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Partin v. North Mississippi Medical Center7/19/2005
month after the filing of the motions for summary judgment, Partin propounded interrogatories and requests for production of documents to the separate defendants. Partin also shortly thereafter attempted to schedule depositions; however, at this time all parties agreed to await conducting any further discovery and to postpone any depositions until after the summary judgment motions had been decided.
. Thus, Partin was in something of a difficult position: he needed to conduct discovery in order to develop his evidence to survive the motions for summary judgment, but the appellees urged the postponement of discovery until after the motions for summary judgment were decided. One of the appellees threatened to file a motion for a protective order to prevent discovery, in the event that Partin insisted on going ahead with discovery while the summary judgment motions were pending and undecided. Why Partin did not insist upon the continuance of discovery for the purpose of building his evidence against the summary judgment motions, we cannot say; nor can we say what the result would have been had Partin made this choice and opposed any motions for protective orders or filed for himself motions to compel discovery. However, it is apparent that Partin was not diligent in conducting discovery before the filing of the motions for summary judgment. There were at least five to six months during which Partin could have exercised this required diligence. Under the holding of Hobgood (which found a mere three month failure to pursue discovery to undermine the plaintiff's argument that more discovery was needed) this failure to pursue discovery renders Partin's argument on this issue meritless. Hobgood, 769 So. 2d at 845 ( ).
. Thus, we find no abuse of discretion in the circuit court's decision to deny Partin's motion to stay consideration of the motions for summary judgment filed by the appellees. We decline to address the question of whether the trial court should have ordered a discovery conference, since the trial court did not address that question specifically, due to its ruling on the motions for summary judgment. Further discovery with the remaining defendants will doubtless be attempted on remand, and if Partin continues to have the problems he has alleged, then a discovery conference and scheduling order may very well be necessary at that time. But this Court has neither the prerogative nor the inclination to mire itself in the details of managing the pre-trial discovery process, which is properly left to the discretion of the trial court. Bowie, 861 So. 2d at 1042 ( ).
. Without deciding the question of whether a discovery conference and scheduling order may become necessary at some point in this case, we find Partin's arguments under this issue to be meritless.
. THE JUDGMENT OF THE CIRCUIT COURT OF LEE COUNTY IS AFFIRMED IN PART AS TO THE GRANTING OF SUMMARY JUDGMENT TO DR. RICHARD SHARP AND DR. LAURA GRAY AND AS TO THE DENIAL OF THE MOTION FOR DISCOVERY CONFERENCE AND/OR PRETRIAL CONFERENCE AND FOR STAY OF MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT. THE JUDGMENT IS REVERSED AS TO THE GRANTING OF SUMMARY JUDGMENT TO NORTH MISSISSIPPI MEDICAL CENTER AND DR. THOMAS OAKES AND REMANDED FOR PROCEEDINGS CONSISTENT WITH THIS OPINION. ALL COSTS OF THIS APPEAL ARE TO BE DIVIDED EQUALLY BETWEEN THE APPELLANT AND THE APPELLEES.
KING, C.J., BRIDGES AND LEE, P.JJ., IRVING, CHANDLER, GRIFFIS, AND ISHEE, JJ. CONCUR.
BARNES, J., NOT PARTICIPATING.
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