Experience Hendrix, L.L.C. v. Noel Redding Estate Ltd

Background

Plaintiffs Experience Hendrix, LLC, Authentic Hendrix, LLC, and Sony Music Entertainment submitted a letter requesting a conference to resolve a discovery dispute. Defendants Noel Redding Estate Ltd. and Mitch Mitchell Estate Ltd. opposed the request.

The requested discovery included additional materials such as foreign probate documents. Plaintiffs argued that the documents were within defendants’ control because defendants had the practical ability to obtain them.

Legal standard

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 34, a party may request documents that are in another party’s possession, custody, or control. The court explained that when a party states in good faith that it does not possess or control the requested documents, the burden returns to the requesting party to provide specific evidence showing that the responding party has control over them.

For discovery purposes, control means the legal right, authority, or practical ability to obtain the documents. The court also relied on the rule that a defendant generally does not have to obtain documents from third parties when the plaintiff seeking the documents can use compulsory legal process against those third parties. Production may be required when the responding party can obtain documents that are not available to the requesting party.

Ruling

Judge Ronnie Abrams ordered plaintiffs to demonstrate no later than March 1, 2023, how defendants had the practical ability to obtain the additional requested material and how that material was not available to plaintiffs. The opinion does not state that the court granted or denied the discovery request, and it does not resolve the parties’ underlying claims.