Tuttobene v. The Assurance Group, Inc.

Filing 117

ORDER: The parties are requested to provide the Magistrate Judge with a progress report, an agreed protocol, and an agreed auditor on or before August 4, 2014. A Telephone Conference to discuss the report, and if necessary, to approve or complete the adoption of a protocol and an auditor is set for 8/12/2014 at 1:30 PM before Magistrate Judge Joe Brown. Signed by Magistrate Judge Joe Brown on 7/3/2014. (DOCKET TEXT SUMMARY ONLY-ATTORNEYS MUST OPEN THE PDF AND READ THE ORDER.)(ds)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
NASHVILLE DIVISION
ERIC TUTTOBENE, et al.,

)
)
Plaintiffs
)
)
v.
)
)
THE ASSURANCE GROUP, INC., et al., )
)
Defendants
)

No. 3:10-0978
Judge Sharp/Brown
Jury Demand

O R D E R
A telephone conference was held with the parties on July
2, 2014, to discuss case progress and the proposition of setting up
an independent audit of various of the Plaintiffs’ accounts tagged
with the Assurance Group.
As the Magistrate Judge has previously expressed, he is
somewhat mystified as to why an audit of the Plaintiffs’ accounts
has not apparently been completed to the satisfaction of the
parties. It would seem to the Magistrate Judge that the Defendants
should have an easy way to list the payments to the Plaintiffs and
the deductions from those payments with an explanation of what the
deductions mean, and a final figure that was paid which would
correspond to 1099s provided to the Internal Revenue Service.
The Defendants contend that they have provided this
information. The Plaintiffs are just as insistent that they have
not had adequate explanations. Part of this may be a failure to
communicate by the parties as it appears there may be information
from 2013 by each side that has not been fully shared with the
other.

Be that as it may, the Magistrate Judge is more than
willing to assist the parties in setting up a protocol and an audit
of the accounts of the Plaintiffs in this case. The parties advised
that they thought they could work on this and reach an agreement.
The parties are requested to provide the Magistrate Judge
with a report on their progress, an agreed protocol and an agreed
auditor on or before August 4, 2014.
A telephone conference to discuss the report, and if
necessary, to approve or complete the adoption of a protocol and an
auditor is set for 1:30 p.m., August 12, 2014. To participate in
the

conference

call,

parties

will

call

615-695-2851

at

the

scheduled time.
In the event it appears that the issues remaining will be
too complicated to handle by telephone, the Magistrate Judge will
convert the matter to a an in-court hearing at the same time and
would strongly suggest that, if necessary, the parties have an
auditor they have agreed on present to help complete the protocol
for the audit.
The Defendants have agreed to fund the audit initially,
subject to the allocation of costs at a later date, depending on
the outcome of the case.
It is so ORDERED.
/s/ Joe B. Brown
JOE B. BROWN
United States Magistrate Judge