Alvey v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Company
Filing
44
OPINION AND ORDER Signed by Magistrate Judge Lanny King on 7/25/2018 denying 35 Motion to Produce Juvenile Statements. cc: Counsel (JM)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF KENTUCKY
PADUCAH DIVISION
CASE NO. 5:17-CV-00023-TBR-LLK
HEATHER ALVEY
PLAINTIFF
v.
STATE FARM FIRE & CASUALTY COMPANY
DEFENDANT
OPINION AND ORDER
Senior Judge Thomas B. Russell referred this matter to Magistrate Judge Lanny King for
ruling on all discovery motions. (Docket # 8).
Defendant State Farm Fire & Casualty Company (“State Farm”) filed a Motion to Obtain
Juvenile Statements from the Paducah Fire Department pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil
Procedure 26(b)(1) and Federal Rules of Evidence 613 and 801. (Docket # 35). Plaintiff, Heather
Alvey, filed her Response to this Motion (Docket # 37) and State Farm filed its Reply (Docket #
38). Fully briefed, this Motion is ripe for adjudication. For reasons detailed below, State Farm’s
Motion to Obtain Juvenile Statements is DENIED.
Background
This action arises out of a fire to the home being rented by Plaintiff, Heather Alvey, in
Paducah, Kentucky, on or about February 22, 2016. It is undisputed that at the relevant times,
Alvey had a renter’s policy with State Farm that, in part, insured the contents of the home. State
Farm contends that it investigated and denied the claim on the following grounds that Alvey: a)
intentionally set the fire and Alvey had motive and opportunity to burn the home; b) made
material representations in the presentation of her claim that voided the policy; and c) failed to
comply with her duties to cooperate under the policy. Alvey brought suit against State Farm for
breach of contract and statutory and common-law bad faith.
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Deputy Fire Chief Greg Cherry investigated the house fire as potential arson. (Docket #
35-2). The arson investigation was later discontinued. (Id.). Chief Cherry testified during his
deposition that Alvey’s juvenile children provided statements to the Paducah Fire Department
regarding the fire. (Id.).
Alvey now claims that her child(ren) accidentally caused the house fire by throwing
paper or other items into a ceiling fan fixture in the living room, which ignited and resulted in a
fire around the living room. Alvey plans on calling her children to testify at trial. (Docket # 35-6;
# 37).
State Farm made an Open Records request pursuant to KRS 61.872(5) to the Paducah
Fire Department on May 31, 2017, for information and documentation, including all witness
statements. (Docket # 35-3). No juvenile statements were produced or referenced as part of the
fire department’s production. (Docket # 35-4). The City of Paducah is willing to produce the
statements pursuant to a court order. (Docket # 35-5).
State Farm argues that the Paducah Fire Department has not met its burden of proof in
showing that the juvenile witness statements are exempt from production. Further, State Farm
argues that although there are specific exceptions to the production of open records, juvenile
witness statements to a fire department are not exempt. State Farm asserts that these witness
statements should have been produced pursuant to its initial open records request and that the
Paducah Fire Department should produce them now.
The Open Records Act was adopted in 1976 with a preamble stating that “access to
information concerning the conduct of the peoples’ business is a fundamental and necessary right
of every citizen in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.” Util. Mgmt. Grp., LLC v. Pike Cty. Fiscal
Court, 531 S.W.3d 3, 7-8 (Ky. 2017) (quoting 1976 Ky. Acts Chapter 273). The Act applies to
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any entity qualifying as a “public agency” under KRS 61.870(1) including state or local
government officials, departments, commissions, boards and special district boards. Id. at 8. The
parties do not dispute that the Paducah Fire Department is a “public agency” subject to the Act.
KRS 61.872(1) provides that “all public records shall be open for inspection by any
person” and KRS 61.872(2) elaborates that “any person shall have the right to inspect public
records.” Id. at 11-12. A “public record” includes “all books, papers, maps, photographs, cards,
tapes, discs, diskettes, recordings, software, or other documentation regardless of physical form
or characteristics, which are prepared, owned, used, in the possession of or retained by a public
agency.” KRS 61.870(2). Enumerated under those exceptions in KRS 61.878(1) are “public
records or information on the disclosure of which is prohibited or restricted or otherwise made
confidential by enactment of the General Assembly.”
However, State Farm fails to provide any caselaw or other authority in support of its
argument that this Court may order the Paducah Fire Department to produce records pursuant to
a previous open records request. First, the statute authorizes Kentucky circuit courts, not federal
district courts, to enforce actions regarding open records requests. KRS 61.882(1) provides that
“[t]he Circuit Court of the county where the public agency has its principal place of business or
the Circuit Court of the county where the public record is maintained shall have jurisdiction to
enforce the provisions of KRS 61.870 to 61.884, by injunction or other appropriate order on
application of any person.” State Farm has provided no authority that shows that a federal district
court may require a public agency to produce public records pursuant to an open records request.
Second, the statute contemplates not only that the public agency bears the burden of proof but,
importantly in this case, that they be a party to the action. KRS 61.882(3) provides that “In an
original action or an appeal of an Attorney General's decision, where the appeal is properly filed
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pursuant to KRS 61.880(5)(a), the burden of proof shall be on the public agency…” In this case,
the Paducah Fire Department is not a party to this action. Furthermore, this Court has not issued
a subpoena to the Paducah Fire Department for the witness statements.
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that State Farm’s Motion Obtain Juvenile Statements from
the Paducah Fire Department is DENIED.
c:
Counsel
July 25, 2018
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