Opinion
21-mc-80233-LB
09-23-2021
In Re Subpoena of Kelly D. Fair
NOTICE AND ORDER REGARDING DISCOVERY PROCEDURES Re: ECF No. 1
LAUREL BEELER, United States Magistrate Judge
Pruco Life Insurance Company, who was dismissed as a party from a lawsuit in the Southern District of California almost eighteen months ago, moved to quash a subpoena for documents and testimony of non-party Kelly D. Fair, Pruco's former counsel at Dentons U.S. LLP. Ms. Fair has not represented Pruco for over two years (because she left Dentons to be general counsel at a company unrelated to the underlying lawsuit. Pruco also contends that the case should be transferred to the Southern District, where the parties have conducted significant discovery.
Mot. - ECF No. 1; Mem. - ECF No. 1-1 at 11-17; Fair Decl. - ECF No. 1-2; Worger Decl. - ECF No. 1-3. Citations refer to material in the Electronic Case File (ECF); pinpoint citations are to the ECF-generated page numbers at the top of documents.
The district as a whole has a joint-letter-brief process for raising discovery disputes, as set forth in the undersigned's standing order (attached). The dispute procedures in it require, among other things, that if a meet-and-confer by other means does not resolve the parties' dispute, lead counsel for the parties must meet and confer in person (if counsel are local) and then submit a joint letter brief with information about any unresolved disputes. The letter brief must be filed under the Civil Events category of “Motions and Related Filings > Motions - General > Discovery Letter Brief.” The court uses this process for third-party discovery disputes too. It allows a faster resolution of disputes than the standard five-weeks-to-hearing motions process.
After reviewing the joint letter brief, the undersigned will evaluate whether further proceedings are necessary, including any further briefing or argument. As an administrative matter, the court terminates the pending motion in favor of this process.
The court adds that it also uses the discovery procedures for third-party objections to subpoenas.
IT IS SO ORDERED.