Fitzwater et al v. CONSOL Energy, Inc. et al

Filing 200

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER granting Plaintiff's 104 MOTION to Amend the Complaint of Emmett Casey, Jr.; granting Plaintiffs' 154 MOTION for Leave to File Excess Pages; denying defendants' 158 MOTION to Strike and MOTION t o Exclude Testimony; granting defendants' 159 MOTION for Leave to File Excess Pages; granting defendants' 161 MOTION to Correct; granting Plaintiff's 165 MOTION for Extension of Time to File Response in Opposition. Signed by Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. on 9/30/2019. (cc: attys; any unrepresented party) (tmr)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF WEST VIRGINIA
AT CHARLESTON
BENNY FITZWATER and CLARENCE
BRIGHT, and TERRY PRATER, and
EMMET CASEY, JR., and CONNIE Z.
GILBERT, and ALLAN H. JACK, SR.,
and ROBERT H. LONG, on behalf of
themselves and others similarly
situated,
Plaintiffs,
v.

Civil Action No. 2:16-cv-09849

CONSOL ENERGY, INC., and
Consolidated with:
CONSOLIDATION COAL CO., and
Civil Action No. 1:17-cv-03861
FOLA COAL CO., LLC, and
CONSOL OF KENTUCKY, INC., and
CONSOL BUCHANAN MINING CO., LLC,
and CONSOL PENNSYLVANIA COAL CO.,
LLC, and KURT SALVATORI,
Defendants.
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
Pending are (1) the plaintiffs’ motion to amend the
complaint of Emmett Casey, Jr., et al., filed March 1, 2018, (2)
the plaintiffs’ motion to exceed page limitation, filed August
17, 2018, (3) the plaintiffs’ motion to extend time, filed
September 20, 2018, (4) the defendants’ motion to strike and to
exclude testimony of Dean Michael Hymes (“Hymes”), filed August
24, 2018, (5) the defendants’ motion to exceed page limitation,
filed August 31, 2018, and (6) the defendants’ motion to correct

their response opposing the plaintiffs’ supplemental motion for
class certification, filed September 6, 2018.
First, the plaintiffs met the March 1, 2018 deadline
set forth in the February 6, 2018 scheduling order to amend the
pleadings.

Accordingly, it is ORDERED that the plaintiffs’

motion to amend the complaint be, and it hereby is, granted.
As to the second, third, and fifth motions, it is
further ORDERED that the plaintiffs’ and the defendants’
respective motions to exceed page limitations and the
plaintiffs’ motion to extend time be, and hereby are, granted.
In the October 16, 2018 hearing before the court, the
court granted the defendants’ leave to depose Hymes within 20
days of that hearing.
No. 168.

Oct. 16, 2018 Hr’g Tr. 34:22-36:21, ECF

The defendants consented to this accommodation at the

hearing and deposed Hymes on October 30, 2018.
Dep, ECF No. 173-1.

See id.; Hymes

Accordingly, it is ORDERED that the

defendants’ motion to strike and to exclude Hymes’ testimony is
hereby denied.
Finally, the defendants ask to file a corrected
response to their August 31, 2018 response opposing the
plaintiffs’ supplemental motion for class certification.
Mot. Correct, ECF No. 161.

Defs.’

The defendants identified “two
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spelling errors, one missing word, one sentence fragment, and
one instance where the phrase ‘class certification claim’ was
inadvertently used instead of ‘health status discrimination
claim’” in the original filing.

Id. at 2.

It is ORDERED that

the defendants’ motion be, and hereby is, granted.
The Clerk is directed to transmit copies of this order
to all counsel of record and any unrepresented parties.
ENTER: September 30, 2019

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