Court Imposes Sanctions for Failure to Conduct Reasonable Inquiry and Late Production
In re Delta/AirTran Baggage Fee Antitrust Litig., —F. Supp. 2d—, 2012 WL 360509 (N.D. Ga. Feb. 3, 2012)
After repeated representations that all responsive documents had been produced, a defendant belatedly discovered and produced an additional 60,000 pages. Upon plaintiffs’ motion for sanctions, the court found that the defendant “did not conduct a reasonable inquiry” to ensure production of all responsive documents and had run “afoul” of Rule 26(e). Accordingly, the court ordered discovery re-opened and that the defendant pay plaintiffs’ reasonable expenses and attorneys’ fees caused by the defendant’s failure, including the cost of the necessary motions and the extended discovery period.