Dlamini v. Babb et al
Filing
33
OPINION AND ORDER that Defendant Michael J. Babb's Motion to Deny Jury Trial, contained in his Motion to Deny Jury Trial Demand 13 , is DENIED. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendant Michael J. Babb's Misjoinder Motion, contained in his Moti on to Deny Jury Trial Demand 13 , is DENIED. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff's Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings as to Defendant Michael J. Babb 20 is DENIED. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff's Motion to Compel and for Sanct ions 26 , 27 is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. It is GRANTED with respect to Plaintiff's request for an order compelling the production of discovery responses. It is DENIED with respect to Plaintiff's request for sanctions. Defendan t Michael Babb is ORDERED to produce to Plaintiff's counsel, on or before July 18, 2014, his Rule 26(a) initial disclosures and his responses to the Michael Babb Discovery Requests. Defendant Juna Babb is ORDERED to produce to Plaintiff' s counsel, on or before July 18, 2014, her Rule 26(a) initial disclosures and her responses to the Juna Babb Discovery Requests. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff's Motion to Extend the Discovery Period 25 and Defendant Juna Babb's Mo tion for Extension of Time to Respond to Summary Judgment Motion, Written Discovery, and Submit Initial Disclosures 31 are GRANTED IN PART. The discovery deadline in this matter is extended through July 18, 2014, for the sole purpose of allowing De fendants to make their Rule 26(a) initial disclosures and to produce their responses to Plaintiffs Discovery Requests. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment 28 is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. Signed by Judge William S. Duffey, Jr on 6/20/2014. (anc)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
ATLANTA DIVISION
THEMBI DLAMINI,
Plaintiff,
v.
1:13-cv-2699-WSD
JUNA G. BABB and
MICHAEL J. BABB,
Defendants.
ORDER
This matter is before the Court on Defendant Michael J. Babb’s Motion to
Deny Jury Trial Demand [13], Plaintiff’s Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings as
to Defendant Michael J. Babb [20] (“Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings”),
Plaintiff’s Motion to Extend the Discovery Period [25] (“Motion for Extension”),
Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel and for Sanctions [26, 27] (“Motion to Compel”),
Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment [28], and Defendant Juna Babb’s
Motion for Extension of Time to Respond to Summary Judgment Motion, Written
Discovery, and Submit Initial Disclosures [31] (“Motion for Extension”).
I.
BACKGROUND
On August 13, 2013, Plaintiff Thembi Dlamini (“Plaintiff”) filed this action
against Defendants Juna G. Babb (“Juna Babb”) and Michael J. Babb (“Michael
Babb”) (collectively, “Defendants”). In her Complaint [1], Plaintiff alleges that
Defendants lured Plaintiff to the United States from Switzerland and held her for
two years, forcing her to work without pay in their home and business. Plaintiff
asserts numerous claims against Defendants under federal anti-slavery and antitrafficking statutes and the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States
Constitution.
On October 15, 2013, Michael Babb, proceeding pro se, filed a document
titled “Answer of Complaint and Motion to Deny Jury Trial Demand.” The Clerk
docketed this document twice: as Michael Babb’s Answer [12] and as Michael
Babb’s Motion to Deny Jury Trial [13]. The document generally requests that the
Court “deny” the “complaint filed in this case.” The document also makes two
separate requests: (i) that the Court deny Plaintiff a jury trial, because Plaintiff
failed to demand a jury under Rule 38 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and
(ii) that the Court sever, under Rule 21 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the
claims against him and those asserted against Juna Babb. Micahel Babb claims
that Defendants are “misjoined.” The Court construes the first request as Michael
Babb’s Motion to Deny Jury Trial and the second request as Michael Babb’s
Misjoinder Motion.
On October 22, 2013, Juna Babb, proceeding pro se, filed her Answer [17].
2
Neither Defendant filed initial disclosures pursuant to Rule 26(a) of the
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
On October 30, 2013, Plaintiff filed, against Michael Babb, her Motion for
Judgment on the Pleadings. Plaintiff argues that Michael Babb’s Answer is not
sufficient to deny any of Plaintiff’s allegations and that she is entitled to judgment
on the claims she asserted against him.
On December 18, 2013, Plaintiff served her First Interrogatories to Michael
Babb, propounding sixteen (16) discrete interrogatories. Also on December 18,
2013, Plaintiff served her First Requests for Production to Michael Babb,
propounding nine (9) document request. This discovery is collectively referred to
as the “Michael Babb Discovery Requests.”1 Michael Babb did not serve
responses, or objections, to the discovery served on him.
On February 6, 2014, Plaintiff served her First Interrogatories to Juna Babb,
propounding seventeen (17) discrete interrogatories. Also on February 6, 2013,
Plaintiff served her First Requests for Production to Juna Babb, propounding ten
(10) document requests. This discovery is collectively referred to as the “Juna
1
The Michael Babb Discovery Requests were filed on the docket as document
26-4.
3
Babb Discovery Requests.”2 Juna Babb did not serve responses, or objections, to
the discovery served on her.
On March 7, 2014, Plaintiff filed her Motion for Extension seeking an
enlargement of the discovery period to allow Defendants to serve their initial
disclosures and their responses to their respective written discovery requests.3
On March 14, 2014, Plaintiff filed her Motion to Compel seeking an order
compelling Defendants to serve their initial disclosures and their responses to the
written discovery requests.4 Plaintiff requests unspecified “sanctions” against
Defendants for their failure to produce discovery responses.
On April 14, 2014, Plaintiff filed her Motion for Summary Judgment. In it,
Plaintiff states that she is filing the motion “[o]ut of an abundance of caution” in
the event the Court does not extend the discovery deadline and the dispositive
motions deadline.
On May 9, 2014, Juna Babb filed her Motion for Extension seeking an
enlargement of the discovery period to allow her time to make the required
2
The Juna Babb Discovery Requests were filed on the docket as document 26-5.
3
The discovery deadline under the original schedule in this matter was March 17,
2014.
4
Plaintiff filed her Motion to Compel twice on the docket, once as document 26
and again as document 27.
4
disclosures and to produce responses to the Juna Babb Discovery Requests.
II.
DISCUSSION
A.
Michael Babb’s Motion to Deny Jury Trial
Michael Babb argues that a jury trial should not be permitted in this action
because Plaintiff failed to request one in accordance with Rule 38(b)(1) of the
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Rule 38(b)(1) provides that a party may demand
a jury trial by “serving the other parties with a written demand—which may be
included in a pleading—no later than 14 days after the last pleading directed to the
issue is served.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 38(b)(1) (emphasis added). In this case, the first
page of Plaintiff’s Complaint, which constitutes her pleading, states, “Jury Trial
Demanded.” This statement is sufficient to satisfy Rule 38(b)(1). See, e.g., Hupp
v. Siroflex of Am., Inc., 159 F.R.D. 29, 30 (S.D. Tex. 1994) (holding that “the
words ‘Jury Demanded’ beneath the cause-of-action number on [the] original
pleadings” satisfied Rule 38(b)(1)); Kahn v. Head, 114 F.R.D. 20, 20 (D. Md.
1987) (holding that “the phrase ‘Jury Trial Demanded’ under the docket number”
satisfied Rule 38(b)(1)). Michael Babb’s Motion to Deny Jury Trial is denied.
B.
Michael Babb’s Misjoinder Motion
Michael Babb argues that he and Juna Babb are improperly joined as codefendants and that the claims against each of them should be separated under Rule
5
21 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Rule 21 authorizes the Court to “add
or drop a party” or to “sever any claim against a party.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 21.
“Rule 21 applies when the claims asserted by or against the joined parties do
not arise out of the same transaction or occurrence or do not present some common
question of law or fact.” 7 Charles Alan Wright et al., Federal Practice and
Procedure § 1683, at 475 & n.2 (3d ed. 2001) (collecting cases). Michael Babb has
not shown, or even argued, that Plaintiff’s claims against him and Juna Babb,
based on the couple’s joint violations of the anti-slavery and anti-trafficking laws
and of the Thirteenth Amendment, do not arise out of the same occurrence or do
not present common questions of law or fact. The Misjoinder Motion is denied.
C.
Plaintiff’s Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings
Plaintiff asserts that Michael Babb’s Answer fails to specifically admit or
deny the individual allegations contained in Plaintiff’s Complaint. Plaintiff argues
that Michael Babb thus is deemed to have admitted all of Plaintiff’s allegations and
that Plaintiff is thus entitled to judgment on the pleadings. See Fed. R. Civ. P.
8(b)(6) (“An allegation—other than one relating to the amount of damages—is
admitted if a responsive pleading is required and the allegation is not denied.”);
Horsley v. Rivera, 292 F.3d 695, 700 (11th Cir. 2002) (“Judgment on the pleadings
under Rule 12(c) is appropriate when there are no material facts in dispute, and
6
judgment may be rendered by considering the substance of the pleadings and any
judicially noticed facts.”).
Under Rule 8(b), a defendant’s answer generally must “admit or deny the
allegations asserted against it.” Fed. R. Civ. 8(b)(1)(B). Alternatively, a defendant
who “intends in good faith to deny all the allegations of a [complaint]—including
the jurisdictional grounds—may do so by a general denial.” Fed. R. Civ. 8(b)(3).
In making a general denial, “[n]o prescribed set of words need be employed . . . ;
any statement making it clear that the defendant intends to put in issue all of the
averments in the opposing party’s pleading is sufficient.” 7 Wright et al., supra,
§ 1265.
In his Answer, filed pro se, Michael Babb requests that the Court “deny” the
“complaint filed in this case.” Pleadings filed pro se are to be liberally construed
and “held to less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers.”
Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 94 (2007) (citations and internal quotation marks
omitted). Liberally construing Michael Babb’s Answer, and considering that a
general denial does not require any formal language, the Court finds that the
Answer contains a general denial under Rule 8(b)(3) and that Michael Babb has
not admitted any of Plaintiff’s allegations. Plaintiff’s Motion for Judgment on the
Pleadings is denied.
7
D.
Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel
Plaintiff seeks an order compelling Defendants to produce their initial
disclosures, as required by Rule 26(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and
to file responses to the Discovery Requests. Rule 37 authorizes the Court to enter
an order compelling Rule 26(a) disclosures and responses to interrogatories and
document requests. Because Defendants’ initial disclosures and Discovery
Request responses are long overdue, the Court grants the Motion to Compel.5
Defendants are ordered to produce to Plaintiff’s counsel their Rule 26(a) initial
disclosures and responses to their respective Discovery Requests on or before
July 18, 2014.
Plaintiff also seeks unspecified sanctions against Defendants for their failure
to provide discovery responses. Under Rule 37(b)(2), the Court may award
sanctions only if Defendants fail to obey an order compelling the production of
discovery responses. The failure to respond to discovery requests, alone, is not
sufficient to warrant sanctions. See United States v. Certain Real Property, 126
F.3d 1314, 1317 (11th Cir. 1997) (“We consistently have found Rule 37 sanctions
5
The Court notes that Defendants did not oppose, or otherwise respond to, the
Motion to Compel, and the Court thus deems the Motion unopposed. See LR
7.1(B), NDGa (“Failure to file a response shall indicate that there is no opposition
to the motion.”).
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such as dismissal or entry of default judgment to be appropriate . . . only ‘where
the party’s conduct amounts to flagrant disregard and willful disobedience of
discovery orders.’” (quoting Buchanan v. Bowman, 820 F.2d 359, 361 (11th Cir.
1987))). Defendants have not violated an order of the Court, and Plaintiff’s request
for sanctions is denied.
E.
Motions for Extension
Plaintiff requests that the discovery period in this case be enlarged to allow
Plaintiff sufficient time to obtain Defendants’ initial disclosures and responses to
the Discovery Requests. Juna Babb also requests that the discovery period be
enlarged to allow her time to make the required disclosures and produce the
required discovery responses. In light of the parties’ joint request, and the Court’s
order compelling Defendants to respond to discovery on or before July 18, 2014,
the Court finds that the discovery deadline should be extended until that date for
the limited purpose of allowing Defendants to produce their Rule 26(a) initial
disclosures and responses to the Discovery Requests.6 The Court will not permit
6
Because the Court enlarges the discovery period, the deadline for the filing of
summary judgment motions is extended as provided in Local Civil Rule 56.1. See
LR 56.1(C), NDGa (“Motions for summary judgment shall be filed . . . not later
than thirty (30) days after the close of discovery . . . .”). Because Plaintiff filed her
Motion for Summary Judgment “[o]ut of an abundance of caution” in the event the
Court did not extend the discovery deadline, the Court denies the Motion for
Summary Judgment without prejudice to re-filing after the close of discovery.
9
any additional enlargements of the discovery period.7
III.
CONCLUSION
Accordingly, for the foregoing reasons,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendant Michael J. Babb’s Motion to
Deny Jury Trial, contained in his Motion to Deny Jury Trial Demand [13], is
DENIED.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendant Michael J. Babb’s
Misjoinder Motion, contained in his Motion to Deny Jury Trial Demand [13], is
DENIED.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion for Judgment on the
Pleadings as to Defendant Michael J. Babb [20] is DENIED.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel and for
Sanctions [26, 27] is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. It is
GRANTED with respect to Plaintiff’s request for an order compelling the
production of discovery responses. It is DENIED with respect to Plaintiff’s
request for sanctions. Defendant Michael Babb is ORDERED to produce to
7
Juna Babb also states that she may retain counsel during the enlarged discovery
period. If counsel is retained, the Court will not again alter the schedule in this
case absent a showing of good cause under Rule 16 of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure.
10
Plaintiff’s counsel, on or before July 18, 2014, his Rule 26(a) initial disclosures
and his responses to the Michael Babb Discovery Requests. Defendant Juna Babb
is ORDERED to produce to Plaintiff’s counsel, on or before July 18, 2014, her
Rule 26(a) initial disclosures and her responses to the Juna Babb Discovery
Requests.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion to Extend the
Discovery Period [25] and Defendant Juna Babb’s Motion for Extension of Time
to Respond to Summary Judgment Motion, Written Discovery, and Submit Initial
Disclosures [31] are GRANTED IN PART. The discovery deadline in this matter
is extended through July 18, 2014, for the sole purpose of allowing Defendants to
make their Rule 26(a) initial disclosures and to produce their responses to
Plaintiff’s Discovery Requests.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary
Judgment [28] is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE.
SO ORDERED this 20th day of June, 2014.
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