Berger v. The Department of Defense

Background

Jonathan S. Berger filed a “Joint Motion to Discover and Subpoena Privileged Information and Documents” on January 31, 2025. The Department of Defense later filed a letter motion asking the court to deny Berger’s request or, alternatively, to stay discovery until the Department’s motion to dismiss was resolved.

Legal standard

The court explained that Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c) allows a court, for good cause, to protect a party or person from annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, or undue burden or expense. A court may also stay, meaning pause, discovery while a potentially case-ending motion is pending. In deciding whether to do so, courts consider the scope of the requested discovery, the burden of responding, possible prejudice, and the strength of the pending motion.

Court’s reasoning

The court exercised its discretion to stay discovery because it found that Berger’s complaint lacked merit. The court noted that, in a Report and Recommendation filed the same day, it had recommended that the action be dismissed as frivolous. Based on that recommendation and the circumstances of the case, the court concluded that Berger was not entitled to discovery at that time.

The court stated that Berger could renew his discovery request if the recommendation was not adopted and the case continued. The opinion does not specify which portions of the Department’s motion were granted and which were denied beyond the resulting discovery stay.

Disposition

Berger’s discovery motion was DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. The Department of Defense’s motion was GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. The court ordered that discovery be stayed pending resolution of the Department’s motion to dismiss. Judge Stewart D. Aaron issued the order as a United States Magistrate Judge.