Epstein

ORDER

The memorandum disposition filed on February 24, 1995 is redesignated as a per cu-riam opinion.

OPINION

The issue is whether the district court abused its discretion in holding the Epstein plaintiffs and their counsel in contempt of court for failing to comply with a discovery order. Resolution of this question depends, as an initial matter, on whether the district court’s order to compel plaintiffs to comply with Matsushita’s discovery requests was proper. Because we hold that it was not, we vacate the district court’s order holding plaintiffs and their counsel in contempt. See Thomassen v. United States, 835 F.2d 727, 732 (9th Cir.1987) (when order with which contemnor failed to comply is vacated on appeal, “the contempt order naturally falls because it is predicated on” the vacated order).

Matsushita requested from all plaintiffs in this case detailed information about (1) whether plaintiffs owned MCA shares, (2) how they invested their tender offer proceeds, (3) whether their investment history made it likely that they would have elected to receive Wasserman’s preferred stock instead of cash, and (4) whether they would in any event pay taxes on the cash proceeds they…