Bird v. PSC Holdings I, LLC et al
Filing
22
ORDER Resolving First 15 Joint Motion for Determination of Discovery Disputes and Partially Granting Defendants' Motion to Compel. Plaintiff's responses due 4/8/2013. Defendants' request for sanctions is Denied. Signed by Magistrate Judge Nita L. Stormes on 3/18/2013. (srm)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
10
BETTY ANN BIRD,
11
12
Plaintiff,
v.
13
14
PSC HOLDINGS I, LLC, et al,
15
Defendants.
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
Civil No. 12-CV-1528 W (NLS)
ORDER RESOLVING FIRST
JOINT MOTION FOR
DETERMINATION OF
DISCOVERY DISPUTES AND
PARTIALLY GRANTING
DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO
COMPEL
(Dkt. No. 15.)
16
Currently pending before this Court is the parties’ joint motion for determination
17
18
of discovery disputes. (Dkt. No. 15.) The Court heard oral argument on March 13, 2013.
19
Joann Rezzo, Esq., appeared on behalf of Plaintiff, and Michael Kun, Esq., appeared on
20
behalf of Defendants.
21
I.
TIMELINESS OF THE JOINT MOTION
The joint motion concerns Plaintiff’s responses to Defendants’ written discovery
22
23
demands, served on November 29 or November 30, 2012. (Dkt. Nos. 15-2 ¶ 2; 15-6 ¶ 2.)
24
As stated in the scheduling order issued in this action, any discovery dispute must be
25
brought to the Court’s attention by joint motion. (Dkt. No. 9 ¶ 2.) With respect to
26
written discovery, a joint motion is due within forty-five days of the service of the initial
27
///
28
///
1
12-CV-1528 W (NLS)
1
response.1 Id. at 6. Accordingly, the deadline for a joint motion for determination of
2
discovery dispute with respect to the November 2012 responses was January 14, 2013.
3
This motion was filed on February 11, 2013. (Dkt. No. 15.) Defendants argue that the
4
forty-five day period for bringing the joint motion began to run on December 24, 2012,
5
the date Plaintiff served her supplemental responses to Defendants’ demands. (Dkt. No.
6
15-1 at 9.) As discussed in an earlier Order from this Court, this position is incorrect.
7
See Dkt. No. 19.
8
Defendants state that the demands in question were served by only one of the
9
Defendants in this action; therefore, even if this joint motion is untimely, any of the other
10
Defendants may serve the demands and the clock for the joint motion deadline would
11
then start over. (Dkt. No. 15-1 at 11.) Indeed, Defendant PSC Environmental Services
12
LLC subsequently served three demands similar to those in issue here. (Dkt. No. 15-2 at
13
13-24.)
14
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(2)(C), this Court has an obligation to
15
limit discovery that is unreasonably cumulative or duplicative. Although there are five
16
named Defendants in this action, they are related closely enough to warrant singular
17
treatment in the complaint, and all employ the same counsel. Repeated demands for the
18
same information made piecemeal by each Defendant through the same counsel is clearly
19
duplicative, especially when it appears motivated by a desire to do an end-run around the
20
deadlines set by this Court.2 All parties are advised that any discovery demands which
21
are substantially similar to previous demands will not re-start the clock for filing a
22
23
1
The Chambers Rules found on the Court’s website state that, with respect to
written discovery, “the event giving rise to the discovery dispute is the service of the
response[.]” This does not conflict with the language in the scheduling order. These
25 Rules, as is stated on the first page, are meant as general guidance to counsel. The
scheduling order issued in this action contains the specific deadlines and procedures
26 governing this proceeding.
24
27
2
This is clearly evidenced by the cover letter accompanying the second set of
demands, wherein Defendants’ counsel offered to withdraw the additional demands in
28 exchange for Plaintiff’s waiver of the timeliness argument in the instant motion. (Dkt.
No. 15-2 at 11.)
2
12-CV-1528 W (NLS)
1
discovery motion, and may be grounds for a protective order.3
Accordingly, the pending joint motion is untimely. However, this Court chooses to
2
3
exercise its discretion and address the merits.
4
II.
MERITS
5
A.
General Discovery Principles
6
When a federal court sits in diversity, as is the case here, it must apply state
7
substantive law and federal procedural law. Gasperini v. Center for Humanities, Inc.,
8
518 U.S. 415, 427 (1996). The purpose of discovery is to “remove surprise from trial
9
preparation so the parties can obtain evidence necessary to evaluate and resolve their
10
dispute.” U.S. ex rel. O’Connell v. Chapman University, 245 F.R.D. 646, 648 (C.D. Cal.
11
2007) (internal quotation omitted). Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(1) offers
12
guidance as to the scope of discovery permitted in an action:
Unless otherwise limited by court order, the scope of discovery is as
follows: Parties may obtain discovery regarding any nonprivileged
matter that is relevant to any party’s claim or defense...Relevant
information need not be admissible at the trial if the discovery
appears reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible
evidence.
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
“Relevance for purposes of discovery is defined very broadly.” Garneau v. City of
Seattle, 147 F.3d 802, 812 (9th Cir. 1998). “The party seeking to compel discovery has
the burden of establishing that its request satisfies the relevancy requirements of Rule
26(b)(1). Thereafter, the party opposing discovery has the burden of showing that the
discovery should be prohibited, and the burden of clarifying, explaining or supporting its
objections.” Bryant v. Ochoa, No. 07cv200 JM (PCL), 2009 WL 1390794 at * 1 (S.D.
Cal. May 14, 2009) (internal citation omitted). Those opposing discovery are “required
to carry a heavy burden of showing” why discovery should be denied. Blankenship v.
Hearst Corp., 519 F.2d 418, 429 (9th Cir. 1975). District courts have broad discretion
when determining relevancy for discovery purposes. See Hallett v. Morgan, 296 F.3d
26
27
3
28
This ruling does not prejudice the parties because it does not limit or prevent the
Defendants from separately seeking new information from Plaintiff, or Plaintiff from
seeking new information from separate Defendants.
3
12-CV-1528 W (NLS)
1
732, 751 (9th Cir. 2002). However, this discretion should be balanced with the obligation
2
to interpret the Rules in order to secure a “just, speedy, and inexpensive determination”
3
of the action. Fed. R. Civ. P. 1. Additionally, this Court has the power to restrict
4
discovery when it is necessary to prevent “annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, or
5
undue burden or expense[.]” Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c).
6
On January 18, 2013, the parties jointly moved for the entry of an agreed-upon
7
protective order governing materials produced by a third party, Heidrick & Struggles,
8
Inc. (Dkt. No. 13.) This Court granted the joint motion and entered a slightly modified
9
protective order for those materials. (Dkt. No. 14.) There is currently no protective order
10
in place for general discovery.
11
B.
Discovery Regarding Plaintiff’s Job Search Efforts
12
There are two discovery demands in issue that relate to Plaintiff’s efforts to find
13
employment, both before and after her employment with Defendants. They are as
14
follows:
15
16
17
Interrogatory No. 12: DESCRIBE IN DETAIL [footnote omitted] all efforts
YOU have made since January 2008 to obtain employment, including, but not
limited to, the IDENTITY of any employers with whom YOU sought
employment, the date YOU applied for a position, whether YOU were
interviewed and whether YOU were offered a position.
19
Request for Production No. 21: All DOCUMENTS that relate to, refer to, or
describe YOUR job search efforts since January 2008, including, but not
limited to, resumes, applications and advertisements.
20
(Dkt. No. 15 at 2, 7.) Defendants contend that the information sought in these demands is
21
necessary to ascertain whether Plaintiff mitigated her damages. Id. at 3, 8. They also
22
argue that they are entitled to know whether Plaintiff made any admissions or statements
23
against interest during her job search after leaving her employment with Defendants. Id.
24
Plaintiff objects to the interrogatory on privacy grounds, and concerns that
18
25
inquiries by Defendants may affect her ability to obtain employment. Id. at 2. She
26
claims that mitigation is not relevant to Plaintiff’s contract claim for severance pay and
27
asserts that the money is due whether or not she obtains subsequent employment. (Dkt.
28
No. 15-4 at 11.) However, this assertion requires interpretation of the contract in issue,
4
12-CV-1528 W (NLS)
1
and that document is not presently before this Court. Even if Plaintiff is correct in her
2
interpretation of the contract, there are other claims asserted in the complaint besides the
3
breach of contract claim. See Dkt. No. 1-1. Additionally, it does not address Defendants’
4
argument that Plaintiff may have made statements that are against her interest in this
5
litigation during her job search process.
6
The Court is mindful of Plaintiff’s concern that Defendants’ investigation into her
7
prospective employers may affect her ability to obtain employment. At oral argument,
8
counsel for Plaintiff stated that there was one particular prospective employer that was
9
currently in “last stage” negotiations with Plaintiff. Balancing Plaintiff’s interest in
10
obtaining employment with Defendants’ need for discovery, this Court hereby ORDERS
11
that Plaintiff fully respond to Interrogatory No. 12 and Request for Production No. 21
12
with information relating to all attempts to obtain employment with the exception of the
13
most recent prospective employer described at oral argument. If Plaintiff is not
14
ultimately hired by this prospective employer, it will be incumbent upon Plaintiff to
15
supplement her response to include information relative to this employer.
16
C.
17
There are three discovery demands related to Plaintiff’s claim for emotional
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
Discovery Regarding Plaintiff’s Claims for Emotional Distress
distress damages. They are as follows:
Interrogatory No. 13: IDENTIFY [footnote omitted] any physician,
psychiatrist, psychologist therapist, counselor or other health care provider
YOU have been treated by or have otherwise consulted within the past ten (10)
years, and DESCRIBE IN DETAIL all treatment YOU have received.
Interrogatory No. 14: DESCRIBE IN DETAIL the factual basis for YOUR
contention that YOU have suffered any emotional distress as a result of
DEFENDANTS’ alleged conduct.
Request for Production No. 32: All DOCUMENTS that refer to, relate to,
describe or support YOUR contention that YOU suffered any damages
whatsoever, including, but not limited to, lost wages, physical injuries,
psychological injuries, mental and physical pain and suffering, or loss of
enjoyment, as a result of the conduct alleged in YOUR COMPLAINT.
(Dkt. No. 15 at 4, 6, and 8.) Plaintiff objects to these demands on the basis that they
invade physician-patient privilege and her right to privacy. Id. at 4, 6, and 9. She also
asserts that the information is not relevant because she will not present any evidence at
5
12-CV-1528 W (NLS)
1
trial regarding particular distress or suffering, and is only seeking “generalized emotional
2
distress damages appropriate to the circumstances in accordance with a reasonable person
3
standard.” Id. at 4, 6.
4
Defendants argue that Plaintiff put her medical condition in issue when she made a
5
claim for emotional distress damages in her complaint, and that they are entitled to
6
discovery on the issue. Id. at 5, 6-7, 9. According to Defendants, Plaintiff has not
7
provided any specific facts relating to her claim for emotional distress damages, and her
8
claim that she experienced emotional distress comparable to what a “reasonable person”
9
would experience is too vague. (Dkt. No. 15-1 at 5.)
10
In a diversity case such as this one, state law governs matters of privilege. Oakes
11
v. Halvorsen Marine, Ltd., 179 F.R.D. 281, 284 (C.D. Cal. 1998); Fed. R. Evid. 501. In
12
California, the right to privacy is contained within Article 1, Section 1 of the California
13
Constitution.4 Medical records and details of a patient’s medical history are the types of
14
information protected by the right to privacy. Lantz v. Superior Court (County of Kern),
15
28 Cal. App. 4th 1839, 1853 (1994). This right is not absolute; it may be invaded
16
depending on the circumstances. Oakes, 179 F.R.D. at 284. If invasion is called for, the
17
scope of the disclosure should be “narrowly circumscribed” and “is permitted only to the
18
extent necessary to a fair resolution of the lawsuit.” Ragge v. MCA/Universal Studios,
19
165 F.R.D. 601, 605 (C.D. Cal. 1995) quoting Cook v. Yellow Freight System, Inc., 132
20
F.R.D. 548, 552 (E.D. Cal. 1990). “[T]he scope of the inquiry permitted depends upon
21
the nature of the injuries which the patient-litigant himself has brought before the court.”
22
Britt v. Superior Court (San Diego Unified Port District), 20 Cal.3d 844, 864 (1978)
23
quoting In re Lifschutz, 2 Cal. 3d 415, 435 (1970).
24
25
Plaintiff has made a claim for “emotional distress damages according to proof.”
(Dkt. No. 1-1 at 21.) Plaintiff’s statement that she does not plan to present any evidence
26
27
4
Article 1, Section 1 of the California Constitution states that “[a]ll people are by
nature free and independent and have inalienable rights. Among these are enjoying and
28 defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing
and obtaining safety, happiness, and privacy.” (West 2002).
6
12-CV-1528 W (NLS)
1
at trial regarding particular distress or suffering appears to be at odds with the claim made
2
in her complaint. Defendants are entitled to discovery as to the basis of Plaintiff’s
3
emotional damages, and the proof that will be presented at trial. This discovery is
4
necessary for a fair resolution of the lawsuit. However, in balancing Plaintiff’s privacy
5
interest with Defendants’ entitlement to discovery, it is apparent that the demands made
6
upon Plaintiff are overbroad and their scope must be narrowed. Accordingly, the Court
7
ORDERS Plaintiff to respond to Interrogatory No. 13 and Request for Production No.
8
32, but Plaintiff may limit her responses to the two years prior to the termination of her
9
employment with Defendants up to the present day.5 The Court also ORDERS Plaintiff
10
to respond to Interrogatory No. 14 in full.6
11
D.
Attorney-Client Privilege and the Attorney Work Product Doctrine
12
In Plaintiff’s responses to Requests for Production Nos. 21 and 32, she invoked
13
attorney-client privilege and attorney work product protection as a basis for objecting to
14
the requests, and produced a privilege log listing communications between herself and
15
several attorneys. (Dkt. No. 15 at 7-10, Dkt. No. 15-2 at 26-33.) One of the attorneys
16
listed is Julie Hussey. (Dkt. No. 15-2 at 26-33.) Ms. Hussey is an attorney at DLA Piper,
17
and is employed as Defendants’ outside counsel. (Dkt. No. 15-1 at 5, 12.) She is also
18
romantically involved with Plaintiff. Id. at 12.
19
The party claiming the privilege has the initial burden of “establishing the
20
preliminary facts necessary to support its exercise, i.e., a communication made in the
21
course of an attorney-client relationship.” Costco Wholesale Corp. v. Superior Court
22
(Randall), 47 Cal. 4th 725, 733 (2009). Once that is established, “the communication is
23
presumed to have been made in confidence and the opponent of the claim of privilege has
24
the burden of proof to establish the communication was not confidential or that the
25
privilege does not for other reasons apply.” Id.
26
5
27
28
Defendants may seek supplementation of the response up until the close of fact
discovery.
6
This Court encourages the parties to work together to prepare a protective order,
and file a joint motion for the entry of such order.
7
12-CV-1528 W (NLS)
Plaintiff argues that the existence of the attorney-client relationship is determined
1
2
solely from her perspective. (Dkt. No. 15-4 at 13.) She stated in a declaration that she
3
sought advice from Ms. Hussey in her capacity as an attorney, and had an expectation
4
that communications with Ms. Hussey would remain confidential. (Dkt. No. 15-5 ¶ 4.)
5
She also states that she did not believe there was any potential conflict in seeking legal
6
advice from Ms. Hussey. Id. ¶ 5. Defendants assert that the issue is not yet ripe because
7
Plaintiff and Ms. Hussey have not been deposed, and therefore they cannot determine
8
whether the privilege has been properly invoked. (Dkt. No. 15-1 at 12.)
This Court agrees with Defendants. Although Plaintiff may have preliminarily
9
10
established the existence of the relationship through her declaration, Defendants are
11
entitled to flesh out the factual basis for her claims in order to have a fair opportunity to
12
rebut the contention that an attorney-client relationship exists. Accordingly, this Court
13
defers ruling on the propriety of any objections on the basis of attorney-client privilege or
14
attorney work product. The objections stand at this point, and Plaintiff may continue to
15
withhold information she believes is protected by privilege.7 Defendants may challenge
16
these objections after Plaintiff and Ms. Hussey are deposed, using the standard guidelines
17
and timeline for discovery disputes.8 The parties are reminded that the deadline for fact
18
discovery remains May 31, 2013, and will not be extended without a showing of good
19
cause.9
20
III.
21
CONCLUSION
In resolving these disputes, this Court is not making any determination as to the
22
7
Plaintiff shall continue to provide updated privilege logs to Defendants.
23
8
If Defendants decide to challenge the invocation of the attorney-client privilege
and attorney work product doctrine, the parties are advised that they should fully brief the
issue and not rely on previous arguments. The parties should also address whether this
25 Court, sitting in diversity, has the ability to review documents in camera to determine
whether privilege applies.
24
26
9
Any other cause for a discovery dispute shall be brought to the Court’s attention
using the standard procedure. For example, if Plaintiff asserts an objection to a demand
based on vagueness and the attorney-client privilege, the parties should immediately
28 address the vagueness issue, rather than wait until the attorney-client privilege issue is
ripe.
27
8
12-CV-1528 W (NLS)
1
admissibility of these materials at trial. Any such challenges a party wishes to make may
2
be addressed by motions in limine submitted to the trial judge.
3
Finally, Defendants request that sanctions be imposed upon Plaintiff. (Dkt. No.
4
15-1 at 13.) This Court does not find good cause to support an award of sanctions, and
5
therefore denies this request.
6
ACCORDINGLY, it is hereby ORDERED:
7
1.
Plaintiff shall fully respond to Interrogatory No. 12 and Request for
8
Production No. 21, but may withhold information relating to the one current
9
application in progress. These responses shall be provided no later than
10
April 8, 2013. If Plaintiff is not hired by this prospective employer, she
11
must supplement her responses with information about her job search efforts
12
with this employer.
13
2.
Plaintiff shall fully respond to Interrogatory No. 14. Plaintiff shall also
14
respond to Interrogatory No. 13 and Request for Production No. 32 with
15
information concerning the two years before her termination, up to the
16
present. These responses shall be provided no later than April 8, 2013.
17
3.
Defendant may challenge Plaintiff’s assertion of an attorney-client
18
relationship with Ms. Hussey after Plaintiff and Ms. Hussey have been
19
deposed, following the guidelines and timelines set by the scheduling order
20
issued in this action.
21
4.
Defendants’ request for sanctions is DENIED.
22
IT IS SO ORDERED.
23
24
DATED: March 18, 2013
25
26
27
Hon. Nita L. Stormes
U.S. Magistrate Judge
United States District Court
28
9
12-CV-1528 W (NLS)
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.
Why Is My Information Online?