MEMPHIS (LN) — U.S. Magistrate Judge Charmiane G. Claxton on Tuesday denied a motion for limited additional discovery in an employment discrimination suit against FedEx Corporate Services, holding that the plaintiff's failure to explore a company-wide hiring freeze defense months before the discovery cutoff did not amount to excusable neglect under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 6.
Plaintiff Md Shakilur Rahman sought to extend the discovery deadline to investigate whether a hiring freeze prevented him from obtaining a position. He argued the issue only became relevant after the defendant amended its response to requests for admission.
The court noted that FedEx had explicitly stated in a July 29, 2025 filing that it "did not hire anyone for the position and closed the position due to a company-wide hiring freeze," placing Rahman on notice of the defense well before the January 20, 2026 discovery deadline.
"To the extent that facts related to the hiring freeze are now unavailable to Plaintiff it is solely because Plaintiff did not explore that avenue prior to the January 20, 2026 discovery deadline," Claxton wrote in the order.
The judge emphasized that Rule 6(b)(1)(B) requires a showing of excusable neglect to obtain relief after a deadline expires, a standard Rahman failed to meet given his awareness of the hiring freeze argument since mid-2025.
Rahman had previously secured a 45-day extension to the discovery deadline in December 2025, but the court found that the additional time was insufficient to justify reopening discovery on an issue the plaintiff had ignored for months.
The order comes as the case proceeds toward summary judgment, with the defendant having filed its motion on March 20, 2026, and the plaintiff now facing the prospect of litigating the hiring freeze issue without further factual development.