Opinion
No. C 09-5744 CW
11-08-2012
MARTIN MURRAY, on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated, Plaintiff, v. SEARS, ROEBUCK AND CO., et al., Defendants.
ORDER GRANTING IN
PART PLAINTIFF'S
MOTION FOR
EXTENSION OF TIME
(Docket No. 162)
On November 2, 2012, Plaintiff Martin Murray filed a motion to extend the class certification fact discovery deadline and for leave to exceed the number of depositions permitted under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 30. Plaintiff specifically asks to extend the discovery deadline from November 12, 2012 to November 26, 2012, so that he can take depositions of five additional witnesses. Defendants Sears, Roebuck and Co. and Electrolux Home Products, Inc. oppose the motion. They argue that the extension of discovery is unwarranted because (1) Plaintiff has already taken or noticed thirteen depositions at this point and (2) Plaintiff has complete access to all of the documents produced in a similar case currently pending in the Northern District of Illinois, mitigating his need for further discovery here. See Thorogood v. Sears, No. 1:06-cv-1999.
After reviewing the parties' papers, the Court finds that Plaintiff has justified an extension of the November 12 discovery deadline in order to depose two witnesses -- specifically, one Content Manager for Sears' online laundry products and one new Rule 30(b)(6) witness for Electrolux. Plaintiff has justified its need for these depositions by showing that Defendants' previous Rule 30(b)(6) witnesses were not qualified to testify in depth about Defendants' marketing practices or content relating to the specific appliances at the center of this litigation.
Plaintiff has not, however, shown why he needs to depose the other three witnesses he identified in his motion. These other witnesses appear unlikely to provide anything more than duplicative testimony and Plaintiff has not made a "particularized showing" of his need for their depositions. See Authentec, Inc. v. Atrua Technologies, Inc., 2008 WL 5120767, *1 (N.D. Cal.) ("A party seeking to exceed the presumptive number of depositions must make a particularized showing of the need for the additional discovery.").
Accordingly, the Court grants Plaintiff leave to depose two additional witnesses on the issue of class certification, as outlined above. Plaintiff shall notice these depositions forthwith and Defendants shall provide responsive witnesses to sit for them. The deadline for class certification fact discovery is extended from November 12, 2012 to November 21, 2012. There is no need to extend the deadline beyond the Thanksgiving holiday as Plaintiff has requested.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
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CLAUDIA WILKEN
United States District Judge