Seneca Insurance v. Alton Coal Development et al
Filing
178
MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER OVERRULING OBJECTION TO MAGISTRATE JUDGE DECISION. The summary of, or copies of, highwall miner policies issued by Seneca for five years prior to the issuance of the Alton policy are due within fourteen (14) days of this Order. The 30(b)(6) deposition must be completed within thirty (30) days of this Order and is limited to four (4) hours. Specific concerns about the proper scope of the deposition can be raised with the Magistrate Judge at the appropriate time. SO ORDERED Signed by Judge Ted Stewart on 10/24/17. (jlw)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF UTAH
SENECA INSURANCE COMPANY, INC.,
MEMORANDUM DECISION AND
ORDER OVERRULING
OBJECTION TO MAGISTRATE
JUDGE DECISION
Plaintiff,
v.
ALTON COAL DEVELOPMENT, LLC
and CATERPILLAR FINANCIAL
SERVICES CORPORATION,
Case No. 2:15-CV-761 TS
District Judge Ted Stewart
Defendants.
This matter is before the Court on Plaintiff’s Objection to the Magistrate Judge’s August
29, 2017 Order. For the reasons discussed below, the Court will overrule the Objection.
Under 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(A) and Rule 72(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure,
the Court reviews a Magistrate Judge’s order on nondispositive matters to determine whether it is
clearly erroneous or contrary to law. 1 “The clearly erroneous standard . . . requires that the
reviewing court affirm unless it ‘on the entire evidence is left with the definite and firm
conviction that a mistake has been committed.’” 2 “Under the ‘contrary to law’ standard, the
district court conducts a plenary review of the magistrate judge’s purely legal determinations,
setting aside the magistrate judge’s order only if it applied an incorrect legal standard.” 3
1
28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(A); Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(a).
2
Ocelot Oil Corp. v. Sparrow Indus., 847 F.2d 1458, 1464 (10th Cir. 1988) (quoting
United States v. United States Gypsum Co., 333 U.S. 364, 395 (1948)).
3
Raytheon Co. v. Cray, Inc., No. 2:16MC898 DAK, 2017 WL 823558, at *2 (D. Utah
Mar. 2, 2017) (quotation marks omitted).
1
The Court has carefully reviewed the August 29, 2017 Order, the recording of the August
25, 2017 hearing, Plaintiff’s objection, Defendant Alton’s response thereto, and the relevant case
law. Having done so, the Court cannot conclude that the Magistrate Judge’s decision was clearly
erroneous or contrary to law. Plaintiff is correct that courts, including this one, have rejected
similar discovery requests. However, the fact that other courts have reached a different result
does not necessarily mean that the Magistrate Judge’s decision was clearly erroneous or contrary
to law. Having made a thorough review of the record, the Court is not left with a definite and
firm conviction that a mistake has been made as to the factual findings or that an incorrect legal
standard was applied. Therefore, the Court will overrule the objection.
The summary of, or copies of, highwall miner policies issued by Seneca for five years
prior to the issuance of the Alton policy are due within fourteen (14) days of this Order. The
30(b)(6) deposition must be completed within thirty (30) days of this Order and is limited to four
(4) hours. Specific concerns about the proper scope of the deposition can be raised with the
Magistrate Judge at the appropriate time.
SO ORDERED.
DATED this 24th day of October, 2017.
BY THE COURT:
____________________________________
Ted Stewart
United States District Judge
2
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