Urga v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company et al

Filing 45

RULING granting 43 Motion to Compel. Plaintiff is ordered to serve his answers to interrogatories, produce for inspection and copying all documents responsive to the defendants requests for production, and execute the medical authorization, withou t objections, within 14 days. Pursuant to Rule 37(d)(3), the plaintiff is also ordered to pay to the defendants, within 14 days, reasonable expenses in the amount of $250.00.. Signed by Magistrate Judge Stephen C. Riedlinger on 11/2/2011. (LSM)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA

LANCE W. URGA
CIVIL ACTION
VERSUS
NUMBER 10-218-BAJ-SCR
LIBERTY MUTUAL INSURANCE
COMPANY, ET AL
RULING ON MOTION TO COMPEL
Before the court is a Motion to Compel filed by defendants
Jacob Guichet and Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Company.
document number 43.

Record

No opposition has been filed.

Defendants’ motion shows that they served plaintiff Lance W.
Urga with a Supplemental Request for Production February 28, 2011
and Interrogatories to Plaintiff and another Request for Production
of Documents on July 7, 2011.1

Counsel for the defendants sent

emails August 8 and 10, 2011 counsel for the plaintiff inquiring
about the answers and responses that were due and setting a
telephone
discovery.2

conference

for

According

to

August
the

12

to

discuss

defendants,

on

the

August

needed
12

the

plaintiff’s counsel could not be reached, did not thereafter
initiate any contact, and did not otherwise make any attempts to
resolve the discovery issue.

Given the lack of response and the

current scheduling order deadlines, the defendants stated that

1

Record document number 43-1, exhibit A.

2

Record document number 43-2 and 43-3, exhibits B and C.

there was no other option but to file this motion to compel.
A review of the record shows that despite the communications
with counsel for the plaintiff at the beginning of August and the
filing of this motion on August 15, the plaintiff still has not
provided the defendants with the answers and documents requested.
Nor has the plaintiff responded to this motion or otherwise
furnished any information indicating when the discovery responses
will be provided.
object

to

the

demonstrates

Plaintiff’s failure to either timely answer or

interrogatory

that,

under

and

Rule

produce

responsive

37(d)(1)(A),

documents

Fed.R.Civ.P.,

the

defendants are entitled to an order compelling the plaintiff to
respond and imposing sanctions.3

Plaintiff will be required to

answer the interrogatory, produce the responsive documents and
execute the medical authorization within 14 days.
will

be

allowed.4

Rule

37(d)(3)

incorporates

available under Rule 37(b)(2)(A)(I)-(vi).
recovery

of

its

expenses

incurred

in

No objections
the

sanctions

However, other than

filing

the

motion

the

defendants did not seek additional sanctions.
With regard to the recovery of expenses, under Rule 37(d)(3)

3

Defendants cited Rule 37(a), but Rule 37(d) applies when a
party totally fails to serve any responses to a discovery request.
4

Generally, discovery objections are waived if a party fails
to timely object to interrogatories, production requests or other
discovery efforts.
See, In re U.S., 864 F.2d 1153, 1156 (5th
Cir.), reh’g denied, 869 F.2d 1487 (5th Cir. 1989); Godsey v. U.S.,
133 F.R.D. 111, 113 (S.D. Miss. 1990.)
2

the court must require the party failing to act, or the attorney
advising that party, or both, to pay the reasonable expenses,
including attorney’s fees caused by the failure unless the failure
was substantially justified or other circumstances make an award of
expenses unjust.5

Defendants’ motion shows that a good faith

attempt was made to obtain the discovery responses without court
action.

Nothing in the record indicates that the plaintiff’s

failure was substantially justified or any circumstances that would
make an award of expenses unjust.

Therefore, the defendants are

entitled to reasonable expenses under Rule 37(d)(3).

Defendants

submitted a statement from counsel requesting attorney’s fees for
three hours of work in connection with the motion, including one
hour for research of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

A

review of the motion and memorandum does not reflect that an hour
of research was necessary or reasonable for the preparation of the
motion.

An award of $250.00 is reasonable.

Accordingly, the Motion to Compel filed by defendants Jacob
Guichet and Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Company is granted.
Plaintiff is ordered to serve his answers to interrogatories,
produce for inspection and copying all documents responsive to the
defendants’

requests

for

production,

and

execute

the

medical

authorization, without objections, within 14 days.

Pursuant to

Rule

pay

37(d)(3),

5

the

plaintiff

is

also

See, Rules 37(d)(1)(B) and (d)(3).
3

ordered

to

to

the

defendants, within 14 days, reasonable expenses in the amount of
$250.00.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, November 2, 2011.

STEPHEN C. RIEDLINGER
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

4