General Petroleum Corp. v. District Court of United States for Western District of Washington, Northern Division

Petitioners seek writs of prohibition and of mandamus directed against the respondent District Court, prohibiting the enforcement of a certain order of that court dated March 17, 1954. The order under attack was entered in an action entitled “George F. Moore, plaintiff, v. Standard Oil Company of California, et al., defendants.” It was made pursuant to that plaintiff’s motion under Rule 34 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, 28 U.S.C.A., which provides for the “Discovery and Production of Documents and Things for Inspection, Copying or Photographing”. As written the order requires each of the petitioners as a defendant in that action to make available to plaintiff’s attorneys for the purpose of inspection and copying, documents in their possession falling within 91 described categories and covering an eighteen year period extending to April 1, 1953.

We do not understand petitioners to object to the order as written, but the petition is based upon the contention that as construed and understood by the respondent court, and as they are necessarily required to understand and construe it, petitioners are now called upon by the order not merely to make available to plaintiff’s…