Solis v. Sneed

Filing 4

RULING granting 1 Motion to Compel and Motion for Hearing. Parties are to comply with the orders stated within. Signed by Magistrate Judge Christine Noland on 10/18/2011. (LSM)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA
HILDA L. SOLIS

MISCELLANEOUS ACTION

VERSUS
BRIDGETTE SNEED

NO. 11-74-FJP-CN
RULING & ORDER

This matter is before the Court on the Petition to Compel Respondent to Produce
Documentary Evidence and Request for Hearing (R. Doc. 1) filed by Hilda L. Solis,
Secretary of Labor, United States Department of Labor (“the Secretary”). Respondent,
Bridgette Sneed (“Sneed”), has not filed an opposition to the Secretary’s petition.
FACTS & PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
The Secretary filed this action in order compel Sneed to comply with a subpoena
issued to her by the Regional Director, of the Employee Benefits Security Administration
(“EBSA”), United States Department of Labor (“Regional Director”), pursuant to the
investigative authority set forth in the Employment Retirement Income Security Act of 1974
(“ERISA”), 29 U.S.C. §1001, et seq. Sneed is the president of Complete Benefit Solutions,
Inc. (“the Company”), which is located in Denham Springs, Louisiana. Quality Home Health
Care of Gulf Coast, Inc. Group Health Plan (“the Plan”) is a health plan established for the
benefit of the Company’s employees. Sneed is the Administrator for the Plan. The
Secretary is presently engaged in an investigation of the Plan relative to concerns that the
Plan may have been involved in a variety of fiduciary breaches and prohibited transactions
in violation of Title I of ERISA.

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Bridgette Sneed

Pursuant to the authority delegated to the Secretary and in connection with the
investigation initiated pursuant to Section 504 of ERISA, 29 U.S.C. §1134, the Regional
Director issued a subpoena dated May 27, 2010 to Sneed requiring her to produce certain
records and documents necessary for and pertinent to the investigation, to be produced to
EBSA Investigator, Kevin C. Davis (“Investigator Davis”), on June 15, 2010, at 9:00 a.m.
On July 6, 2010, Investigator Davis, left a voicemail for Sneed concerning her receipt of the
subpoena, and on July 14, 2010, he spoke with Sneed to confirm that she had received the
subpoena. Although Sneed indicated that she would verify receipt of the subpoena, she
never contacted Investigator Davis again to confirm her receipt, and she failed to respond
to messages concerning the subpoena that were left by Investigator Davis on November
10, 2010 and June 6, 2011.
Investigator Davis independently confirmed the delivery of the subpoena to the
Company and determined that it had been delivered on June 1, 2010. Despite having
received the subpoena, Sneed failed to appear and has not produced any of the records
and documents requested in the subpoena. The Secretary has therefore filed this action
seeking an order requiring Sneed to immediately deliver all documents sought by the
subpoena and ordering Sneed to pay the Secretary an amount of money sufficient to
compensate her for the expenses she has incurred in this litigation.

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LAW & ANALYSIS
Local Rule 7.5M of the Middle District of Louisiana requires that memoranda in
opposition to a motion be filed within twenty-one (21) days after service of the motion. The
rule specifically provides:
LR7.5M
Response and Memorandum
Each respondent opposing a motion shall file a response,
including opposing affidavits, memorandum, and such
supporting documents as are then available, within 21 days
after service of the motion. Memoranda shall contain a concise
statement of the reasons in opposition to the motion, and a
citation of authorities upon which the respondent relies. For
good cause appearing therefor, a respondent may be required
to file a response and supporting documents, including
memoranda, within such shorter or longer period of time as the
court may order, upon written ex parte motion served on all
parties.

According to a Certificate of Service submitted to the Court by the Secretary, the present
petition (or motion) to compel was served upon Sneed on September 23, 2011. The
opposition to such petition was therefore due by October 14, 2011. Such date has passed,
and Sneed has not filed any opposition. The petition is therefore deemed to be unopposed.

In addition to being unopposed, the undersigned finds that the petition has merit and
should be granted. A district court must enforce an administrative subpoena “[a]s long as
the investigation is within the agency’s authority, the subpoena is not too indefinite, and the
information sought is reasonably relevant.” E.E.O.C. v. Konica Minolta Business Solutions,
U.S.A., Inc., 639 F.3d 366 (7th Cir. 2011), quoting E.E.O.C. v. Tempel Steel Co., 814 F.2d
482, 485 (7th Cir. 1987). The Secretary has established each of those three (3) elements,
warranting enforcement of the subpoena at issue. She has cited to the portion of the
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ERISA statute that authorizes her to make the investigation or inquiry set forth in the
subpoena. Pursuant to 29 U.S.C. §1134(a)(1), the Secretary has the power, in order to
determine whether any person has violated or is about to violate any provision of ERISA,
to “make an investigation, and in connection therewith to require the submission of reports,
books, and records, and the filing of data in support of any information required to be filed
with the Secretary under [ERISA].” Additionally, she has established that the documents
requested in the subpoena are “not too indefinite” and that they are reasonably relevant to
a legitimate EBSA investigation commenced on April 17, 2009, in that they include specific
information and documents concerning the assets of the Plan that are pertinent to EBSA’s
investigation, which will assist in determining whether the Plan has engaged or is about to
engage in prohibited transactions under Title I of ERISA.
Accordingly;
IT IS ORDERED that the Petition to Compel Respondent to Produce Documentary
Evidence and Request for Hearing (R. Doc. 1) filed by Hilda L. Solis, Secretary of Labor,
United States Department of Labor, is hereby GRANTED and that respondent, Bridgette
Sneed, shall produce the documents requested in the subpoena at issue to the Secretary
within twenty (20) days of this Order.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Ruling shall be served upon
respondent, Bridgette Sneed, President, Complete Benefit Solutions, Inc., 1113 South
Range Avenue, Suite 110, Denham Springs, LA 70726.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Hilda L. Solis, Secretary of Labor, United States
Department of Labor, is entitled to an award of the reasonable expenses incurred in

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bringing this suit, and that, in connection with that award, the parties to this matter are to
do the following:
(1)

If the parties agree to the amount of expenses, respondent shall pay that

amount;
(2)

If the parties do not agree to the amount, the Secretary shall, within fifteen

(15) days of the date this Order is signed, submit to the Court a report (along with
evidentiary support) setting forth the amount of expenses incurred in obtaining this Order;
and
(3)

Respondent shall have ten (10) days after the filing of the Secretary’s report

to file an opposition.
Signed in chambers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, October 18, 2011.

MAGISTRATE JUDGE CHRISTINE NOLAND

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