No. 20-650

Stadtwerke Frankfurt am Main Holding GmbH v. RWE Trading Americas Inc.

Lower Court: Second Circuit
Docketed: 2020-11-13
Status: Denied
Type: Paid
Response Waived
Tags: abuse-of-discretion civil-procedure corporate-control discovery discovery-compliance document-search evidence-sufficiency judicial-discretion possession-custody-control reasonable-search subpoena subpoena-standard
Key Terms:
Securities Privacy JusticiabilityDoctri
Latest Conference: 2021-01-08
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether the district court applied the wrong standard in concluding that the subpoena target's search was adequate and quashing the subpoena

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

QUESTIONS PRESENTED 1. The district court quashed a subpoena after concluding that the subpoena’s target conducted a reasonable search and did not have any responsive documents in its possession, custody, or control. Yet, the evidence shows that the subpoena target conducted no search at all for documents and that at least one responsive document was known by the subpoena target to exist. Did the district court apply the wrong standard in concluding that the subpoena target’s search was adequate and, thus, abuse its discretion in quashing the subpoena? 2. The district court quashed a subpoena because the subpoena’s target did not have any responsive documents in its possession, custody, or control. Yet, the subpoena target never established that it could not have obtained responsive documents by asking for them from a corporate affiliate that indisputably did have at least one responsive document. Did the district court apply the wrong standard for determining whether a document is in an entity’s possession, custody, or control and, thus, abuse its discretion in quashing the subpoena?

Docket Entries

2021-01-11
Petition DENIED.
2020-12-16
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/8/2021.
2020-12-14
Waiver of right of respondent RWE Trading Americas Inc. to respond filed.
2020-11-09
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due December 14, 2020)

Attorneys

RWE Trading Americas Inc.
Roman Martinez VLatham & Watkins, LLP, Respondent
Roman Martinez VLatham & Watkins, LLP, Respondent
Stadtwerke Frankfurt am Main Holding GmbH
Leah Ariel MintzDuane Morris, LLP, Petitioner
Leah Ariel MintzDuane Morris, LLP, Petitioner