Ceglia v. Zuckerberg et al
Filing
125
DECISION and ORDER denying 118 Motion to Stay. Signed by Hon. Richard J. Arcara on 8/26/2011. (JMB)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
W ESTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
PAUL D. CEGLIA,
Plaintiff,
DECISION AND ORDER
10-CV-569A
v.
MARK ELLIOT ZUCKERBERG and
FACEBOOK, INC.,
Defendants.
On July 1, 2011, Magistrate Judge Leslie G. Foschio issued an order (Dkt.
No. 83) directing partial expedited discovery in this case. Under that order,
Magistrate Judge Foschio directed plaintiff to produce several types of discovery
on or before July 15, 2011. Plaintiff was directed to produce hard-copy
documents related to the alleged contract in question and certain e-mail
correspondence that may have occurred between the parties. Plaintiff also was
directed to identify, in a sworn declaration, all computers and electronic media in
his possession, custody, or control, to allow defendants an opportunity for
inspection. Additionally, plaintiff was directed to produce native electronic
versions of the alleged contract in question and of the e-mail correspondence
referenced in the amended complaint, along with the computers and electronic
media identified for inspection. Plaintiff never filed objections to the July 1, 2011
Order under Rule 72 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (“FRCP”).
Just over a month after Magistrate Judge Foschio issued his July 1, 2011
Order, the parties filed cross-motions to compel (Dkt. Nos. 91, 95). W ithout
delving into the numerous issues and details that the parties raised in those
cross-motions, they accused each other of failing to comply with the production
schedule that Magistrate Judge Foschio laid out in the July 1, 2011 Order. After
extensive briefing and oral argument, Magistrate Judge Foschio issued a second
order on August 18, 2011 (Dkt. No. 117) granting defendants’ cross-motion to
compel in part but otherwise denying the motions. In the August 18, 2011 Order,
Magistrate Judge Foschio reiterated, though in more detail, that plaintiff was
required to produce certain hard-copy and electronic documents required by the
July 1, 2011 Order. As for when this production would be due, counsel for
plaintiff had the following exchange with Magistrate Judge Foschio:
THE COURT: Thank you. Now, as far as a written order is
concerned, because the Defendant is the prevailing party on
this issue, I’m going to direct the Defendant to draft the Court’s
order in written form, much as we did with the original order,
[and] present it to Mr. Lake. If there’s disagreement over text,
the Court will be available at 10:00 tomorrow to deal with the
issue. And we haven’t gotten to the ink testing issue, which I
think I’m about to tackle. And that is so ordered.
MR. LAKE: Your Honor, if I may be heard briefly. One, if it can be 10
days from the actual order as opposed to today, even that
extra day will help me so we that we can get to work.
2
THE COURT: Yeah, 10 days from the filing of the actual order.
MR. LAKE: Thank you.
(Dkt. No. 121 at 121–22 (emphasis added).) In accordance with plaintiff’s
wishes, Magistrate Judge Foschio extended the production deadline from the
original deadline of July 15, 2011 to August 29, 2011, 10 days after the date of
filing of the August 18, 2011 Order.
Despite the agreement that he reached with Magistrate Judge Foschio
about the time for production, plaintiff filed a motion (Dkt. No. 118) to stay the
August 18, 2011 Order just one day after that order issued. Initially, plaintiff
asked for a stay on the grounds that he wanted to file objections to the August 18,
2011 Order but that compliance with that order would have to occur before the
deadline for filing objections. By text order dated August 22, 2011 (Dkt. No. 119),
this Court directed plaintiff to file supplemental briefing explaining some other
basis for a stay, since “[t]he desire to file objections to a magistrate judge’s order
does not, by itself, warrant a stay of that order.” Id. (citing Am. Rock Salt Co.,
LLC v. Norfolk S. Corp., 371 F. Supp. 2d 358, 360-61 (W .D.N.Y. 2005) (Larimer,
J.)). Accordingly, plaintiff filed a supplemental memorandum of law on August 22,
2011 (Dkt. No. 120) asserting that a stay was necessary because “[t]he August
18, 2011 Order requires Plaintiff to engage in enormous efforts if Plaintiff is
to comply by August 29, 2011—merely eleven (11) days after the Court issued
3
the August 18, 2011 Order.” (Dkt. No. 120 at 3.) Defendants filed responding
papers on August 24, 2011.
After reviewing the papers, the Court finds two problems with plaintiff’s
request for a stay. First, plaintiff is asking this Court to alter a production
schedule that he himself requested in open court just two days before filing the
pending motion. Plaintiff has not set forth what he learned two days later about
the time needed for production that he did not know when he last appeared
before Magistrate Judge Foschio and that he could not first explain to him.
Second, the August 18, 2011 Order is merely a reiteration or an
enforcement of the July 1, 2011 Order, an order to which plaintiff never objected.
“W hen a party fails to object timely to a magistrate’s recommended decision, it
waives any right to further judicial review of that decision.” McCarthy v. Manson,
714 F.2d 234, 237 (2d Cir. 1983) (citations omitted). Additionally, although the
August 18, 2011 Order did not issue sanctions under FRCP 37(b), it was an order
that resolved an FRCP 37 motion. As a result, the underlying substance of the
production requirement under that order is not at issue. Cf. 8B Charles Alan
W right et al., Federal Practice and Procedure § 2289 (3d ed. and W estlaw 2011)
(“The propriety of the discovery sought is not in issue at the time sanctions are
being imposed under Rule 37(b).”); see also Viswanathan v. Scotland County Bd.
of Educ., 165 F.R.D. 50, 53 n.2 (M.D.N.C. 1995) (citing Wright); Constitution
Bank v. Levine, 151 F.R.D. 278, 279 (E.D. Pa. 1993) (same). Under these
4
circumstances, the Court finds that plaintiff has failed to establish good cause for
a stay even before assessing the other factors governing a stay that are set forth
in Ellington Credit Fund, Ltd. v. Select Portfolio Servs., Inc., No. 08 Civ. 2437,
2009 W L 274483 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 3, 2009).
For all of the above reasons, the Court denies plaintiff’s motion (Dkt. No.
118) for a stay of Magistrate Judge Foschio’s August 18, 2011 Order.
SO ORDERED.
s/ Richard J. Arcara
HONORABLE RICHARD J. ARCARA
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
DATED: August 26, 2011
5
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.
Why Is My Information Online?