COVID-19 Legal Resource Guide
March 20, 2020

Georgia Court Denies Joint Motion to Stay Discovery Due to COVID-19 Pandemic in FTC Fraud Suit

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia denied a joint motion to stay discovery in an FTC action against defendant Hornbeam Special Situations, LLC, over claims that the defendant signed customers up for discount club membership without their authorization. The parties requested that discovery be stayed until the threat to the public caused by the coronavirus has lessened. The parties argued that “the use of telepresence technologies to facilitate the third party depositions is not feasible given the document-intensive nature of the proposed depositions, the widely dispersed locations of the deponents, the number of parties and counsel (including pro se parties), and the logistics required for remote depositions.” However, the court ruled that discovery – and in particular written discovery – could still proceed. The court also held that the situation could be reevaluated, and that the parties could request an extension closer to the end of the discovery period if they are unable to complete depositions.​

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