Opinion
04 Civ. 2392 (TPG) (DFE) This is an ECF case.
November 1, 2005
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
My Memorandum and Order dated September 13, 2005 closed by saying: "If there are further discovery disputes, the parties should address them to Judge Griesa, and he will decide whether to issue any further Order of Reference to me." By a memorandum to the parties dated October 17, and an Order of Reference signed on October 19, Judge Griesa has referred this case back to me for all pretrial matters. He has asked me to rule on the documents that the parties had addressed to him in the interim — a September 19 letter from Mr. Marandi, a September 23 letter from Mr. Perez, a September 26 motion to compel from Mr. Marandi, and October 5 and October 19 letters from Mr. Perez.
I turn first to Mr. Perez's October 19 letter. He explains in detail that he has been very busy with other cases. He requests an extension of the deadline for fact discovery from October 28 to November 28. He notes that the City defendants consent but that defendant Marandi objects. Nevertheless, I extend the fact discovery until November 28, 2005. I note that my July 20 Amended Scheduling Order at Paragraph 3 had three blanks for deadlines concerning expert discovery, but I filled in only the first two blanks. I now fill in the third blank as follows: All expert discovery must be commenced in time to be completed by January 20, 2006.
I treat Mr. Marandi's September 19 letter as a motion for reconsideration of my September 13 order. I grant reconsideration, but I adhere to my September 13 order.
Now that Judge Griesa has referred the case back to me, the parties must follow my Standing Order for Discovery Disputes. I treat Mr. Marandi's September 26 Motion to Compel as his draft of his portion of a joint letter to me. I direct plaintiff's counsel to serve plaintiff's responsive portion by November 4, 2005 (by Federal Express, or by fax if Mr. Marandi provides a fax number). As soon as practicable, Mr. Marandi must then confer with plaintiff's counsel and either (a) serve a written reply position to be incorporated into a single joint letter to me, or (b) provide plaintiff's counsel with written permission to send me plaintiff's position in the form already served and to have me treat that position and the September 26 Motion to Compel as if they were a single joint letter.
My September 13 order, at Section 3, set forth detailed rules about the deposition of Mr. Marandi. I hereby make one change in that Section 3, changing "Judge Griesa" to "me":
Within 14 days after Mr. Marandi receives a transcript of his deposition, he may write to me and list each question as to which he presses an objection, and give a reason for each objection; the other parties will then have 14 days to respond to me.