On the Mark

In the matter of PharMerica Inc. v. Healthprime Inc., 1:07-cv-0207. , U.S. District Judge Julie E. Carnes recently found that three health care providers “clearly and blatantly failed to meet their discovery obligations” in their ongoing litigation.

I’ll tell you what strikes this writer is the noticeably sharp and pointedly harsh wording of this order issued on March 19th.

“The recalcitrance, gamesmanship, and bad faith of Healthprime, HCC, and Hanover have caused unnecessary expense for plaintiff and unnecessary work for this Court,” Carnes wrote.

Note to readers, in the times following the changes to the FRCP back in 2006 and then again in 2007, it should be glaringly obvious that the judiciary is no longer interested in entertaining needless and unnecessary adversarial tactics in discovery. It’s the whole point of the 26(f) meet and confer process that encourages parties to work it out and not bring this type of problem to the court.

The Judge further blisters the defendants in pointing out that while they’ve expended “little energy in responding to plaintiff’s discovery requests, they have mustered up enough initiative to file a Motion for Summary Judgment with the Court”

For the Defendants’ the next stop is Sanction-ville.

“Should defendants continue to be uncooperative, the Court will consider striking defendants’ answers and then entering a default against them.”

Ouch.

For a little more in-depth coverage, check out the Law.com article which ran yesterday.

On a sad note, On the Mark would like to illuminate the life and passing of Dith Pran. Dith was the NY Times photographer who’s life and strength were memorialized in movie The Killing Fields.

I suggest you take a moment and explore the NY Times Obituary for Dith Pran here

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