Avila v. Olivera Egg Ranch, LLC

Full title: GLORIA AVILA, et al., Plaintiffs, v. OLIVERA EGG RANCH, LLC, Defendant.

Court: UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

Date published: Aug 9, 2011

Case No. S:08-CV-2488 JAM-KJN (E.D. Cal. Aug. 9, 2011)

Opinion

Case No. S:08-CV-2488 JAM-KJN

08-09-2011

GLORIA AVILA, et al., Plaintiffs, v. OLIVERA EGG RANCH, LLC, Defendant.

JOHN A. MENDEZ

ORDER - SANCTIONS FOR LATE

PRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS

Defendant failed to produce certain discoverable documents to Plaintiffs in a timely manner. Plaintiffs filed a motion for sanctions (Doc. #291) which was opposed by Defendant. On the first day of trial, the Court granted Plaintiffs' motion for sanctions and ordered Defendant to pay monetary sanctions. The amount of monetary sanctions was to be determined by the Court after receiving further information from Plaintiffs' counsel as to the amount of reasonable attorneys' fees that were incurred in bringing the motion for sanctions.

Plaintiffs submitted this information to the Court on June 13, 2011 (Doc. #338). Plaintiffs requested that sanctions be imposed in the amount of $43,450. Defendant opposed this request (Doc. #340) and asked the Court to deny Plaintiffs' request for attorneys' fees or only award monetary sanctions in the amount of $10,000 to $15,000. Defendant submitted the Declaration of James P. Schratz in support of its opposition (Doc. #340-1). Plaintiffs filed a reply to Defendant's opposition (Doc. #341).

The Court having considered the arguments of counsel, hereby reaffirms its previous order that Defendant shall pay a monetary sanction for its discovery violation. The Court finds that Plaintiffs' request for $43,450 is excessive. Plaintiffs' fees on the motions for sanctions included tasks that were unnecessary, duplicative, and contained a few unexplained discrepancies. On the other hand, Defendant has not provided any basis for Mr. Schratz's conclusion that Plaintiffs should only be awarded fees in the range of $10,000 to $15,000. The Court reaffirms its previous Order that Defendant shall pay Plaintiffs their reasonable attorneys' fees incurred in bringing the motion for sanctions. Accordingly, Defendant is ordered to pay Plaintiffs a monetary sanction in the amount of $25,000. Payment shall be made within thirty (30) days of this Order.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

JOHN A. MENDEZ,

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE