Guevara v. Goodnight Group LLC et al

Filing 71

ORDER granting 70 Letter Motion for Local Rule 37.2 Conference. The Court therefore doubts that the parties conferred "in good faith," in a genuine effort to resolve their dispute "without court action," as required by, in ter alia, Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(a)(1). Consequently, it is hereby ORDERED that: 1. Further Good-Faith Conference. The parties shall promptly meet and confer again, in good faith and in real time (i.e., in person, by videoconference, or by telephone; letters, emails or text messages alone will not do), at which time they shall discuss each of the disputed requests and interrogatories and make a genuine effort to resolve their disagreements without court intervention. 2. Refiled Letter-Moti on. If the parties remain at impasse after complying with paragraph 1 herein, plaintiffs may refile their letter-motion no later than November 16, 2021, in compliance with Moses Ind. Prac. § 2(b), and shall include a description of all o ffers to narrow or otherwise compromise the discovery requests and interrogatories that remain in dispute. In addition: a. To the extent plaintiffs' "requests for class discovery" remain in dispute, see Pl. Ltr. at 2, plaintiffs sh all identify precisely which document demands and interrogatories they categorize as seeking "class discovery." b. To the extent RFP 31 remains in dispute, see Pl. Ltr. at 3, plaintiffs shall identify each proposed custodian and all of pl aintiffs' "listed search terms." Id. Defendant's opposition letter shall be filed no later than November 19, 2021. Plaintiff's optional reply letter shall be filed no later than November 23, 2021. 3. Conference. The Court will hold a discovery conference on November 29, 2021, at 11:00 a.m., via teleconference. At that time, parties should dial [phone] and enter access code: 7746387. If plaintiffs do not timely refile their letter-motion, the conference will be cancelled. The Clerk of Court is respectfully directed to close Dkt. No. 70. Telephone Conference set for 11/29/2021 at 11:00 AM before Magistrate Judge Barbara C. Moses. (Signed by Magistrate Judge Barbara C. Moses on 11/10/2021) (ate)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
STEPHANIE RUIZ GUEVARA, et al.,
Plaintiffs,
-against-

20-CV-5330 (BCM)
ORDER

GOODNIGHT GROUP LLC, et al.,
Defendants.
BARBARA MOSES, United States Magistrate Judge.
By letter-motion dated November 5, 2021 (Pl. Ltr.) (Dkt. No. 70), plaintiffs seek a
discovery conference to resolve a series of detailed disputes arising out of defendants' responses
to Plaintiffs' First Request for the Production of Documents and Plaintiffs' First Set of
Interrogatories (Dkt. No. 70-1). However, it appears that the parties met and conferred for only
ten minutes before reaching "an impasse." Pl. Ltr. at 1. Ten minutes is barely long enough to
read the contested document requests and interrogatories out loud. Moreover, insofar as can be
determined from plaintiffs' letter, plaintiffs made no effort, during the ten-minute meeting, to
narrow or limit a single one of the disputed requests or interrogatories, notwithstanding that
some of them are facially overbroad, seeking documents that are at best marginally relevant to
plaintiffs' wage and hour claims and disproportional to the needs of the case. See, e.g., RFP 27
(seeking production of "all vendor contracts" entered into by defendants, regardless of the nature
of the goods or services purchased). The Court therefore doubts that the parties conferred "in
good faith," in a genuine effort to resolve their dispute "without court action," as required by,
inter alia, Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(a)(1). Consequently, it is hereby ORDERED that:
1.

Further Good-Faith Conference. The parties shall promptly meet and confer

again, in good faith and in real time (i.e., in person, by videoconference, or by telephone; letters,
emails or text messages alone will not do), at which time they shall discuss each of the disputed

requests and interrogatories and make a genuine effort to resolve their disagreements without
court intervention.
2.

Refiled Letter-Motion. If the parties remain at impasse after complying with ¶ 1

herein, plaintiffs may refile their letter-motion no later than November 16, 2021, in compliance
with Moses Ind. Prac. § 2(b), and shall include a description of all offers to narrow or otherwise
compromise the discovery requests and interrogatories that remain in dispute. In addition:
a.

To the extent plaintiffs' "requests for class discovery" remain in dispute,
see Pl. Ltr. at 2, plaintiffs shall identify precisely which document
demands and interrogatories they categorize as seeking "class discovery."

b.

To the extent RFP 31 remains in dispute, see Pl. Ltr. at 3, plaintiffs shall
identify each proposed custodian and all of plaintiffs' "listed search
terms." Id.

Defendant's opposition letter shall be filed no later than November 19, 2021. Plaintiff's optional
reply letter shall be filed no later than November 23, 2021.
3.

Conference. The Court will hold a discovery conference on November 29, 2021,

at 11:00 a.m., via teleconference. At that time, parties should dial [phone] and enter
access code: 7746387. If plaintiffs do not timely refile their letter-motion, the conference will be
cancelled.
The Clerk of Court is respectfully directed to close Dkt. No. 70.
SO ORDERED.

Dated: New York, New York
November 10, 2021

___________________________
BARBARA MOSES
United States Magistrate Judge

2