In re Disposable Contact Lens Antitrust Litig.

306 F. Supp. 3d 372
CourtCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
DecidedMay 18, 2017
DocketNo. 17–mc–00247 (KBJ); No. 3:15–md–02626
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 306 F. Supp. 3d 372 (In re Disposable Contact Lens Antitrust Litig.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Disposable Contact Lens Antitrust Litig., 306 F. Supp. 3d 372 (D.C. Cir. 2017).

Opinion

KETANJI BROWN JACKSON, United States District Judge

The movants in this subpoena-enforcement matter are fourteen individual plaintiffs *374who are involved in a complex putative antitrust class action that is being litigated as a multidistrict litigation ("MDL") in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida ("the Issuing Court"). (See Mem. in Supp. of Mot. to Transfer or Enforce the Subpoena ("Movs.' Mem."), ECF No. 1-1, at 8-9.)1 In connection with that lawsuit, Movants issued a subpoena duces tecum to Respondent (a third party who is not involved in the underlying MDL) and thereby ordered Respondent to produce certain documents in August of 2016, at a law firm in Washington, DC. (See Subpoena to Produc. Docs., Information, or Objects or to Permit Inspection of Premises in a Civil Action ("Subpoena"), Ex. A to Decl. of Nathaniel C. Giddings ("Giddings Decl."), ECF No. 1-3.) When Respondent refused to comply with the subpoena, Movants filed a motion to enforce the subpoena with the Issuing Court, and both sides then briefed that motion fully. But the Issuing Court eventually decided, per Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45, that it lacked the authority to rule on Movants' motion to enforce the subpoena, unless Respondent consented. (See Order ("Conditional Denial Order"), MDL ECF No. 384, at 2 (citing Fed. R. Civ. P. 45(d)(2)(B)(i), which states, inter alia , that a party seeking to compel compliance with a subpoena must file its motion in "the district where compliance is required").)2 Respondent refused to consent to the Issuing Court's exercise of authority over Movants' ripe subpoena-enforcement motion. (See Notice Regarding Pls.' Mot. to Enforce the Subpoena on Dr. Alan Glazier, MDL ECF No. 386; Email of Jan. 19, 2017, Ex. K to Giddings Decl., ECF No. 1-13, at 2); see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 45(f) (permitting the court where compliance is required to transfer to the issuing court a motion to enforce a subpoena "if the person subject to the subpoena consents or if the court finds exceptional circumstances"). As a result, the Issuing Court ultimately denied the motion to enforce without prejudice (see Order, MDL ECF No. 389), which prompted Movants to initiate the instant miscellaneous action in this Court.

Before this Court at present is the first filing in this action: a motion by Movants that requests that this Court transfer their subpoena-enforcement motion to the Issuing Court under Rule 45(f), or in the alternative, enforce the subpoena. (See Mot. to Transfer or Enforce the Subpoena, ECF No. 1.) Pursuant to Rule 45(f), this Court has provided Respondent with another opportunity to consent to the transfer of the subpoena dispute to the Issuing Court (see Min. Order of Mar. 16, 2017), and Respondent, who is proceeding pro se , has once again refused (see Resp. to Pls.' Mot. to Transfer or Enforce the Subpoena ("Resp't's Transfer Opp'n"), ECF No. 8, at 2). Movants maintain that there are exceptional circumstances that warrant transfer under Rule 45(f) in any event (see Movs.' Mem. at 16-17), and for the reasons explained below, this Court agrees. In short, after considering the applicable factors, this Court concludes that transferring the motion to enforce the subpoena to the Issuing Court will avoid disrupting that court's management of the underlying complex MDL, will not burden Respondent, and will ensure that this dispute is handled by the tribunal that is best situated to decide the merits of the subpoena-enforcement issue. Moreover, all of these *375interests clearly outweigh any interest that Respondent has in having this Court resolve the motion to enforce the subpoena. Consequently, Movants' motion to transfer their motion to enforce the subpoena will be GRANTED , and this matter will be TRANSFERRED to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida forthwith.

I. LEGAL STANDARDS GOVERNING TRANSFERS OF SUBPOENA DISPUTES UNDER FEDERAL RULE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE 45(f)

The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure contain a clear set of instructions regarding how subpoenas for documents, and also disputes related to such subpoenas, are to be handled. A subpoena to produce materials or to permit inspection "must issue from the court where the action is pending. " Fed. R. Civ. P. 45(a)(2) (emphasis added). But if the recipient of the subpoena objects to production or inspection, the "serving party may move the court for the district where compliance is required for an order compelling production or inspection." Id. at 45(d)(2)(B)(i) (emphasis added). Nevertheless, under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45(f) -which first appeared in the Federal Rules in 2013-the court where compliance is required can transfer a subpoena-related motion to compel to the court that issued the subpoena "if the person subject to the subpoena consents or if the court finds exceptional circumstances." Id. at 45(f).

Notably, the term "exceptional circumstances" is not defined in Rule 45(f). However, the Advisory Committee Notes to the 2013 amendments do provide some guidance; they state that, while the "prime concern" when considering transfer "should be avoiding burdens on local nonparties subject to subpoenas," in "some circumstances, ... transfer may be warranted in order to avoid disrupting the issuing court's management of the underlying litigation[.]" Fed. R. Civ. P. 45(f) advisory committee's note to 2013 amendment. The notes also make clear that "[t]ransfer is appropriate only if such interests outweigh the interests of the nonparty served with the subpoena in obtaining local resolution of the motion." Id. And the Advisory Committee further cautions that "the proponent of transfer bears the burden of showing that such circumstances are present[,]" and that "it should not be assumed that the issuing court is in a superior position to resolve subpoena-related motions." Id.

Thus, courts weighing transfer under Rule 45(f) must carefully balance the "interest of the nonparty in obtaining local resolution of [a subpoena-related] motion" against the interest "in ensuring the efficient, fair and orderly progress of ongoing litigation before the issuing court." Judicial Watch, Inc. v. Valle Del Sol, Inc. , 307 F.R.D. 30, 34 (D.D.C. 2014) (alterations, internal quotation marks, and citation omitted); see also Wultz v. Bank of China, Ltd. , 304 F.R.D. 38, 46 (D.D.C.

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Bluebook (online)
306 F. Supp. 3d 372, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-disposable-contact-lens-antitrust-litig-cadc-2017.