SARAH S. VANCE, District Judge.
XL objects to Magistrate Judge Wilkinson's order denying XL a protective order or an extension of time to respond to discovery.
This is an insurance dispute between Bollinger
The consolidated actions in this case have been pending since August 2012. Trial is set for November 10, 2014. Relevant here, Bollinger filed for summary judgment on December 18, 2013,
On May 6, 2014, when briefing on the motions was almost complete, Bollinger served XL with a set of interrogatories, requests for admission, and production requests.
XL timely filed an objection to Judge Wilkinson's order.
With certain exceptions not applicable here, a magistrate judge may hear and determine any pretrial matter pending before a district court. 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(A). The district court will affirm the magistrate judge's decision on any nondispositive matter unless it is "clearly erroneous or contrary to law." Id.; Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(a). Under this highly deferential standard, the court will reverse only when "on the entire evidence [it] is left with a definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed. United States v. U.S. Gypsum Co., 333 U.S. 364, 395 (1948); Spencer v. Hercules Offshore, Inc., Civ. A. No. 13-4706, 2014 WL 1681736, at *2 (E.D. La. Apr. 28, 2014). The discovery order at issue here is a "non-dispositive matter" that is subject to review under the clearly erroneous standard. See Merritt v. Int'l Bhd. of Boilermakers, 649 F.2d 1013, 1016-18 (5th Cir. 1981); accord Guidry v. Jen Mar. L.L.C., Civ. A. No. 03-0018, 2004 WL 595224, at *2 (E.D. La. Mar. 24, 2004).
XL argues that Judge Wilkinson's order denying its motion was clearly erroneous. XL contends that the pending dispositive motions in the case establish good cause for a protective order staying discovery. In support of its position, XL cites Fujita v. United States, 416 F. App'x 400 (5th Cir. 2011), and Landry v. Air Line Pilots Association International AFL-CIO, 901 F.2d 404 (5th Cir. 1990).
Neither Fujita nor Landry establish that Judge Wilkinson was clearly erroneous in his determination that XL failed to show good cause for its requested stay. In Fujita, the Fifth Circuit did affirm that the district court had good cause to stay discovery while a summary judgment motion was pending. 416 F. App'x at 402. In that case, however, defendants had moved for summary judgment solely on the ground that plaintiff had failed to designate his expert medical witness by the discovery deadline. See id. at 401. The district court extended the deadline for plaintiff three times, but meanwhile stayed discovery, having rejected plaintiff's argument that he needed the discovery in order to secure his witness. See id. at 401-02. Thus, in Fujita it was clear that the disposition of the case on summary judgment turned on a single issue, which would be resolved as soon as the parties reached the final deadline for plaintiff to produce his witness. Moreover, in Fujita the plaintiff functionally had control over the resolution of the summary judgment motion: had he simply produced his expert witness, the court would have denied summary judgment and the case-including his discovery requests-would have proceeded. In contrast, here Bollinger has no control over how the Court will rule or when the Court will issue an order and reasons on the cross-motions for summary judgment. Meanwhile, pretrial deadlines and the trial date continue to approach. Thus, Fujita does not establish that Judge Wilkinson's determination was clearly erroneous. and-and
In Landry, defendants moved for summary judgment and plaintiffs requested and received a courtesy continuance on the motion. 901 F.2d at 434. During the continuance, plaintiffs served discovery on defendants. Defendants moved for a protective order, and the district court held that plaintiffs had failed to rebut defendants' prima facie showing that the particular discovery sought-multiple depositions-would be "unduly expensive and burdensome" under the circumstances. Id. at 436. Specifically, plaintiffs had argued that they needed the discovery solely because they thought it might help them obtain "better" evidence for their summary judgment motion. Id. In contrast, here, Bollinger does not argue that it needs discovery solely for the already pending summary judgment motions. Rather, Bollinger correctly points out that trial is scheduled for the beginning of November and argues that in the event the case is not resolved on summary judgment, it will need the discovery as soon as possible to prepare for trial.
For the foregoing reasons, the Court overrules XL's objections to Judge Wilkinson's ruling on its motion for a protective order.