Case 10587083

Background

Meta Platforms, Inc.; Instagram, LLC; Facebook Payments, Inc.; Siculus, Inc.; and Facebook Operations, LLC (collectively, the “Meta Defendants”) moved under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45 to compel enforcement of deposition subpoenas served on nonparties Dora and Juana Rodriguez. The subpoenas concerned discovery in Maria Elena Rodriguez’s related lawsuit, which was one of twelve bellwether cases in multidistrict litigation pending in the Northern District of California.

Dora and Juana Rodriguez are Maria Elena Rodriguez’s sisters and M.G.’s aunts. They did not appear for depositions scheduled in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Dora said health concerns, including anxiety, prevented her from participating. Juana said discussing M.G. was stressful and that she did not know anything about the matter.

The Meta Defendants separately asked the court to transfer the subpoena-enforcement motion to the Northern District of California, where Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers was managing the multidistrict litigation. Maria Elena Rodriguez did not oppose the transfer and agreed that the subpoena dispute should be handled by that court.

Legal standard

Rule 45(f) permits the court where subpoena compliance is required to transfer a subpoena-related motion to the court that issued the subpoena if the person subject to the subpoena consents or if exceptional circumstances exist. Courts consider factors including the complexity and procedural posture of the underlying case, how long it has been pending, and the issues already addressed by the issuing court. The court must also weigh the interests of local nonparties in having the dispute resolved locally.

Court’s analysis

The court concluded that transfer was appropriate. The Northern District of California had managed the multidistrict litigation since October 6, 2022, handled discovery, and decided multiple earlier discovery disputes. The court found that keeping the subpoena dispute in Tennessee could interfere with the California court’s time-sensitive discovery schedule, which included an April 4, 2025 fact-discovery deadline and a deadline concerning bellwether trial selections.

The court also found that the California court was better positioned to evaluate any prejudice from the missed depositions and to decide whether sanctions were appropriate. Finally, it found that transfer would likely impose only a slight burden on Dora and Juana Rodriguez because the California court routinely holds virtual hearings. Their interest in local resolution therefore did not outweigh the circumstances favoring transfer.

Ruling

Judge Curtis L. Collier granted the Meta Defendants’ motion to transfer the enforcement motion. The clerk was directed to transfer the motion to compel enforcement to Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in the Northern District of California, in Case No. 4:22-MD-03047-YGR, MDL No. 3047. The court closed this miscellaneous action. The opinion did not decide whether the subpoenas should ultimately be enforced.