Bryce Corporation v. XL Insurance America, Inc.

Filing 89

ORDER terminating 88 Letter Motion for Local Rule 37.2 Conference. The Court is in receipt of Plaintiff's letter and shares Plaintiff's concern about defense counsel's seeming disregard for longstanding discovery deadlines. Given expert discovery is scheduled to close on March 14, 2025, Defendant is hereby ORDERED to provide a response to Plaintiff's letter on or before March 6, 2025. Moreover, if Defendant intends to be represented by Dentons U.S. LLP moving forward, t he Court expects defense counsel to state so on the docket and is surprised that counsel failed to do so already. Since the Court is currently unsure of who is representing Defendant and how to contact them, it requests that Plaintiff's counsel forward this endorsement to the counsel with whom they have most recently dealt using their most recent contact information. (Signed by Judge Katherine Polk Failla on 3/5/2025) (rro)

John N. Ellison
Direct Phone: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

Reed Smith LLP
Three Logan Square
Suite 3100
1717 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
[phone]
Fax [phone]
reedsmith.com

March 3, 2025
VIA ECF
The Honorable Katherine Polk Failla
United States District Court
Southern District of New York
Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse
40 Foley Square
New York, NY 10007
RE:

MEMO ENDORSED

Bryce Corporation v. XL Insurance America, Inc., No. 1:23-cv-1814 (S.D.N.Y.) (KPF)

Dear Judge Failla:
We write on behalf of Plaintiff Bryce Corporation (“Bryce”) as, following meet and confer
efforts, we are at an impasse with defense counsel regarding expert depositions and being able to
comply with the current scheduling order.
After spending weeks negotiating and agreeing to a deposition schedule for the six expert
witnesses in this case, counsel for defendant XL Insurance America, Inc. (“XL”) unilaterally cancelled
all depositions and is refusing to comply with the Court-ordered expert discovery deadline of March 14,
2025. See Ex. A (Email Exchange between R. Lewis and M. Deckman dated February 28, 2025).
The reason provided is that the attorneys representing XL moved law firms from DLA Piper to
Dentons, and there is apparently a delay in transferring the files. In an effort to reach a resolution,
counsel for Bryce asked the DLA law firm why the files had not yet been transferred and when they
would be transferred. The DLA firm responded only that we should ask the attorneys who moved to
Dentons. Those attorneys advised, “we do not have an answer for you,” and stated only that “the files
are under review.” See Ex. B (Email Exchange between M. Deckman, T. Delcima, and A. Armstrong
dated March 1, 2025).
Whatever jostling may be going on between DLA and Dentons, it is not a legitimate basis to
cancel all depositions and refuse to meet a court-imposed deadline, further delaying this case. The nonresponses from XL’s counsel as to when the files will be transferred likewise makes it impossible to
agree to a new schedule even if the Court did permit an extension of deadlines.
In light of the foregoing, we feel constrained to bring this matter to Your Honor’s attention and
request a conference as soon as the Court’s schedule allows. We respectfully suggest that
representatives from DLA and Dentons both appear to address this unnecessary and avoidable delay.

ABU DHABI ? ASTANA ? ATHENS ? ATLANTA ? AUSTIN ? BEIJING ? BRUSSELS ? CENTURY CITY ? CHICAGO ? DALLAS ? DENVER ? DUBAI ? FRANKFURT
HONG KONG ? HOUSTON ? LONDON ? LOS ANGELES ? MIAMI ? MUNICH ? NEW YORK ? ORANGE COUNTY ? PARIS ? PHILADELPHIA ? PITTSBURGH
PRINCETON ? RICHMOND ? SAN FRANCISCO ? SHANGHAI ? SILICON VALLEY ? SINGAPORE ? TYSONS ? WASHINGTON, D.C. ? WILMINGTON
US_ACTIVE-184657336.2-ARARMSTR 03/04/2025 2:31 PM

The Honorable Katherine Polk Failla
March 3, 2025
Page 2
Respectfully,
/s/ John N. Ellison
John N. Ellison
JNE:sc
cc: All Counsel of Record (via ECF)
The Court is in receipt of Plaintiff's letter and shares Plaintiff's
concern about defense counsel's seeming disregard for longstanding
discovery deadlines. Given expert discovery is scheduled to close
on March 14, 2025, Defendant is hereby ORDERED to provide a response
to Plaintiff's letter on or before March 6, 2025.
Moreover, if Defendant intends to be represented by Dentons U.S. LLP
moving forward, the Court expects defense counsel to state so on the
docket and is surprised that counsel failed to do so already. Since
the Court is currently unsure of who is representing Defendant and
how to contact them, it requests that Plaintiff's counsel forward
this endorsement to the counsel with whom they have most recently
dealt using their most recent contact information.
Dated:

March 5, 2025
New York, New York

SO ORDERED.

HON. KATHERINE POLK FAILLA
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE