Mason et al v. Health Management Associates, Inc. et al

Filing 270

ORDER directing the parties to each file on or before September 1, 2022, a memorandum of no more than 10 pages in length stating their position on the likely estimated amount of damages and generally how damages should be calculated, as more fully set forth herein. Signed by District Judge Kenneth D. Bell on 8/17/2022. (mek)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
CHARLOTTE DIVISION
CIVIL ACTION NO. 3:10-CV-00472-KDB
THOMAS L. MASON, ET AL.,
Plaintiffs,
v.

ORDER

HEALTH MANAGEMENT
ASSOCIATES, LLC, ET AL.,
Defendants.

THIS MATTER is before the Court sua sponte. Currently pending before the Court is a
discovery dispute related to Plaintiffs’ request for production of certain documents and various
interrogatories propounded by Plaintiffs. See Doc. Nos. 243, 255. In their arguments seeking and
opposing the requested discovery, both parties have raised the issue of “proportionality.” See Doc.
Nos. 244, 257. That is, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26 requires that discovery must be
“proportional to the needs of the case.” Virginia Dep’t of Corr. v. Jordan, 921 F.3d 180, 188 (4th
Cir. 2019). More specifically in this context, proportionality requires courts to consider, among
other things, "whether the burden or expense of the proposed discovery outweighs its likely
benefit." Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1). Applying this principle, each side argues that the amount
ultimately at stake in the case supports their position.
However, perhaps not unexpectedly, the parties disagree widely on how much in damages
Plaintiffs could receive if they are successful. Therefore, in considering the issue of
“proportionality,” the Court believes it would benefit by the filing of short additional memoranda
of law focused solely on the issue of damages. Accordingly, the Court directs the parties to each

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file on or before September 1, 2022, a memorandum of no more than 10 pages in length stating
their position on the likely estimated amount of damages (understanding that any number is only
a non-binding estimate1) and generally how damages should be calculated. Further, the parties
should specifically address in their memoranda whether Plaintiffs are required to mitigate their
damages and how, if at all, their earnings following the termination of their contracts should be
offset against any claimed damages. No response or reply briefs may be filed by any party.

SO ORDERED ADJUDGED AND DECREED.

Signed: August 17, 2022

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And, of course, if the matter goes to trial it will ultimately be for the jury as the trier of fact to
determine whether and to what extent Plaintiffs have proven their damages with reasonable
certainty, including, for example, the length of time for which Plaintiffs are entitled to claim
damages beyond the date of the termination of their contracts.
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