Flores v. Southern Peru Copper Corp.
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
203 F.R.D. 92 (S.D.N.Y. 2001)
Flores (plaintiff) sued Southern Peru Copper Corp. (defendant) over more than 40 years of alleged environmental harm from its mining operations. The parties jointly agreed to delay most Rule 26(a)(1) initial disclosures pending the court's ruling on Southern's dispositive motion, but Flores refused to waive disclosure of insurance policies under Rule 26(a)(1)(D); Southern objected, arguing it should not have to spend time and money locating decades of insurance policies and negotiating a confidentiality agreement if its motion succeeded and made the effort unnecessary.
Whether, under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a court must compel a party to make an initial disclosure required by Rule 26(a)(1) if the opposing party has refused to waive it.