Cribbs v. NFI Industries, Inc.

Filing 26

ORDER denying 24 Motion to Quash. Signed by Magistrate Judge G. R. Smith on 10/4/2012. (loh)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
SAVANNAH DIVISION
STEPHEN R. CRIBBS,
Plaintiff,
IV

Case No. CV411-263

NFl NETWORK LOGISTIC
SOLUTIONS LLC,
Defendant.

ORDER
The Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) moves the Court to
quash plaintiff Stephen R. Cribbs' subpoena for his unemploymentinsurance records. Doe. 24. Cribbs served that subpoena on the GDOL
after filing this employment-discrimination case against his former
employer, NFl Network Logistic Solutions, LLC (NFl). 1 Citing Fed. R.
Civ. P. 45(c)(3)(A)(iv), GDOL relies on the same statutory restrictions
that it invoked in Washburn v. Hoover Chrysler Jeep of Savannah, Inc.,

Cribbs originally sued "NFII Industries, Inc." for violating a variety of employment
discrimination statutes. Doe 1 at 1-2. He later amended his complaint to name the
proper defendant, "NFl Network Logistic Solutions LLC." Doe. 11; doe. 20 at 2. The
Court DIRECTS the Clerk to amend the docket caption by terminating "NFl
Industries, Inc." as a defendant. All subsequent filings shall conform.

CV412-005, doe. 5, 2012WL 2191711 at *1 (S.D. Ga. Jun. 14, 2012).
Doe. 24-1 at 2-3. NFl has not responded. Cribbs says the law the GDOL
cites is inapplicable and, even if it applies, his need for the records
outweighs the privacy interest the GDOL seeks to protect. Doe. 25 at 1.
For the purpose of this Order, the Court will accept as true the
facts Cribbs alleges in his Complaint and briefs, plus the parties' Joint
Status Report. After NFl terminated Cribbs -- for disciplinary and
performance reasons, it says, but he says for discriminatory reasons, doe.
20 at 3-14 -- he applied for unemployment insurance benefits. Doe. 25 at
1. NFl challenged that claim and Cribbs initially lost but later won those
benefits on administrative appeal. Id. at 1-2. At that hearing NFl
supplied its reasons for terminating him. Id. at 2. Cribbs wants the
GDOL's documentation of those reasons to assist his ease here.
In that regard, Cribbs argues that Fed. R. Civ. P. 501 (governing
the privilege to withhold information) applies and not Georgia law. So
the GDOL's motion should be denied outright because it shows no Rule
501-cognizable privilege. Doe. 25 at 2-3. Even if Georgia law applies, he
further contends, he is entitled to the requested records because it is his

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privacy Georgia law protects and he is waiving that here. Id. at 3-4.
Again, NFl raises no objection.
It is not necessary to resolve the choice-of-law issue because Cribbs
wins his motion under both. The records are relevant -- NFl does not
dispute this -- Cribbs has shown good cause to review them despite any
privacy or privilege protection (GDOL at best advances a generic statutebased privacy interest, and as noted in Washburn, GDOL basically just
wants a covering Order. See Washburn, 2012 WL 2191711 at * 2.
The GDOL's motion to quash (doc. 24) therefore is DENIED. The
Court finds that "that the need for the information or records in [this]
proceeding outweighs any, reasons for the privacy and confidentiality of
the information or records," O.C.G.A. § 34-8-126, and intends this Order
to assist the GDOL in complying with that statute. See doc. 24-1 at 3;
Washburn, 2012 WL 2191711 at * 2.

SO ORDERED this4Liay of October, 2012.

UNITED &TES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA

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