LeBlanc v. Town of Jackson, et al

Filing 11

RULING granting in part 10 Motion to Compel. Plaintiff Connie Smith LeBlanc shall serve her initial disclosures pursuant to Rule 26(a), without objections and within 14 days. Pursuant to Rule 37(d)(3), the plaintiff shall pay to the defendants, within 14 days, their reasonable expenses in the amount of $250.00. Defendants' request for dismissal of the plaintiff's claims upon failure to comply with this ruling is denied, without prejudice, as premature. Signed by Magistrate Judge Stephen C. Riedlinger on 4/23/2015. (LLH)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA

CONNIE SMITH LEBLANC
CIVIL ACTION
VERSUS
NUMBER 14-488-SDD-SCR
TOWN OF JACKSON, ET AL.
RULING MOTION TO COMPEL DISCOVERY
Before the court is the Motion to Compel Plaintiff to Produce
Initial Disclosures filed by the defendants.
number 10.

Record document

No opposition has been filed.

Defendants filed this motion on March 13, 2015 to compel
plaintiff Connie Smith LeBlanc to produce her initial disclosures
pursuant to Rule 26(a), Fed.R.Civ.P.

Pursuant to the Scheduling

Order issued November 13, 2014, the initial disclosures were to be
made by December 5, 2014.1

After encountering extreme difficulty

contacting the plaintiff’s counsel via telephone to prepare a joint
status report, the defendants’ counsel sent the plaintiff’s counsel
certified mail on January 22, 2015 to attempt to obtain plaintiff’s
initial disclosures and dates for a conference regarding discovery
and depositions.

Defendants asserted that the certified mail

receipt was signed by the plaintiff’s counsel on January 27, 2015.
Defendants did not receive any response from the plaintiff’s
counsel and subsequently filed this motion.
Defendants have satisfactorily demonstrated their efforts to

1

Record document number 8.

obtain the plaintiff’s initial disclosures prior to filing its
motion.

There

is

no

indication

that

the

plaintiff served

disclosures since the motion was filed, nor has the plaintiff
responded to this motion or otherwise furnished any information
indicating when her disclosures will be provided.2
In these circumstances, under Rule 37(a)(3)(A), Fed.R.Civ.P.,
the defendants are entitled to an order requiring the plaintiff to
respond.

Plaintiff will be required to provide her initial

disclosures within 14 days.

No objections will be allowed.3

Under Rule 37(a)(5)(A), Fed.R.Civ.P. if a motion to compel is
granted or discovery is provided after filing, the court must
require the party whose conduct necessitated the motion to pay the
movant’s

reasonable

expenses

incurred

in

making

the

motion,

including attorney’s fees, unless the court finds that (1) the
movant filed the motion before making a good faith attempt to
obtain the discovery without court action, (2) the opposing party's
failure was substantially justified, or (3) other circumstances
make an award of expenses unjust.

Defendants’ motion shows that a

good faith attempt was made to obtain the initial disclosures
without court action.

Nothing in the record indicates that the

2

Pursuant to the scheduling order fact discovery was to be
completed by February 27, 2015. Plaintiff did not object to the
motion as untimely, and thus has waived this argument.
3

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

plaintiff’s failure was substantially justified or that there are
any circumstances which would make an award of expenses unjust.
Defendant did not claim a specific amount of expenses incurred in
filing this motion. A review of the motion and memorandum supports
the conclusion that an award of $250.00 is reasonable.
Defendants also requested that the plaintiff’s claims be
dismissed in the event she fails comply with the court order.
Under Rule 37(c)(1)(A) a party who fails to provide information or
identify a witness as required by Rule 26(a) or (e) is not allowed
to use that information or witness to supply evidence on a motion,
at a hearing, or at a trial, unless the failure was substantially
justified or is harmless.

The court may also require the party

failing to act, to pay of the reasonable expenses, including
attorney's fees, caused by the failure; inform the jury of the
party's failure; or impose the sanctions available under Rule
37(b)(2)(A)(i)-(vi).
At this time the record does not establish that plaintiff has
act so egregiously to warrant automatic dismissal of her claims
upon failure to comply with this ruling. If the plaintiff does not
produce her initial disclosures within the time allowed by this
ruling, additional sanctions pursuant to Rule 37(c)(1)(A) can be
considered upon motion by the defendants.
Accordingly, the defendant’s Motion to Compel Plaintiff to
Produce Initial Disclosures is granted, in part.

Plaintiff Connie

Smith LeBlanc shall serve her initial disclosures pursuant to Rule

3

26(a), without objections and within 14 days.

Pursuant to Rule

37(d)(3), the plaintiff shall pay to the defendants, within 14
days,

their

reasonable

expenses

in

the

amount

of

$250.00.

Defendants’ request for dismissal of the plaintiff’s claims upon
failure to comply with this ruling is denied, without prejudice, as
premature.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, April 23, 2015.

STEPHEN C. RIEDLINGER
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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