Opinion
Case No. 19-cv-20633-SDW-ESK
05-21-2020
GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES INSURANCE CO., et al., Plaintiffs, v. ADAMS CHIROPRACTIC CENTER, P.C., et al., Defendants.
OPINION AND ORDER
THIS MATTER having come before the Court on the parties' joint letter of May 11, 2020 concerning discovery disputes (Joint Letter) (ECF No. 50); and defendants claiming that the "bulk of the complaint is simply legally inaccurate" (Joint Letter p. 7); and the Hon. Susan D. Wigenton, U.S.D.J. having issued an Opinion in this matter on a pre-answer motion to dismiss (ECF No. 20) noting that the complaint "fails to comply with the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2)" (Id. pp. 1-2 n.2); and the Court possessing the "inherent power to control its docket so as to promote fair and efficient adjudication," Rolo v. Gen. Dev. Corp., 949 F.2d 695, 702 (3d Cir. 1991); see also Landis v. N. Am. Co., 299 U.S. 248, 254 (1936) (discussing "the power inherent in every court to control the disposition of the causes on its docket with economy of time and effort for itself, for counsel, and for litigants"); and for good cause shown,
IT IS on this 21st day of May 2020 ORDERED that:
1. Plaintiffs may file an amended complaint complying with Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2) and 8(d)(1) on or before June 8, 2020. (See ECF No. 20 pp. 1-2 n.2; see also GEICO v. Pennsauken Spine & Rehab P.C., No. 17-11727, 2018 WL 3727369, at *3 (D.N.J. Aug. 8, 2018); GEICO v. A&C Med. Ctr. Servs. Corp., No. 18-24198, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 133568, at *4 (S.D. Fla. Aug. 7, 2019)).
2. Defendants are granted leave to file a motion to quash the subpoenas (Subpoenas) referenced in the Joint Letter. If plaintiffs have received documents in response to the Subpoenas, neither plaintiffs nor their counsel shall access, review, copy, or in any manner process the documents for review until further order of this Court. Defendants shall file their moving papers on or before June 19, 2020. Plaintiffs shall file their opposition on or before July 7, 2020. Defendants shall file their reply to the opposition on or before July 13, 2020. The parties shall also address whether leave should be granted for the filing of dispositive motions on liability and/or this matter is appropriate for bifurcated discovery, with discovery on liability to proceed in the first phase of discovery, followed by discovery on damages to proceed after resolution of the issue of liability.
3. Oral argument is scheduled for July 17, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. in Newark—Courtroom 8 of the U.S. Post Office and Courthouse before Magistrate Judge Edward S. Kiel. In the event the current pandemic prevents an in-person conference, the conference will be conducted telephonically.
/s/ Edward S . Kiel
EDWARD S. KIEL
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE