City of Huntington, West Virginia v. AmerisourceBergen Drug Corporation et al

Filing 410

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER granting in part the 347 MOTION by AmerisourceBergen Drug Corporation to Extend Court Deadlines; directing that the deadlines in this case are amended as follows: Written/Document Discovery is to be completed by 6/12/20 20; no later than 5/15/2020, the parties should file any necessary motions to ensure that outstanding discovery disputes, including those involving third parties, may be decided prior to the 6/12/2020 deadline; Fact Witness Depositions are to be comp leted by 7/27/2020; Plaintiffs' Expert Reports are due by 8/3/2020, and Defendants' Expert Reports are due by 8/13/2020. Expert Witness Depositions are to be completed by 9/15/2020. Daubert Motions are to be filed no later than 9/22/2020, w ith responses due no later than 9/29/2020; replies, if any, must be filed no later than 10/5/2020. Motions in Limine to be filed by 9/22/2020, with responses due by 9/29/2020. Motions for Summary Judgment and other Dispositive Motions due by 9/22/202 0; any response shall be filed by 9/29/2020, with replies due by 10/5/2020. Trial set for 10/19/2020 at 9:30 AM in Charleston before Judge David A. Faber; defendants will begin their case on 1/4/2021. Pretrial hearing set for 10/14/2020 at 10:00 AM in Charleston before Judge David A. Faber. Signed by Judge David A. Faber on 5/11/2020. (cc: counsel of record; Special Master Wilkes) (jsa)

Case 3:17-cv-01362 Document 410 Filed 05/11/20 Page 1 of 5 PageID #: 8673

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF WEST VIRGINIA
THE CITY OF HUNTINGTON,
Plaintiff,
v.

CIVIL ACTION NO. 3:17-01362

AMERISOURCEBERGEN DRUG
CORPORATION, et al.,
Defendants.
________________________________
CABELL COUNTY COMMISSION,
Plaintiff,
v.

CIVIL ACTION NO. 3:17-01665

AMERISOURCEBERGEN DRUG
CORPORATION, et al.,
Defendants.
________________________________
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
Pending before the court is defendants’ motion to extend
court deadlines for a period of three months.

(ECF No. 347).

Plaintiffs oppose the requested extension. (ECF No. 388).
According to defendants, discovery in this case has been
“hobbled” by the COVID-19 pandemic.

ECF No. 348 at 1.

In its

filings, defendants outline a number of ways in which discovery
has been hampered, see ECF Nos. 348 and 393, and the court need
not repeat them here.

The court has conferred with Special

Master Wilkes regarding the status of discovery in these cases.

Case 3:17-cv-01362 Document 410 Filed 05/11/20 Page 2 of 5 PageID #: 8674

Plaintiffs acknowledge that fact discovery is not yet
complete.

See ECF No. 388 at 5 (noting that, as of May 1, 2020,

“Cabell County Commission’s document production is now
substantially complete in compliance with the April 30th . . .
written discovery deadline.”) (emphasis added).

Plaintiffs

insist, however, that the case can be ready for trial on August
31, 2020.

See id. at 17 (“As Plaintiffs have previously noted,

large portions of the case are ready for trial now. . . .

Trial

can commence and [be] staged so that any clean-up discovery can
be completed during those proceedings or during the three-week
break in the schedule.”).
On March 13, 2020, the President of the United States
declared a national emergency under the National Emergencies Act,
50 U.S.C. § 1601 et seq., in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The

impact of the pandemic is well-documented and, in order to lessen
the spread of the disease, a number of measures have been
instituted in this court, including the delay of in-court
proceedings.

See General Order, General Order # 3, and General

Order # 5 entered in In Re: Court Operations Under the Exigent
Circumstances Created by the COVID-19 Pandemic, No. 2:20-mc-00052
(S.D.W. Va. March 13, 2020, March 23, 2020, and April 14, 2020)
(Johnston, C.J.).

Furthermore, over the past couple of months, a

majority of states as well as the District of Columbia instituted
“stay-at-home” or similar orders in order to help contain the

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Case 3:17-cv-01362 Document 410 Filed 05/11/20 Page 3 of 5 PageID #: 8675

spread of the virus.

Those restrictions are just now starting to

be lifted in certain states and localities.

It is anticipated

that the parties’ ability to obtain necessary discovery,
including the taking of depositions, will be greatly enhanced as
the aforementioned restrictions are eased.
Given the foregoing, it is fair to say that the parties’
ability to complete discovery has been hampered to a degree.
Therefore, good cause does exist for a modest extension of the
schedule in this case.
For these reasons, defendants’ motion is GRANTED in part and
DENIED in part and the deadlines in this case are amended as
follows:
1.

Written/Document Discovery is to be completed by June
12, 2020.

This additional period of time is allowed to

complete discovery that is already outstanding and is
not intended to reopen the window for requesting
further discovery.

Furthermore, no later than May 15,

2020, the parties should file any necessary motions to
ensure that outstanding discovery disputes, including
those involving third parties, may be decided prior to
the June 12, 2020 deadline.
2.

See ECF No. 365.

Fact Witness Depositions are to be completed by July
27, 2020.

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3.

Plaintiffs’ Expert Reports are due by August 3, 2020,
and Defendants’ Expert Reports are due by August 13,
2020.

4.

Expert Witness Depositions are to be completed by
September 15, 2020.

5.

Daubert Motions are to be filed no later than September
22, 2020 with responses due no later than September 29,
2020.

Replies, if any, must be filed no later than

October 5, 2020.
6.

Motions in limine are to be filed no later than
September 22, 2020 with responses due no later than
September 29, 2020.

7.

Motions for summary judgment and other dispositive
motions are to be filed no later than September 22,
2020 with responses due no later than September 29,
2020.

Replies, if any, must be filed no later than

October 5, 2020.
8.

Trial of this matter will begin on October 19, 2020, at
9:30 a.m., in Charleston.

It is anticipated that the

court will proceed with opening arguments on this date
and then plaintiffs will have six weeks to present
their case.

After a break, defendants will begin their

case on January 4, 2021.

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Case 3:17-cv-01362 Document 410 Filed 05/11/20 Page 5 of 5 PageID #: 8677

9.

A hearing is hereby scheduled for October 14, 2020, at
10:00 a.m., in Charleston, at which time the court will
address any pretrial issues that remain outstanding
including holding any necessary Daubert hearings.

The Clerk is directed to send copies of this Memorandum
Opinion and Order to counsel of record and Special Master Wilkes.
IT IS SO ORDERED this 11th day of May, 2020.
ENTER:

David A. Faber
Senior United States District Judge

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