Judge Denies Motion To Remove Confidentiality From Some Nielsen Material In Bubba Case

Plaintiff

BUBBA THE LOVE SPONGE lost a procedural point in his defense and proposed counterclaim against NIELSEN AUDIO on FRIDAY when Judge JAMES D, WHITTEMORE ruled against the syndicated host's motion to modify NIELSEN's protected order and make public material presently designated as confidential. 

The order states that "challenging a confidential designation is not the proper procedure for a court to decide whether the public has a right to access a pleading ... their mutual agreement to keep documents confidential is 'immaterial' to a court's decision regarding the public's right of access."

The parties also won a joint motion for more time to complete expert discovery and make DAUBERT motions (motions to exclude certain unqualified evidence from being presented to the jury), getting about a month's extension for discovery through FEBRUARY 17th and a new DAUBERT motion deadline of FEBRUARY 27th. Depositions of expert witnesses, including RHODY BOSLEY and RANDY MICHAELS for the defense and DAVID HAAS for the plaintiff, are underway, and NIELSEN says that new facts since HAAS' NOVEMBER expert report have created the necessity to amend the report and allow for BUBBA's attorneys to depose HAAS again.

« see more Net News