‘Windy’ Motion to Compel Discovery From Belkin Is Denied for Exceeding Page Limits

U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel Fuentes for Northern Illinois in Chicago denied without prejudice plaintiff Dennis Gromov's motion to compel discovery from Belkin on his power banks fraud claims (see 2308030012), said a docket entry notification Thursday (docket 1:22-cv-06918). Gromov’s class action alleges Belkin advertised power banks for mobile devices in a deceptive manner, and the chargers don’t deliver the amount of power promised (see 2301300008). His motion to compel discovery alleged Belkin was engaging in “obstructive conduct.” The judge denied the motion for failure to comply with Local Rule 7.1, which bars filing motion briefs exceeding 15 pages without prior court approval. His order called Gromov’s 31-page motion “windy” for its excessive page count, plus its 20 attached exhibits encompassing nearly 2,000 pages. If Gromov thinks another Local Rule 37.2 motion for discovery and production conference might be helpful in narrowing the issues for judicial intervention, “that is fine,” said the order. But Gromov “also is encouraged to focus the arguments and to make them succinctly, in the event the motion is refiled,” it said. “In refocusing, plaintiff may also wish to reconsider the value, from an advocacy standpoint, of filing nearly 2,000 pages of exhibits,” it said.