Opinion
4:23-cv-1095-DPM
12-03-2024
MALCOM PHINNEY PLAINTIFF v. GREENWOD MOTOR LINES, INC., d/b/a R+L CARRIERS; MATTHEW DAKUS; and JOHN DOE, Motor Carriers 1-5 DEFENDANTS
ORDER
D.P. Marshall Jr. United States District Judge
Unopposed motion, Doc. 34, granted for good cause. Proposed new deadlines adopted. An Amended Final Scheduling Order will issue.
The Court notes the parties' joint report of a discovery dispute about Matthew Dakus's cell phone records. While it is a healthy sample, the ninety days of these phone records produced in Crosby could lead to the discovery of facts that might be admissible on some of Phinney's claims. The data is at hand. Dakus can provide the records subject to a mutually agreeable Protective Order. Discoverability and admissibility are, of course, different issues. Joint report, Doc. 33, addressed.
Phinney's motion to transfer, Doc. 31, is denied. There would be some judicial economy in sending this case to Chief Judge Baker. Both motions arise from the same multi-vehicle accident. But, the issues in this kind of case tend to be particularized to the specific vehicles involved. The focus here is what happened to Phinney downstream. Moreover, random assignment is the rule rather than the exception in this District. This case is a year or so old. No notice of related case was filed at the start. And Chief Judge Baker's case continues, though it is almost done. These are odd circumstances for a transfer. The issue is close, but the potential economies of transfer do not clearly outweigh leaving the assignment as-is.
So Ordered.