Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-3_07-cv-05634/USCOURTS-cand-3_07-cv-05634-43/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 410
Nature of Suit: Antitrust
Cause of Action: 15:1 Antitrust Litigation

---

United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28 1

 All remaining defendants except Japan Airlines International and United Airlines joined in

the second letter.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

In re

TRANSPACIFIC PASSENGER AIR

TRANSPORTATION ANTITRUST

LITIGATION,

___________________________________/

No. C-07-05634 CRB (DMR)

ORDER RE PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION TO

COMPEL [Docket Nos. 601 and 610]

The parties filed two joint letters setting forth a discovery dispute between Plaintiffs and

various Defendants. Plaintiffs and Defendant All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd. (“ANA”) submitted a

letter on November 30, 2011. [Docket No. 601.] Plaintiffs and several non-ANA Defendants

submitted a December 14, 2011 letter discussing the same dispute and its potential impact on nonANA Defendants.1

 [Docket No. 610.] The court conducted a hearing on January 12, 2012. This

Order summarizes the rulings made by the court on the record during the hearing.

The parties’ discovery dispute concerns materials previously produced by ANA in parallel

multi-district litigation entitled In re Air Cargo Shipping Services Antitrust Litigation (“Air

Cargo”), Case No. 06-1775-JGG, currently pending in the Eastern District of New York. These

materials include documents previously produced by ANA to the Department of Justice or other

Case 3:07-cv-05634-CRB Document 621 Filed 01/18/12 Page 1 of 4
United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

2

governmental or foreign regulatory authorities in connection with investigations into alleged anticompetitive conduct in the air cargo and air passenger industries. The materials also include

documents concerning the relationship between the pricing of passenger fares and cargo rates,

including surcharges (collectively, the “Air Cargo materials”).

The Air Cargo materials comprise approximately 1.1 million documents. ANA produced

them to the Air Cargo Plaintiffs approximately one year ago. As the same counsel represent the

plaintiffs in both this matter and in the Air Cargo litigation, Plaintiffs’ counsel already have the

requested materials in their possession. However, there is a protective order in place in Air Cargo

that prevents Plaintiffs from using the documents in this case absent an order from the court or an

agreement by ANA. Therefore, Plaintiffs seek an order deeming the Air Cargo materials produced

in this case.

Plaintiffs argue for wholesale production of all 1.1 million of the Air Cargo materials. They

point to the broad scope of discovery under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26, and argue further

that such discovery is particularly broad in antitrust actions. Plaintiffs also generally assert that

documents produced in Air Cargo are relevant in this case because, as alleged in their complaint,

ANA’s conspiratorial conduct to fix air cargo rates is “intertwined” with its conspiratorial conduct in

the air passenger market. Finally, they point to notes from a 2004 Board of Airline Representatives

(“BAR”) meeting in Thailand which are suggestive of anti-competitive behavior regarding fuel

surcharges for air cargo pricing that may have become a model for similar behavior for air passenger

fares. 

ANA objects to the production of the documents on the grounds of relevance, arguing that

the cargo and passenger transportation markets are completely separate, with separate pricing

practices, and therefore documents regarding cargo transportation are irrelevant to the issues in this

litigation. The non-ANA Defendants object that the production of the Air Cargo materials in this

case would be extremely burdensome, as each Defendant would incur millions of dollars in fees and

costs for loading and hosting the documents on a joint defense database, and then reviewing and

analyzing the documents.

Case 3:07-cv-05634-CRB Document 621 Filed 01/18/12 Page 2 of 4
United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

3

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26 provides that “[p]arties may obtain discovery regarding

any nonprivileged matter that is relevant to any party’s claim or defense . . . [r]elevant information

need not be admissible at the trial if the discovery appears reasonably calculated to lead to the

discovery of admissible evidence.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1). However, Rule 26 also requires that the

court limit the frequency or extent of discovery if “the burden or expense of the proposed discovery

outweighs its likely benefit, considering the needs of the case, the amount in controversy, the

parties’ resources, the importance of the issues at stake in the action, and the importance of the

discovery in resolving the issues.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(2)(C)(iii). 

Here, Plaintiffs primarily have relied on general, broad-brush statements to support their

argument that all 1.1 million documents in the Air Cargo materials are relevant to this case. 

However, the court has little idea about what those materials actually are. Without more specific

information the court cannot determine which, if any, of the Air Cargo materials should be produced

in this litigation. Plaintiffs’ allegations, along with the Thai BAR meeting notes, suggest that there

may well be Air Cargo materials which should be produced in this case. The scope of relevance in

discovery in antitrust actions is indeed broad. See FTC v. Lukens Steel Co., 444 F. Supp. 803, 805

(D.D.C. 1977) (“The discovery rules should normally be liberally construed to permit discovery in

antitrust cases.”). Where allegations of conspiracy or monopolization are involved, broad discovery

may be needed to uncover evidence of design, pattern, or intent. Id. Accordingly, the court

concludes that Plaintiffs should be given the opportunity to review and select relevant Air Cargo

materials for use in this case.

Therefore, the parties shall meet and confer regarding a process by which Plaintiffs may

review and select Air Cargo materials for possible use in this case. The parties shall use the review

and selection procedure described in the June 29, 2011 Order in In re Cathode Ray Tube Antitrust

Litigation, Case No. 07-5944-SC (Docket No. 952) as a starting point. The process must include a

mechanism by which Defendant ANA may object to Plaintiffs’ selection of documents for

production on the basis of relevance, as well as a procedure requiring the parties to meet and confer

to resolve any disputes prior to submitting them to the undersigned for resolution well in advance of

a party’s attempted use of Air Cargo materials in this litigation. In this way, Plaintiffs have an

Case 3:07-cv-05634-CRB Document 621 Filed 01/18/12 Page 3 of 4
United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

4

opportunity to identify relevant Air Cargo materials, other parties have a chance to object and argue

otherwise, and Defendants will not be burdened by being forced to review each and every one of the

1.1 million documents. By no later than January 19, 2012, the parties shall submit a joint stipulated

proposal regarding the review and production process to the undersigned.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: January 18, 2012

 DONNA M. RYU

United States Magistrate Judge

Case 3:07-cv-05634-CRB Document 621 Filed 01/18/12 Page 4 of 4