Mays v. B.H. Enterprises, LLC et al

Filing 21

ORDER by Magistrate Judge Charles S. Miller, Jr. denying 20 Motion to Compel without prejudice. (BG)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NORTH DAKOTA
NORTHWESTERN DIVISION
Elizabeth Mays, and all Others Similarly
Situated,
Plaintiffs,
vs.
B.H. Enterprises, LLC, et. al.,
Defendants.

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ORDER

Case No. 4:14-cv-118

Before the court is a “Motion to Compel Discovery” filed by plaintiff on December 10, 2015.
The court, in an order dated November 4, 2014, set forth the following procedure for the parties to
follow in the event of a discovery dispute:
RESOLUTION OF DISCOVERY DISPUTES
[The court] hereby ORDERS that the following steps be undertaken by all
parties prior to filing any discovery motion.
1)

The parties are strongly encouraged to informally resolve all
discovery issues and disputes without the necessity of Court
intervention. In that regard, the parties are first required to confer
and fully comply with Rule 37(a)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure and Local Rule 37.1 by undertaking a sincere, good faith
effort to try to resolve all differences without Court action or
intervention;

2)

In the event that reasonable, good faith efforts have been made by all
parties to confer and attempt to resolve any differences, without
success, the parties are then required to schedule a telephonic
conference with the Magistrate Judge in an effort to try to resolve the
discovery dispute prior to the filing of any motions. The parties shall
exhaust the first two steps of the process before any motions, briefs,
memorandums of law, exhibits, deposition transcripts, or any other
discovery materials are filed with the court.

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3)

If the dispute still cannot be resolved following a telephonic
conference with the Magistrate Judge, then the Court (Magistrate
Judge) will entertain a motion to compel discovery, motion for
sanctions, motion for protective order, or other discovery motions.
In connection with the filing of any such motions, the moving party
shall first fully comply with all requirements of Rule 37(a)(1) of the
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Local Rule 37.1 and shall
submit the appropriate certifications to the Court as required by those
rules.

4)

The Court will refuse to hear any discovery motion unless the parties
have made a sincere, good faith effort to resolve the dispute and all
of the above-identified steps have been strictly complied with. A
failure to fully comply with all of the prerequisite steps may result in
a denial of any motion with prejudice and may result in an award of
costs and reasonable attorney's fees

(Docket No. 10). Plaintiff has not strictly adhered to this procedure; it did not contact the court to
schedule a conference call prior to filing its motion. Consequently, its motion (Docket No. 20) is
DENIED without prejudice.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated this 11th day of December, 2015.
/s/ Charles S. Miller, Jr.
Charles S. Miller, Jr., Magistrate Judge
United States District Court

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