Citron v. National Railroad Passenger Corp.

Background

Aviv Citron asked the court to schedule a conference concerning a discovery dispute with National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak. Citron said that, on March 12, 2021, he served requests for production seeking three categories of documents concerning Amtrak’s retained expert, Dr. Ramesh Gidumal: transcripts of Gidumal’s testimony for Amtrak in other cases, Gidumal’s reports that Amtrak had produced in other cases, and records showing compensation paid to Gidumal for work for Amtrak in other cases.

Citron’s letter stated that Amtrak did not respond by the April 12, 2021 deadline and responded only after Citron pressed the issue. According to Citron, Amtrak’s responses consisted of boilerplate objections. Citron argued that the objections were untimely under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 34 and therefore waived, and that the requested documents were relevant and discoverable under Rule 26. The provided text does not include a full response from Amtrak or a final ruling on whether each requested document had to be produced.

Court’s Action

Judge Alison J. Nathan granted Citron’s application to the extent that the court would conduct a conference on June 11, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. in Courtroom 20A of the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse. The court stated that it intended to resolve the discovery dispute based on the parties’ letters and any argument presented at the conference, unless it later directed more formal briefing. The order also set June 7, 2021, as the deadline for Citron’s optional reply letter. This was a discovery-management order, not a final decision requiring production of the documents.