An Ohio federal court has slammed the door on former Geico agents seeking to widen discovery in their hard-fought lawsuit accusing the insurer of misclassifying them as independent contractors and locking them out of employee benefits. U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Courter Shimeall denied the workers’ oral motion to compel Friday, ruling their requests strayed beyond the tight boundaries of an earlier court order.

The 2025 directive confined discovery strictly to authentic copies of Geico’s retirement and health benefit plans from 2017 to 2023. “The district court’s order made clear that the relevant scope is [authentic copies of the insurer’s benefit plans] from 2017 to 2023, and likewise, made clear that discovery does not include how the plans are interpreted or applied,” the magistrate wrote—like a referee drawing a bright line on a contested field.

Discovery Clash Erupts in Conference

The fight flared during a Sept. 3 telephonic conference when the agents pushed two topics listed in their deposition notice. First, they sought details on the authenticity and completeness of Geico’s retirement and health plans right up to the present day. Second, they demanded information on which documents determined who could participate in those plans.

Geico objected to both, arguing they violated the December order that narrowed discovery to complete, authentic plan copies for the 2017-2023 window only. The company insisted the court had already barred any probe into internal discussions, administration or interpretation of the plans.

Magistrate Draws the Line

Judge Shimeall sided with Geico on Friday. The request for post-2023 information, he found, plainly exceeded the time limit the district court had set. Asking which documents governed eligibility, he ruled, was functionally identical to asking how the plans are interpreted—an inquiry the earlier order had expressly forbidden.

The agents contended they needed the eligibility details because they expected Geico to argue in a coming filing that they never qualified as plan participants. The court deemed that justification insufficient to stretch discovery past the limits already imposed.

The workers filed suit in February 2023. They alleged Geico forced them to sell its insurance exclusively under field representative agreements that labeled them independent contractors, thereby denying access to retirement, health and other benefits the company offered employees under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

A federal judge dismissed most claims in December 2023, holding the agents lacked standing for ERISA benefits because their agreements explicitly declared them ineligible. The court permitted an amended complaint confined to a narrow claim involving health and life insurance benefits for which captive agents were eligible yet required to pay full premiums, unlike corporate employees who received a company subsidy.

Counsel for the workers did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday. Counsel for Geico declined to comment.

The workers are represented by Damion Clifford, Stefanie Coe, Gerhardt Gosnell and James Reising of Arnold & Clifford LLC. Geico is represented by Gerald Maatman, Jennifer Riley, Kathryn Brown, Justin Donoho and Zev Grumet-Morris of Duane Morris LLP.