Court Lambasts Medco for Discovery Practices

PHILADELPHIA (Feb. 2, 2005) -- In a strongly worded opinion, U.S. District Court Judge Clarence Newcomer admonished Medco for its dilatory and disingenuous discovery practices. Deciding the government and relators' motion to modify the case management order, Judge Newcomer harshly criticized Medco for "being in direct violation" of the Court's prior order, failing to provide timely information to the Court, failing to provide plaintiffs with usable electronic claims data, and adopting "disingenuous" positions with respect to its awareness of technical problems with other materials it produced electronically.

Judge Newcomer noted, "This Court finds that [the Medco] Defendants have been dilatory . . . costing Plaintiffs unnecessary time and expense. Consequently, the Court admonishes Medco for its discovery practices, and reminds Medco of its obligation to this Court to contact it when discovery issues arise, not a week after it fails to meet a deadline. . . . Deadlines will be enforced and neither unnecessary discovery nor obstructions will be tolerated. Any further violations of this Court's orders may result in sanctions."
As "a result of Medco's conduct and its resulting prejudice to Plaintiffs," the Court granted most of the relief sought by plaintiffs, extending the discovery deadline until Feb. 14 and establishing a pretrial schedule that results in a trial beginning April 18, 2006.

Not certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

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