Point Ruston LLC et al v. Pacific Northwest Regional Council of The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America et al

Filing 142

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE by Judge Benjamin H Settle re 130 MOTION to Compel Plaintiffs to Disclose the Identities of the Prospective Buyers and the Brokers Referenced in Paragraphs 75 and 86, Respectively, of their Complaint filed by Jimmy Haun, Pacific Northwest Regional Council of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, Jimmy Matta. Show Cause Response due by 1/19/2010. (TG)

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ORDER - 1

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT TACOMA POINT RUSTON, LLC; MICHAEL A. COHEN; and SILVER CLOUD, INC., Plaintiffs, v. PACIFIC NORTHWEST REGIONAL COUNCIL OF THE UNITED BROTHERHOOD OF CARPENTERS AND JOINERS OF AMERICA, et al., Defendants. This matter comes before the Court on Defendants' motion to compel (Dkt. 130). The Court has considered the pleadings filed in support of and in opposition to the motion and the remainder of the file and hereby denies the motion for the reasons stated herein. I. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND On November 9, 2009, Plaintiffs moved the Court to enter a protective order permitting certain material to be designated confidential and confidential for attorneys' eyes only. Dkt. 107. On December 15, 2009, the Court denied the motion. Dkt. 129. On December 18, 2009, the parties moved the court to enter a stipulated protective order (Dkt. 107), which was apparently intended to address the information sought in that motion. Dkt. 134. On January 6, 2010, the Court denied the motion for entry of a stipulated protective order. Dkt. 141.

CASE NO. C09-5232BHS

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE

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Also on December 15, 2009, Defendants moved the Court to compel Plaintiffs to disclose the identities of the prospective buyers and brokers referenced in paragraphs 75 and 86, respectively, of their complaint, the instant motion. Dkt. 130. On December 21, 2009, Plaintiffs responded to Defendants' motion to compel. Dkt. 135. On December 30, 2009, Defendants replied. Dkt. 139. II. DISCUSSION This motion to compel is based on Defendants' dissatisfaction with Plaintiffs' disclosure (or lack of disclosure) with respect to the identities of the prospective buyers and brokers involved in Point Ruston's development project. Plaintiffs have agreed to disclose the requested material (list of buyers/brokers) subject to a protective order. Declaration of Yuliya S. Mirzoyan, Ex. 4. Moreover, Defendants concede that Plaintiffs could have designated this information "confidential." Dkt. 139 (reply brief in instant motion). The stipulated motion for protective order (Dkt. 134), which the Court denied (Dkt. 141), apparently covered the materials now requested (list of buyers/brokers) in the instant motion to compel. It appears that the instant motion is interrelated to and perhaps mooted by the Court's denial of the stipulated motion for protective order. Dkt. 141 (denying stipulated motions, Dkts. 134 and 140). Therefore, the Court orders the parties to show cause why the instant motion should not be denied. The parties shall file simultaneous briefing on this matter. The briefs shall not exceed 10 pages and shall be filed on or before January 19, 2010. Additionally, although both parties request attorneys' fees for having had to file pleadings regarding the instant motion, it appears to the Court that neither party fully cooperated in resolving this matter as previously urged by the Court (Dkt. 129). Therefore, the Court denies the requests for attorneys' fees.

ORDER - 2

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ORDER - 3

III. ORDER Therefore, it is hereby ORDERED that the parties are to show cause in simultaneous briefing by January 19, 2010, as discussed herein. The parties' requests for attorneys' fees are denied. DATED this 11th day of January, 2010.

A

BENJAMIN H. SETTLE United States District Judge