Cape Fear Public Utility Authority v. The Chemours Company FC, LLC et al

Filing 287

ORDER - The Parties' motions (D.E. 152, 157, 169, 170, 172, 202, 217) are DENIED given the Parties' agreements and this Court's Order. Signed by Magistrate Judge Robert T. Numbers, II on 4/22/2024. Counsel should read the order in its entirety for critical deadlines and information. (Mann, Stephanie)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
SOUTHERN DIVISION
CAPE FEAR PUBLIC UTILITY
AUTHORITY, BRUNSWICK COUNTY,
LOWER CAPE FEAR WATER &
SEWER AUTHORITY, and TOWN OF
WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH,

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Plaintiffs,
v.
THE CHEMOURS COMPANY FC, LLC,
E. I. DU PONT DE NEMOURS AND
COMPANY, and THE CHEMOURS
COMPANY,
Defendants.

Case No. 7:17-CV-00195-D
Case No. 7:17-CV-00209-D

Order

Pending before this Court are Plaintiffs’ Motions to Compel Production of Documents and
Non-Party 30(b)(6) Testimony from Third Parties Parsons Environment and Infrastructure Group,
Inc. (“Parsons”) and Geosyntec Consultants of NC, P.C. (“Geosyntec”) (D.E. 152, 157, 202). Prior
to a hearing on these and other pending discovery motions in this action on March 18, 2023 (D.E.
266), the Parties agreed upon terms resolving Plaintiffs’ Motions to Compel (D.E. 152, 157, 202),
Parsons and Geosyntec’s Motions for Protective Order (D.E. 169, 170, 172), Geosyntec’s Motion
to Strike (D.E. 217), and Parsons’s Opposition to Plaintiffs’ Motion to Compel (D.E. 223).
Per this agreement, the Court hereby:
(1) ORDERS Third Parties Parsons Environment and Infrastructure Group, Inc. and
Geosyntec Consultants of NC, P.C. each to designate a deponent or deponents to testify,
not to exceed seven hours of testimony for each consultant, regarding the public reports
specifically identified by Plaintiff CFPUA by letters dated December 4, 2023 (DE 202-3
and 202-5).
(2) ORDERS the topics specified in the Amended Notices of Rule 30(b)(6) Depositions (DE
202-2 and 202-4) are restricted to information relating to the public reports specifically
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identified in paragraph (1), and further restricted as set forth in the following paragraph
(3).
(3) ORDERS that Plaintiffs will not seek discovery from Parsons or Geosyntec on topics and
communications over which Chemours, Parsons and Geosyntec have asserted work
product protection. This includes 1) communications involving counsel for Chemours and
Geosyntec, Parsons and/or Chemours; and 2) communications internal to or among
Geosyntec, Parsons and/or Chemours that convey or carry out direction from counsel for
Chemours (“Protected Communications”). This includes both discovery through
deposition testimony and through document subpoenas. The 30(b)(6) deposition topics
may include the site assessment and remediation work conducted by Geosyntec and
Parsons, but exclude the contents of Protected Communications.
(4) ORDERS that the subpoenas to Geosyntec and Parsons for the production of documents
(D.E. 152, 157) are quashed per the agreement of the parties.
(5) ORDERS Plaintiffs to reimburse both Parsons and Geosyntec for document production
costs and deposition costs. This includes costs related to the production of
communications prior to 2017 previously produced from Parsons to Plaintiffs.
The Parties’ motions (D.E. 152, 157, 169, 170, 172, 202, 217, 223) are therefore DENIED given
the Parties’ agreements and this Court’s Order. SO ORDERED.

Dated: April 22, 2024
______________________________________
Robert T. Numbers, II
United States Magistrate Judge

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