In Holly Deibler, et al. v. SanMedica International, LLC, et al., the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey addressed a motion to compel discovery responses in a putative class-action challenging the advertising and efficacy of SeroVital-Hgh. Magistrate Judge Matthew J. Skahill's December 2021 ruling highlighted key disputes regarding discovery obligations and aimed to balance transparency with proportionality. Filed in 2019, the case focuses on claims of misrepresentation and alleged deceptive marketing practices of the company’s human growth supplements. Despite an initial joint discovery plan, disputes arose over the adequacy of defendant SanMedica’s responses, prompting the Plaintiff to seek judicial intervention after meet and confers were unsuccessful.

The court granted some discovery requests while denying others. Agreeing with the plaintiffs, it compelled SanMedica to address its boilerplate objections and provide specific responses to interrogatories regarding packaging changes, labeling timelines, and formulation details. The court also required the defendants to clarify the withheld materials by providing the plaintiffs an adequate privilege log consistent with the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5).

However, broader requests, such as customer-identifying information and extensive electronic stored information (ESI) searches, were denied by the court as disproportionate or premature. For instance, the court ruled that customer data was unnecessary at the pre-certification stage and expressed concerns about its potential misuse. Similarly, the Plaintiff’s request for a large-scale ESI review lacked sufficient specificity, though narrower requests could be revisited. Other disputes, such as the phrasing of discovery responses, were deemed semantic and of no practical significance. Overall, the court emphasized proportionality and efficiency in discovery, requiring SanMedica to comply with detailed production obligations while limiting overly broad requests. The ruling underscores the court's effort to maintain fair and effective discovery practices while safeguarding against undue burden or delay in resolving the case’s core allegations.

Reach out to Caitlin Oyler, Counsel at CODISCOVR. Caitlin has over a decade of experience providing high-level advice to clients regarding all phases of the eDiscovery life cycle and managing high-profile document collections, reviews, and productions.