Opinion ID: 516920
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Appellants' Opportunity for Discovery

Text: 45 Finally, we must address appellants' claim that the district court did not allow them adequate discovery, and that they therefore were unjustly deprived of the ability to meet their burden of production under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56. 46 Under Rule 56(f), summary judgment may be inappropriate where the party opposing it shows ... that he cannot at the time present facts essential to justify his opposition. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e) advisory committee's note (1963). The nonmoving party should not be railroaded into his offer of proof in opposition to summary judgment. See Celotex, 477 U.S. at 326, 106 S.Ct. at 2554-2555. The nonmoving party must have had the opportunity to discover information that is essential to his opposition to the motion for summary judgment. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 250 n. 5, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2511 n. 5, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). But the trial court may properly deny further discovery if the nonmoving party has had a fully adequate opportunity for discovery. See First Nat'l Bank of Ariz. v. Cities Serv. Co., 391 U.S. 253, 290-99, 88 S.Ct. 1575, 1593-98, 20 L.Ed.2d 569 (1968); Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corp. v. Esprit De Corp., 769 F.2d 919, 927-28 (2d Cir.1985). From the record, it appears that appellants had ample time to conduct discovery. Moreover, as the district court noted, appellants Trebor and Rotano proffered no persuasive basis for the district court to conclude that further discovery would yield proof of a written agreement that would satisfy the statute of frauds, which was, after all, the nub of the appellee's motion for summary judgment. The district court was therefore correct in denying Trebor and Rotano's request for further discovery.