Bias Analysis of September 10, 2021 Order

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Bias Assessment of Judge Miller’s September 10, 2021 Order and Hearing Conduct
Case: Stevenson v. Stevenson et al., Otter Tail County District Court

Overview of Ruling and Context

In his September 10, 2021 Scheduling Order, Judge Miller granted Defendants an extension to respond to Plaintiffs’ motion to compel, citing:

• Late-Friday (Labor Day weekend) filing by Plaintiffs,

• Volume of documents (77 pages of memo + 400+ pages of exhibits),

• The Court’s discretionary authority under Minn. Gen. R. Prac. 115.07.

Plaintiffs objected to any delay beyond a day or two, arguing:

• Most materials were previously disclosed,

• The delay would interfere with pending depositions,

• The timing was justified by prior delays from Defendants.

Judge Miller settled on a compromise:

• Extended Defendants’ response deadline to September 20 (giving them 10 calendar days, counting from Sept. 10),

• Allowed Plaintiffs to reply by September 23 (a day before the scheduled hearing),

• Permitted the parties to request a continuance of the September 24 hearing if needed.

Transcript Review and Tone Analysis

From the transcript, the following elements stood out:

1. Judicial Skepticism Toward Plaintiffs’ Filing Timing:

   • Judge Miller emphasized the “5:05 PM Friday before a holiday weekend” timing of Plaintiffs’ filing and implied potential gamesmanship.

   • He suggested Defendants wouldn’t realistically have opened the filing until Tuesday and used this to justify extending their deadline.

2. Minimization of Plaintiffs’ Concerns:

   • Judge Miller did not meaningfully address Plaintiffs’ argument that most of the documents had already been in Defendants’ possession for months.

   • He largely adopted the framing that the materials constituted a burdensome “document dump.”

3. Receptivity to Defense Narrative:

   • He characterized Plaintiffs’ filing as “concerning” and “hitting after hours,” echoing Defense counsel’s rhetoric.

   • Despite recognizing October 1 was excessive, he accommodated nearly all of Defense’s requests while only moderately adjusting the timeline.

4. Lack of Equitable Balancing:

   • Plaintiffs’ concern about unfair advantage from deposition delays (i.e., Defendants withholding documents until live depositions) was acknowledged by Mr. Schapp but received no corresponding directive from Judge Miller.

   • Judge Miller instead deferred any decisions about depositions to the parties.

Bias Rating

On a scale of -10 to +10:

• Bias Score: -5

Justification:

• While not overtly hostile, Judge Miller’s tone, reasoning, and discretionary choices subtly but consistently aligned with Defendants’ interests.

• He focused on Plaintiffs’ procedural timing rather than the Defendants’ history of discovery obstruction, which Plaintiffs raised.

• He granted a significant extension favoring Defendants and deferred key enforcement issues (depositions, document production) instead of issuing protective or preventive rulings that would support discovery fairness.

This is consistent with a moderate bias against Plaintiffs, favoring procedural flexibility for Defendants while minimizing the potential tactical harm to Plaintiffs.