Today, Judge Chhabria held a status conference in the consolidated book author cases Kadrey v. Meta Platforms, Silverman v. Meta Platforms, and Huckabee v. Meta Platforms. In the cases, the plaintiffs are represented by the Joseph Saveri Law Firm, as catalogued in our list of cases. With fact discovery set to close on September 30, the plaintiffs requested an extension of fact discovery until January 6, 2024.
But Judge Chhabria granted only 14 days of additional discovery because he told the Saveri Law Firm lawyers: “It’s very clear to me from the papers, from the docket and from talking to the magistrate judge that you have brought this case and you have not done your job to advance it. You and your team have barely been litigating the case, that’s obvious,” as reported by Bloomberg Law and Politico.
“You are not doing your job. This is an important case. You and your team have taken on a case that you are either unwilling or unable to litigate properly.”
Judge Vince Chhabria to lead counsel Joseph Saveri
What Judge Chhabria must have been referring to: as we reported last week, Magistrate Judge Thomas J. Hixson denied the Kadrey plaintiffs’ request to conduct 35 depositions, just 18 days before fact discovery closes on September 30 because they hadn’t conducted any depositions at all. Judge Hixson ruled: “But since Plaintiffs have taken zero depositions, the 35 party depositions (plus non-party depositions), or alternatively the 180 hours of deposition testimony, would all have to occur in the second half of September, which is obviously impossible. Therefore, Plaintiffs’ motion is DENIED.”
If that were not bad enough, Judge Chhabria went even further. He said he won’t certify a class of plaintiffs represented by the Joseph Saveri Law Firm, according to Bloomberg Law.
“I will not certify a class represented by this legal team. There is no way that I would find adequacy of representation based on the representation that I’ve seen take place thus far.”
Judge Vince Chhabria
Judge Chhabria recommended that the plaintiffs’ lawyers should bring in additional law firms who can adequately litigate the case. He noted the importance of this lawsuit: “This is not your typical proposed class action. This is an important case. It’s an important societal issue. It’s important for your clients.”
The Joseph Saveri Law Firm has filed 9 copyright lawsuits against various AI companies, some of which cases have a second law firm (Lockridge, Grindal, Nauen LLP) involved, as well as the lawyer Matthew Butterick. It’s unclear how the discovery is proceeding in the other AI cases, or whether a similar concern as the one raised by Judge Chhabria might surface in the other cases Joseph Saveri is involved in.
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(g), if a class of plaintiffs is certified, the court must also appoint the class counsel, taking into account the counsel’s abilities, including “any other matter pertinent to counsel’s ability to fairly and adequately represent the interests of the class.”