From Basulto v. Netflix, Inc., decided Saturday by Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman (S.D. Fla.):
"Give him an inch and he'll take a mile"
— Well-known proverb
The hugely-popular children's book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie involves a boy who gives a mouse a cookie. The mouse then asks for milk, and a series of requests begins. The mouse makes request after request, and the boy grants all the mouse's wishes: a glass of milk, a straw (to drink the milk), a mirror (to avoid a milk moustache), nail scissors (to trim his hair in the mirror), a broom (to sweep up the hair trimmings), a nap, a story (to be read to him), a picture (to be drawn), a refrigerator (to hang the picture on)—and then a glass of milk (because looking at the refrigerator made the mouse thirsty).
One theme of the story is that every event has consequences. There is always a cause and an effect. Every action causes a reaction. Decisions about litigation tactics are no exception to this fundamental rule. Another theme is that the recipient of a favor or benefit may well seek additional rewards. The lessons children learn from If You Give a Mouse a Cookie apply equally to tactics used in lawsuits.
All of which brings us to Defendant Netflix's Expedited Motion to Strike Plaintiffs' Amended Opposition to Netflix's Motion for Summary Judgment…. Essentially, Netflix contends that Plaintiffs have taken advantage of a recent discovery ruling (which permitted an additional two hours of deposition testimony on limited topics from a Netflix corporate representative) to unfairly submit materially revised materials: the amended opposition brief, statement of undisputed facts, new declarations from Dreyfuss and Basulto and related exhibits. According to Netflix, Plaintiffs abused their ability to submit a revised memorandum to the limited extent it concerned the new and additional deposition testimony by fundamentally re-conceiving their arguments.
