Frontier-Kemper Constructors, Inc. v. Elk Run Coal Co.

246 F.R.D. 522, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 86422, 2000 WL 35599104
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. West Virginia
DecidedNovember 21, 2007
DocketNo. 2:06-cv-00716
StatusPublished
Cited by43 cases

This text of 246 F.R.D. 522 (Frontier-Kemper Constructors, Inc. v. Elk Run Coal Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. West Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Frontier-Kemper Constructors, Inc. v. Elk Run Coal Co., 246 F.R.D. 522, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 86422, 2000 WL 35599104 (S.D.W. Va. 2007).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

MARY E. STANLEY, United States Magistrate Judge.

Pending before the court is Defendant’s Motion to Strike Objections and Compel Discovery (docket #38), filed on October 22, 2007. By Order entered October 24, 2007 (# 40), the court accelerated the briefing on the Motion. Plaintiff has responded (# 41), and Defendant has replied (# 42). A hearing was conducted on November 2, 2007, and on that same date, the court entered an Order (#44), granting Defendant’s Motion, directing that Plaintiff serve complete discovery responses in compliance with the applicable Rules and indicating that the instant Memorandum Opinion would be entered at a later date.

Allegations Alleged in the Complaint/Counterclaim

By a contract entered in June, 2005, Plaintiff, Frontier-Kemper Constructors, Inc., agreed to construct a 20-foot diameter underground coal transfer shaft, including the drilling of a pilot hole, for Defendant Elk Run Coal Company, Inc. (“Elk Run”). Plaintiff subcontracted with Ziegenfuss Drilling, Inc. (“ZD”) to drill the pilot hole. According to the complaint, Elk Run agreed to pay for the drilling of the pilot hole on a cost plus basis. (# 1, ¶ 12.) Plaintiff alleges that Elk Run has refused to pay for some, but not all the work performed by Plaintiff and ZD. Id. at ¶ 15. The pending Motion alleges that ZD “materially exceeded its estimated time and cost in drilling the pilot hole,” and that this action concerns which party should bear the burden of ZD’s overruns. (#38, at 2.) Elk Run has counterclaimed for loss of production and other expenses associated with the delays and extra costs. (# 6, at 5-12.)

Timeliness of Objections I Good Cause Analysis

A. Timeliness of Objections

Elk Run served its First Set of Interrogatories, Requests for Production of Documents, and Requests for Admissions by hand-delivery on counsel for Plaintiff on July 12, 2007. (# 26.) Pursuant to the provisions of Rules 6(a), 33(b)(3), 34(b), and 36(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, responses were due in thirty days, that is, on August 13, 2007, because August 11 was a Saturday. On August 13, 2007, Plaintiff responded to the requests for admission. (# 30.) By letter dated August 13, 2007, the attorneys agreed that Plaintiff would have “an additional two weeks” to respond to the interrogatories and requests for production of documents. (# 38, Ex. D.) Thus, the discovery responses were due on August 27, 2007. Plaintiff served its responses to the interrogatories and requests for production of documents on August 31, 2007. (# 34.) Elk Run asserts that Plaintiffs objections are not timely and should be stricken. (# 38, at 4, 7.)

[525]*525Elk Run contends that Plaintiffs answers to its Second Set of Interrogatories, Requests for Production of Documents and Requests for Admissions also were untimely. The discovery requests were served by hand-delivery on July 27, 2007. (# 29.) Responses were due August 27, 2007, because August 26, 2007, was a Sunday. In the letter dated August 13, 2007, referenced above, the attorneys also agreed that Plaintiff would have “an additional two weeks” to respond to the second set of discovery. (# 38, Ex. D.) Thus, the discovery responses were due on September 10, 2007. Plaintiff served responses to the requests for admissions on September 10, 2007. (# 35.) Plaintiff served its remaining discovery responses by mail on September 13, 2007 (# 36), but the certificate of service was not electronically filed until September 19, 2007.1

Plaintiff responds that Elk Run did not raise the issue of timeliness in the correspondence and conversation concerning the objections, and therefore is barred from raising it now. (# 41, at 2.) At the hearing, Plaintiffs counsel noted that Elk Run’s Reply in support of the Motion to Strike, which was due by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 31, 2007, was not electronically filed until 6:10 p.m. on that day. On the theory that “what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander,” Plaintiff suggested that if the court strikes Plaintiffs objections as untimely, then the court should strike the Reply as untimely-

Elk Run contends in its Reply that there is no disagreement that Plaintiffs responses were late, and thus there was no duty to confer, and it would have been futile to confer. (# 42, at 1-2.)

Our court’s Local Rule on discovery disputes provides as follows:

(a) Objections to disclosures or discovery Objections to disclosures or discovery that are not filed within the response time allowed by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the scheduling order(s), or stipulation of the parties pursuant to FR Civ P 29, whichever governs, are waived unless otherwise ordered for good cause shown. Objections shall comply with FR Civ P 26(g) and any claim of privilege or objection shall comply with FR Civ P 26(b)(5). (b) Duty to confer
Before filing any discovery motion, including any motion for sanctions or for a protective order, counsel for each party shall make a good faith effort to confer in person or by telephone to narrow the areas of disagreement to the greatest possible extent. It shall be the responsibility of counsel for the moving party to arrange for the meeting.

Local Rules of the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, Local Rule of Civil Procedure 37.1(a) and (b).

Aside from arguing that Elk Run cannot now raise the issue of timeliness because it did not attempt to confer with Plaintiff on the timeliness issue, Plaintiff does not seriously dispute that its discovery responses were untimely. Instead, Plaintiffs Response argues that the parties must “meet and confer” on the timeliness issue, they did not and, therefore, Elk Run cannot argue Plaintiffs responses were untimely in its Motion to Compel. (# 41, at 1-2.)

Elk Run contends that it satisfied its meet and confer obligation by writing a letter to Plaintiffs counsel, outlining its disagreements with Plaintiffs objections, and receiving a letter and a telephone call from Plaintiffs counsel. (# 38, at 1 n. 1, Exs. A and B.) Elk Run did not raise the issue of timeliness with Plaintiffs counsel in its letter to Plaintiffs counsel, and Elk Run does not contend that it raised the issue with Plaintiffs counsel during their telephone conversation. Elk Run claims that it would have been futile to meet and confer on timeliness. The court disagrees.

The court finds that both Rule 37 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Local Civil Rule 37.1(b) require the parties to meet and confer as to virtually all discovery disputes which could lead to the filing of a motion to compel, for protective order, or for sanctions. The purpose of the meet and confer obligation is to obtain discovery mate[526]*526rial without court action.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
246 F.R.D. 522, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 86422, 2000 WL 35599104, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/frontier-kemper-constructors-inc-v-elk-run-coal-co-wvsd-2007.