Opinion
Consolidated Lead No. H-01-3624, Civil Action No. G-02-0084
April 16, 2002
ORDER
Pending before the Court are
1. Arthur Andersen LLP's Emergency Motion (Joined in Part by the Lead Plaintiff) to Continue Hearing Currently Set for April 17, 2002 and
2. Arthur Andersen LLP's Emergency Motion to Quash Unauthorized Hearing Subpoenas.
The hearing on the motion of plaintiffs American National Insurance company, et al. for a Temporary Restraining Order and Order to Show Cause was continued on April 8, 2002 until April 17, 2002 at 2:00 p.m. Defendant Arthur Anderson and the Lead Plaintiff in the consolidated Newby cases have moved to reset the hearing and have moved for an extension of time to April 22, 2002, in which Andersen may respond to Lead Plaintiff's Application for Temporary Restraining Order and Order to Show Cause Re: Preliminary Injunction to Enjoin Defendant Andersen's Breakup. The Court has considered the motion and the response filed by plaintiffs. The Court believes that great harm could be caused by holding the hearing on April 17, before the conclusion of ongoing settlement negotiations. The Court further believes that this danger outweighs any danger to plaintiffs American National Insurance Company, et al. in postponing that hearing to a date certain in the future.
The four subpoenas served on Arthur Anderson for unnamed witnesses to appear at the hearing do seem more in the nature of deposition subpoenas (Rule 30(b)(6)) than hearing subpoenas (Rule 45). cf. Donoghue v. County of Orange, 848 F.2d 926, 932 (9th Cir. 1987). Plaintiffs as much as admit that these subpoenas are the first step in a fishing expedition to discover the nature of the negotiations Arthur Andersen has engaged in and the agreements it has entered into to determine what harm, if any, plaintiffs have suffered thereby. Accordingly, the subpoenas should be quashed.
Accordingly, it is hereby
ORDERED that Arthur Andersen, LLP shall file any response to the Lead Plaintiff's Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order and Order to Show Cause Re: Preliminary Injunction to Enjoin Defendant Andersen's Breakup on or before April 22, 2002. It is further
ORDERED that the hearing on Lead Plaintiff's Ex Parte Application for a Temporary Restraining Order and Order to Show Cause Re: Preliminary Injunction to Enjoin Defendant Andersen's Breakup and American National Insurance Company, et al.'s Emergency Motion for Temporary Injunction and Request for Hearing are continued until April 24th, 2002 at 2:00 p.m. It is further
ORDERED that the subpoenas served by Plaintiff American National Insurance Company, et al. are hereby quashed.