Black v. Pride Mobility Products Corporation

Filing 148

MINUTE ORDER to RENOTE Defendant Pride Mobility Products Corporation's 79 Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, Defendant Merits Health Products Co.'s 82 Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Personal Jurisdiction, Defendant Merits Health Produc ts, Inc's 109 Motion to Dismiss: Noting date 2/9/2018 ; Oral Argument on motions 79 , 82 , 109 SET for 2/15/2018 at 9:00am ; granting Plaintiff's 102 Motion to Take the Deposition of Merits Health Products Co. ; denying Defen dant Pride's 97 Motion for Leave and to Compel Jurisdictional Discovery ; directing plaintiff to file one supplemental response to pending motions 82 and 109 on or before 2/7/2018 ; granting plaintiff's 79 Request for Extension to Respond to Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, Pride may file one supplemental reply by 2/7/2018 ; granting in part and denying in part plaintiff's 141 Motion to Supplement the Record Regarding FRCP 56(d) Request ; granting plaintiff's 106 Motion to Compel Discovery ; directing parties to file a joint supplemental status report on or before 1/3/2018 ; In-Court Scheduling and Status Conference SET for 1/5/2018, at 10:30 am. Authorized by Judge Thomas S. Zilly.(SWT)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE

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LEA BLACK,

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Plaintiff,
C15-2008 TSZ

v.
PRIDE MOBILITY PRODUCTS
CORPORATION, et al.,

MINUTE ORDER

Defendant.
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The following Minute Order is made by direction of the Court, the Honorable
Thomas S. Zilly, United States District Judge:

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(1)
The Motion for Partial Summary Judgment filed by Defendant Pride
Mobility Products Corporation (“Pride”), docket no. 79, is RENOTED for February 9,
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2018. The Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Personal Jurisdiction filed by Defendant Merits
Health Products Co., Ltd. (“Merits Taiwan”), docket no. 82, and the Motion to Dismiss
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for Lack of Personal Jurisdiction filed by Defendant Merits Health Products, Inc.
(“Merits USA”), docket no. 109, are also RENOTED for February 9, 2018. Oral
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argument on all three motions (docket nos. 79, 82, and 109) is SET for February 15,
2018, at 9:00 a.m.
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(2)
Plaintiff’s Motion to Take the Deposition of Merits Health Products Co.,
19 Ltd., or Declarant Kuo-Chang Lee, docket no. 102, is GRANTED. The Court is satisfied
that Plaintiff has put forward “some evidence” tending to establish that personal
20 jurisdiction might exist over Merits Taiwan. See Lufthansa Technik AG v. Astronics
Advanced Elec. Sys. Corp., No. C14-1821RSM, 2016 WL 7899254, at *2 (W.D. Wash.
21 Apr. 26, 2016). Merits Taiwan is DIRECTED to produce Kuo-Chang Lee or a designee
under Fed. R. Civ. P. 30(b)(6) for a deposition to be completed no later than January 19,
22 2018. The deposition shall be limited to: (i) the topics contained in the Declaration of
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MINUTE ORDER - 1

1 Kuo-Chang Lee, docket no. 85, and the Supplemental Declaration of Kuo-Chang Lee,
docket no. 128; and (ii) Pride’s role, if any, in the design of the drive assembly at issue.
2 The deposition may be conducted by video conference or similar technology or in person
and may be video recorded.
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(3)
Pride’s Motion for Leave and to Compel Jurisdictional Discovery from
4 Merits Taiwan, docket no. 97, is DENIED. The Court finds that Pride has failed to
establish a “colorable basis” for the broad jurisdictional discovery it requests. Beyond
5 the jurisdictional discovery outlined in Paragraph 2 above, the Court is satisfied that any
additional discovery would not demonstrate facts sufficient to constitute a basis for
6 specific jurisdiction over Merits Taiwan. See Laub v. U.S. Dep’t of the Interior, 342 F.3d
1080, 1093 (9th Cir. 2003).
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(4)
Plaintiff is DIRECTED to file one supplemental response, if any, to the
pending Motions to Dismiss, docket nos. 82 and 109, not to exceed twenty (20) pages, on
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or before February 2, 2018. Merits Taiwan and Merits USA may each file one
9 supplemental reply, not to exceed ten (10) pages, on or before February 7, 2018.
(5)
Plaintiff’s request for extension under Rule 56(d) in responding to Pride’s
10 Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (docket no. 79), see docket no. 86, is GRANTED.
Plaintiff is DIRECTED to file any supplemental response to the pending Motion for
11 Partial Summary Judgment, docket no. 79, not to exceed twenty (20) pages, on or before
February 2, 2018. Pride may file one supplemental reply, not to exceed ten (10) pages,
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(6)
Plaintiff’s Motion to Supplement the Record Regarding Plaintiff’s Fed. R.
Civ. P. 56(d) Request, docket no. 141, is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part as
14 follows. The materials Plaintiff has submitted in support of her Rule 56(d) request are
ACCEPTED; however, the Court has considered such evidence only to the extent it is
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(7)
Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel Discovery, docket no. 106, is GRANTED.
Pride is DIRECTED to produce full and complete responses to discovery, no later than
17 January 12, 2018, relating to (i) the design of the drive assemblies; (ii) Pride’s
agreements with the purported manufacturer of those drive assemblies; and (iii) other
18 incidents known to Pride alleging “freewheel” condition or brake failure. Plaintiff shall
have the right to reopen the Fed. R. Civ. P. 30(b)(6) deposition of Pride’s designee
19 Michael Zablocky on the subject of the Michael Ashton incident. Mr. Zablocky may
testify by video to minimize and accommodate any inconvenience.
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(8)
The parties are DIRECTED to confer and file a joint supplemental status
report on or before January 3, 2018, proposing a trial date and pretrial schedule and
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outlining any other outstanding discovery issues. An in-court scheduling and status
22 conference is SET for January 5, 2018, at 10:30 a.m.
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(9)
record.

The Clerk is directed to send a copy of this Minute Order to all counsel of

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Dated this 7th day of December, 2017.
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William M. McCool
Clerk

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s/Karen Dews
Deputy Clerk

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MINUTE ORDER - 3