Smith v. Senderra RX Partners, LLC

Filing 27

ORDER Overruling Plaintiff's 25 Objections and Denying Plaintiff's Emergency 24 Motion Seeking Expedited Consideration for an Order Staying the Magistrate Judge's 23 Order Granting Defendant's Motion to Compel Discovery Responses Pending the Completion of this Court's Review of the Objections to Said Order. Signed by District Judge Arthur J. Tarnow. (JOwe)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN
SOUTHERN DIVISION

VELETA SMITH
Case No. 16-10131
Plaintiff,
SENIOR UNITED STATES DISTRICT
JUDGE ARTHUR J. TARNOW

v.
SENDERRA RX PARTNERS, LLC,

MAGISTRATE JUDGE ELIZABETH A.
STAFFORD

Defendant.

/

ORDER OVERRULING PLAINTIFF’S OBJECTIONS AND DENYING PLAINTIFF’S
EMERGENCY MOTION SEEKING EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION FOR AN ORDER
STAYING THE MAGISTRATE JUDGE’S ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT’S MOTION
TO COMPEL DISCOVERY RESPONSES PENDING THE COMPLETION OF THIS
COURT’S REVIEW OF THE OBJECTIONS TO SAID ORDER [24]

INTRODUCTION AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Before the Court is Plaintiff’s Emergency Motion Seeking Expedited
Consideration for an Order Staying the Magistrate Judge’s Order Granting
Defendant’s Motion to Compel Discovery Responses Pending the Completion of
this Court’s Review of the Objections to Said Order. This matter was initiated when

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Plaintiff filed a Complaint on January 14, 2016 [1]. Defendant filed an Answer on
February 24, 2016 [5].
Since the commencement of this action, Defendant has filed two Motions to
Compel Discovery Responses. The first Motion was filed on April 25, 2016 [12].
This Court entered an Order Referring Defendant’s Motion to Magistrate Judge
Elizabeth A. Stafford on May 4, 2016 [15]. After Plaintiffs agreed to provide
discovery responses, Defendant withdrew the Motion on May 5, 2016 [17].
Defendant filed the second Motion to Compel Discovery Responses on July
20, 2016 [18]. Plaintiff filed a Response to Defendant’s Motion on August 3, 2016
[19]. This Court referred Defendant’s Motion to Compel Discovery Responses to
Magistrate Judge Elizabeth A. Stafford on August 8, 2016 [20]. After the Motion
Hearing, Judge Stafford issued an Order Granting Defendant’s Motion to Compel
[23]. Judge Stafford ordered Plaintiff to produce signed releases for the medical
records by September 26, 2016.
Plaintiff filed an Objection to Judge Stafford’s Order [25] and the Instant
Motion [24] on September 23, 2016. Defendants filed a Response to the Instant
Motion [26] on September 26, 2016.

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DISCUSSION
A district court may set aside a magistrate judge’s order on a non-dispositive,
pre-trial matter if it is clearly erroneous or contrary to law. See 28 U.S.C. §
636(b)(1)(A); United States v. Curtis, 237 F.3d 598, 603 (6th Cir. 2001).
The Court agrees with the Magistrate Judge’s decision granting Defendant’s
Motion to Compel. The requested medical records are discoverable under Federal
Rule of Evidence 26(b)(1) because they are relevant to Ms. Smith’s claims and to
Senderra’s defenses, and are central to resolving the issues. Furthermore, although
the Sixth Circuit has recognized equitable estoppel in the FMLA context, it is usually
applied “only in particularly compelling circumstances.” See, e.g., Dobrowski v. Jay
Dee Contractors, Inc., 571 F.3d 551, 554 (6th Cir. 2009); Woodford v. Community
Action of Greene County, Inc., 268 F.3d 51, 57 (2d Cir. 2001). Here, Ms. Smith has
not shown that she relied on Defendant’s approval of her intermittent FMLA leave,
nor has she presented evidence that she made any decisions that were contingent on
her understanding that FMLA leave was approved. Accordingly,
IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Emergency Motion to Stay [24] and
Plaintiff’s Objections to the Magistrate Judge’s Order to Compel are DENIED.
Plaintiff will produce the signed medical records releases by Tuesday, September
27, 2016.
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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the parties will enter into a stipulated
protective order regarding the medical records of Plaintiff’s daughter. The parties
will submit a proposed order to the Court by Tuesday, September 27, 2016.
SO ORDERED.

Dated: September 26, 2016

s/Arthur J. Tarnow
Arthur J. Tarnow
Senior United States District Judge

I hereby certify that a copy of the foregoing document was served upon counsel of
record on September 26, 2016, by electronic and/or ordinary mail.
s/Julie Owens acting in the absence of Michael Lang
Case Manager

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