See below for February 7, 2022 important update
Some victims of Madison Timber have received subpoenas issued in the federal civil case Alysson Mills vs. The UPS Store, Inc., et al., No. 3:19-cv-00364 (S.D. Miss.).
The Receiver did not issue the subpoenas. The UPS Store, Inc. issued the subpoenas and began serving them on victims on June 18, 2021. Each victim who was served received two subpoenas: one for documents and one for a deposition.
The Receiver believes victims who received subpoenas hold promissory notes secured by timber deeds that were notarized by employees of The UPS Store Madison.
The Receiver cannot give individual victims legal advice but provides here information that she believes victims should know:
- Although issued by The UPS Store, Inc., a subpoena is a court order and should not be ignored.
- The Receiver has objected to the subpoenas as overbroad and heavy-handed because they seek information that is private and information that is not relevant to the claims against The UPS Store, Inc. She has asked the Court for protective relief in motions that she has filed over the past two weeks:
2021-06-22 [207] Receiver’s Motion for Protective Order
2021-06-22 [209] Receiver’s Motion for Expedited Consideration
2021-06-28 [213] Receiver’s Motion to Quash Subpoenas
2021-06-28 [215] Receiver’s Motion for Expedited Consideration
2021-06-30 [290] S.E.C. and Receiver’s Joint Motion for Protective Order
2021-06-30 [219] Receiver’s Motion to Seal or Redact
2021-07-01 [224] UPS’s Opposition to Receiver’s Motion to Quash
2021-07-07 [230] Receiver’s Reply to UPS’s Opposition to Motion to Quash
She will promptly report the outcome of her motions here. - In the meantime, the Court has already agreed that:
For the subpoenas for depositions, The UPS Store, Inc. must confer with the Receiver regarding any dates.
For the subpoenas for documents, victims should know that they may designate as “confidential” any material that they ultimately produce to The UPS Store, Inc., pursuant to a protective order already entered in the same case. - The subpoenas for documents set a deadline of July 8, 2021, to produce documents. The Receiver has objected to those subpoenas, but even if her objections are overruled, the deadline is only to produce documents. You do not have to be in town or appear anywhere on July 8, 2021, so long as you produce the requested documents or otherwise object in writing.
UPDATES:
On June 30, 2021, the Court ordered:
The Court orders that The UPS Store, Inc. shall not seek to enforce the subpoenas at issue, prior to this Court’s ruling on Receiver’s Motion To Quash Subpoenas Or, Alternatively, Motion For Protective Order [213]. If The UPS Store, Inc. receives any documents in response to any of the subject subpoenas prior to said ruling, The UPS Store, Inc. shall not view or do anything with the documents, other than hold them until further instructed by the Court
On February 7, 2022, the Court ordered:
1. The subpoenas previously issued by TUPSS to Madison Timber investors are hereby quashed.
2. With respect to any documents TUPSS received in response to the subject subpoenas prior to entry of this Order, TUPSS must return to each producing investor all documents produced by that investor. …
3. The investors receiving returned documents from TUPSS are hereby instructed that they shall not in any way alter or destroy any returned documents and shall safely and securely keep them for production in response to another subpoena with which they may be served in the future.
Read the Court’s order here:
2022-02-07 [320] Order quashing UPS’s subpoeanas