16 Months Is Enough

In February 2008, Booklab sued Konica over the faulty printer it had purchased from Konica.  Sixteen months after the suit began, Konica filed a “no evidence” summary judgment motion on Booklab’s damages claim.  Booklab objected, contending that the motion was improper because it had not had enough time for discovery.  The trial court granted Konica’s motion and Booklab appealed.

The main issue on appeal was whether Booklab’s time for discovery had been adequate.  Booklab argued that its case was “complex”–thus requiring an extended discovery period.  It also asserted that the trial court’s established discovery period had not expired by the time Konica had filed its motion.  The court of appeals rejected both of these arguments.  Because determining whether adequate time for discovery is so fact specific, it held that “the rules do not require that the discovery period applicable to the case have ended before a no-evidence summary judgment may be granted.”  It also rejected Booklab’s claim that the case was complex, finding that Booklab’s damages claim required only that it prove a loss of business opportunities with its own clients.  It noted that Booklab could not explain why discovery of Konica’s employees and executives was necessary to its claim.

Booklab Inc. v. Konica Minolta Business Solutions, Inc., No. 05-10-00095