandi Day in place of former opt-in plaintiff Janet Engle (Dkt. No.
207), together with plaintiffs' opposition thereto (Dkt. No. 211);
(c) defendant's letter-motion dated September 21, 2020, seeking to serve discovery on
and depose opt-in plaintiff Mia Cornelius in place of former opt-in plaintiff Sarah Martinec (Dkt.
No. 212); and
(d) defendant's letter-motion dated September 21, 2020, seeking to compel opt-in plaintiff
Kimberlee Doerr to respond to discovery requests and appear for deposition (Dkt. No. 213).
It is HEREBY ORDERED that:
1.

The letter-motion seeking to compel discovery from opt-in plaintiff Sarah
Martinec (Dkt. No. 206) is DENIED AS MOOT.

2.

Judge Moses will conduct a telephonic status conference to address the remaining
letter-motions on September 24, 2020, at 11:00 a.m. At that time, counsel are
directed to call the Court's conference line [phone] and enter the access
code 7746387. Please treat the conference as you would a public court
appearance. If a conference or hearing in another matter is ongoing, please
be silent (mute your line) until your case is called.

3.

Plaintiffs shall file any letter-briefs opposing or otherwise responding to Dkt. Nos.
212 and 213 no later than September 23, 2020 at 12:00 noon.

4.

It is the Court's intention to permit MetLife to conduct discovery, including
depositions, of a total of 20 opt-in plaintiffs, as authorized by the June 30 Order,
at least to the extent it has made timely requests for substitution in response to the
non-cooperation or withdrawal of a previously selected opt-in plaintiff. At the
conference, the parties should be prepared to discuss how to most efficiently
accomplish that goal.

The Clerk of Court is respectfully directed to close the letter-motion at Dkt. No. 206.
Dated: New York, New York
September 22, 2020

SO ORDERED.

________________________________
BARBARA MOSES
United States Magistrate Judge

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