American Airlines Inc v. Travelport Limited et al

Filing 400

MOTION for Leave to File Sur-Reply in Opposition to American's Motion to Compel the Second Deposition of Sabre Witnesses filed by Sabre Holdings Corporation, Sabre Inc, Sabre Travel International Ltd, with Brief/Memorandum in Support. (Attachments: #1 Proposed Sur-Reply) (Fredricks, Scott) Modified filers on 8/31/2012 (klm).

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
FORT WORTH DIVISION
AMERICAN AIRLINES, INC.
Plaintiff,
VS.

CIVIL ACTION NO. 4:11-CV-244-Y
(Relates to Motion Referred to Magistrate Judge Cureton)

TRAVELPORT LIMITED, et al.
Defendants.
SABRE DEFENDANTS’ SUR-REPLY TO AMERICAN’S MOTION TO
COMPEL THE SECOND DEPOSITION OF SABRE WITNESSES
American’s Reply [Doc. 397] seeks, for the first time, specific relief not requested in its
initial motion—an order compelling Sabre to provide dates for the re-deposition of Sam
Gilliland, Sabre’s CEO.1 American’s request is not properly before the Court at this time. Prior
to filing the instant motion to compel, American never noticed or even requested the deposition
of Mr. Gilliland. In fact, American refused to identify Mr. Gilliland or any other Sabre witnesses
when Sabre attempted to confer with American regarding its attempts to re-depose Chris
Wilding. See AA Appx. at 4 [Doc. 378].
American’s underlying motion does not relate to Mr. Gilliland. Rather, American moved
to compel the re-deposition of Chris Wilding. It was not until its reply brief that American
attempted to sneak in its request to re-depose Mr. Gilliland. American has not adequately
briefed or explained its basis for seeking a second, entirely duplicative deposition of Sabre’s
CEO.
1

Mr. Gilliland was first deposed by American’s lead counsel, Mr. Paul Yetter, for 5 ½ hours on April 19, 2012 in
the Tarrant County Case.

1

Further, American noticed the deposition of Mr. Gilliland after filing its initial motion
and without even attempting to confer with Sabre—in contravention of this Court’s standards in
Dondi.2 Before presenting this issue to the Court, American should first be required to confer
with Sabre and provide justification for burdening Sabre and its CEO with yet another deposition
concerning facts and issues already covered in Mr. Gilliland’s first deposition.
American cannot establish good cause for subjecting Sabre and Mr. Wilding (or Mr.
Gilliland) to a second lengthy and cumulative deposition. Accordingly, Sabre requests that
American’s motion be denied and that the Court issue an order (1) protecting Mr. Wilding from a
second deposition, and (2) protecting other Sabre employees (including Mr. Gilliland) from
second depositions in this action absent leave of Court and a showing of good cause.

Dated: August 30, 2012

Respectfully submitted,
/s/ Scott A. Fredricks
Ralph H. Duggins
Texas Bar No. 06183700
Scott A. Fredricks
Texas Bar No. 24012657
Philip A. Vickers
Texas Bar No. 24051699
CANTEY HANGER LLP
Cantey Hanger Plaza
600 West 6th Street, Suite 300
Fort Worth, TX 76102-3685
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]

2

“When scheduling … depositions, lawyers should communicate with the opposing counsel in an attempt to
schedule them at a mutually agreeable time.” Dondi Props. Corp. v. Commerce Savings and Loan Asssoc., 121
F.R.D. 284, 293, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6991 (N.D. Tex. 1988).

2

Chris Lind
Illinois Bar No. 6225464
Andrew K. Polovin
Illinois Bar No. 6275707
Andrew MacNally
Illinois Bar No. 6293271
BARTLIT BECK HERMAN PALENCHAR &
SCOTT LLP
Courthouse Place
54 West Hubbard
Chicago, IL 60654
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
Donald E. Scott
Colorado Bar No. 2129
Illinois Bar No. 2531321
Karma M. Giulianelli
Colorado Bar No. 30919
California Bar No. 184175
Sean C. Grimsley
Colorado Bar No. 36422
California Bar No. 216741
Sundeep K. (Rob) Addy
Colorado Bar No. 38754
BARTLIT BECK HERMAN PALENCHAR &
SCOTT LLP
1899 Wynkoop Street, 8th Floor
Denver, Colorado 80202
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
George S. Cary
D.C. Bar No. 285411
Steven J. Kaiser
D.C. Bar No. 454251
Larry C. Work-Dembowski
D.C. Bar No. 486331
Kenneth Reinker
D.C. Bar. No. 999958
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CLEARY GOTTLIEB STEEN & HAMILTON LLP
2000 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20006
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
Attorneys for Sabre Inc., Sabre Holdings
Corporation, and Sabre Travel Int’l Ltd.
d/b/a Sabre Travel Network

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that all counsel of record who are deemed to have consented to electronic
service are being served with a copy of the foregoing document via the Court’s CM/ECF system
pursuant to the Court’s Local Rule 5.1(d) on August 30, 2012.
/s/ Scott A. Fredricks
Scott A. Fredricks

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