Judge denies stay, allows limited depositions to identify additional defendants before Oct. 10 statute deadline

The judge denied AAC's motion to stay depositions and allowed plaintiffs to proceed with depositions intended to identify additional defendants before an Oct. 10 statute‑of‑limitations deadline. "I'm going to deny the motion for a protective order to stay in depositions and allow that to go forward," the judge said on the record.

To prevent repetitive depositions across numerous plaintiffs, the judge limited questioning of John Sunday and AAC’s corporate representative to identifying other potentially responsible parties. The judge explained that allowing a full deposition now could produce repeated depositions across dozens of plaintiffs and that a limited scope would preserve plaintiffs’ rights while reducing duplication.