Doe v. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc.

Background

The plaintiffs were expected to file an amended complaint days before the scheduled initial case management conference. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. moved to continue that conference. The plaintiffs had also already issued third-party subpoenas to Adobe, Alphabet, Microsoft, and X.

Rulings

The court granted Kaiser’s administrative motion to continue the initial case management conference. The conference was continued to October 17, 2023, at 2:30 p.m.

The court also allowed the plaintiffs to proceed with the third-party discovery they had already served. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(f) ordinarily requires the parties to confer before discovery begins, but the court noted a dispute about whether that conference had already occurred, in whole or in part. The court further explained that early discovery may be allowed for good cause when the need for expedited discovery, considering the administration of justice, outweighs possible prejudice to the responding party.

Reasoning and effect

The court found good cause because of the nature of the plaintiffs’ privacy claims. It also found no real prejudice to Kaiser because the basic substance of the plaintiffs’ case would likely remain the same despite the amended pleading. The ruling did not prevent Kaiser or the third parties from objecting to the subpoenas on other grounds. The order disposed of Docket No. 35.