Racine v. P.H. Las Vegas, LLC
Filing
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ORDER that on or before December 20, 2012, Defendants must provide responses to Plaintiffs Request For Production of Documents Nos. 52, 53, and 54, and Interrogatories 15-24. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that any Motion to Compel responses to Interrogatory 12 must be filed on or before December 11, 2012. Signed by Magistrate Judge Cam Ferenbach on 12/04/2012. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - AC)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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DISTRICT OF NEVADA
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VANESSA RACINE,
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Plaintiff,
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v.
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PHW LAS VEGAS, LLC, et al.,
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Defendants.
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2:10-cv-01651-LDG -VCF
ORDER
(Joint Status Report #43 - Pending Discovery
Disputes)
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Before the court is the matter of Racine v. PHW Las Vegas, LLC (Case No. 2:10-cv-01651-LDG
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-VCF).
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Background
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Plaintiff filed her complaint on September 24, 2010 (#1), alleging that defendants PHW were
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negligent when they failed to implement security procedures to protect their patrons from individuals
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following them to their rooms and robbing, assaulting, and committing other crimes against them.
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Plaintiff asserts that she was “violently assaulted physically and sexually” as a result of defendants’
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breach of their duty to check if individuals seeking access to the rooms were in fact guests of the hotel
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or invitees. (#33). Defendants contend that no such duty exists, and assert that they cannot be held
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liable for plaintiff’s alleged injuries or damages. (#37).
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On April 11, 2011, defendants received plaintiff’s first set of interrogatories and first request for
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production of documents. (#33). On May 11, 2011, defendants provided responses to plaintiff’s
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discovery requests. Id. Defendants objected to forty-seven (47) of the requests, and of the twenty-five
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interrogatories, defendants answered only four, while still asserting objections thereto. Id. The
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defendants’ responses consisted of four common objections: (1) the request/interrogatory seeks
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information relating to the entire hotel, which is not relevant, because the incident occurred exclusively
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on the elevators and in a room of the guest tower, (2) no protective order is in place, (3) plaintiff failed
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to limit the discovery requests to a reasonable time period, as defendants did not own the casino during
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several years within the time-frame specified in the request/interrogatory, and (4) that defendants were
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uncertain as to the meaning of several terms and phrases used in the request/interrogatory. Id.
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On May 23, 2011, plaintiff sent a letter to defendants asserting that defendants must withdraw
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their objections and provide the answers and documents requested. Id. Defendants never addressed the
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issues in plaintiff’s letter, and insisted on a protective order. Id. Plaintiff refrained from filing a motion
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to compel until a protective order could be entered. Id. On October 3, 2011, the parties spoke on the
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phone regarding extending discovery deadlines and the status of obtaining a protective order to govern
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some of the requested material. (#37). The parties did not discuss the May 23, 2011, letter or the non-
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protective order related objections. Id. With the exception of this one telephone conversation,
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plaintiff’s counsel communicated with defense counsel solely via email, despite defense counsel
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continuously insisting that communications be via telephone or written letters. Id.
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On October 5, 2011, defendants’ counsel provided plaintiff’s counsel with a 17 page proposed
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protective order. Id. After plaintiff provided comments and changes to the protective order, the parties
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were unable to reach an agreement. Id. On October 24, 2011, plaintiff submitted an electronic message
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advising defendants that a motion to compel would be filed. Id. On October 27, 2011, plaintiff filed
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a motion to compel1. (#33).
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On December 9, 2011, the court entered an order on the motion to compel (#33) stating that (1)
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the court “finds that both parties have not acted appropriately with regards to the discovery dispute,”
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and (2) that plaintiff “did not conduct a meaningful meet and confer in an attempt to resolve the dispute
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without the court’s intervention, as she never discussed the dispute personally or telephonically with
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defendants’ counsel, and only sent a demanding letter for supplemental responses.” (#41). The court
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The court notes that the body of the motion to compel (#33) is identical to the May 23, 2011, demand letter
(#33 Exhibit 5) to defendants.
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denied the motion to compel (#33) and ordered the parties to meet face to face and confer within ten
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days from the entry of the order. Id. The court ordered the parties to file a joint status report by January
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6, 2012, informing the court of any remaining discovery issues. Id. On the same day, the court entered
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a protective order to govern the disclosure, handling and disposition of documents and information in
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this litigation. (#42).
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On January 6, 2012, the parties filed a joint status report stating that (1) after conducting a meet
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and confer, the parties were able to reach an agreement on most issues, but (2) some disputes remained.
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(#43). After reviewing a stipulation to extend discovery filed by the parties on November 29, 2012
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(#46), it came to the court’s attention that, due to an oversight, the court did not timely address the
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remaining discovery disputes reported by the parties (#43). This order addresses them.
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Pending Discovery Disputes
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Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(1) provides that “[p]arties may obtain discovery regarding
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any nonprivileged matter that is relevant to any party's claim or defense...,” and that, “[f]or good cause,
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the court may order discovery of any matter relevant to the subject matter involved in the action.”
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Relevance within the meaning of Rule 26(b)(1) is considerably broader than relevance for trial purposes.
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See Oppenheimer Fund v. Sanders, 437 U.S. 340, 351 (1978) (citation omitted). For discovery purposes,
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relevance means only that the materials sought are reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of
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admissible evidence. Id.
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A.
Requests for Production of Documents: Nos. 52, 53, and 54
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Plaintiff’s requests Nos. 52, 53, and 54 seek the production of security reports, witness
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statements, police reports, and investigation reports related to incidents or allegations of (1) robbery;
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(2) attempted robbery; (3) burglary; (4) attempted burglary; (5) battery; (6) attempted battery; (7)
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assault; (8) fights; (9) sexual assault; (10) attempted sexual assault; (11) possession of a deadly or
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prohibited weapon; (12) murder; (13) attempted murder; (14) manslaughter; or (15) other acts of
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violence on the premises, and the remedial measures which were considered and taken, or not taken,
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in response to the awareness by the defendant of the existence of criminal activity on its premises.
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(#33). The requests seek information from the last five years. Id.
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The court finds that the defendants’ knowledge of incidents occurring on the property during the
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time they owned the property and prior to owning and managing the property are relevant to plaintiff’s
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claim under N.R.S. 651.015. See Oppenheimer Fund, 437 U.S. at 351; Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1). To
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prove a claim under N.R.S. 651.015(2), a plaintiff must demonstrate that (a) the wrongful act which
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caused the death or injury was foreseeable, and (b) the owner or keeper failed to take reasonable
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precautions against the foreseeable wrongful act. “The court shall determine as a matter of law whether
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the wrongful act was foreseeable and whether the owner or keeper had a duty to take reasonable
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precautions against the foreseeable wrongful act of the person who caused the death or injury.” N.R.S.
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651.015(2). A wrongful act is foreseeable under this section if (a) the owner or keeper failed to exercise
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due care for the safety of the patron or other person on the premises; or (b) prior incidents of similar
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wrongful acts occurred on the premises and the owner or keeper had notice or knowledge of those
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incidents. N.R.S. 651.015(3).
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The statute specifically requires plaintiff to demonstrate that the owners had knowledge or notice
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of prior “similar wrongful acts.” Id. The statute does not require, however, knowledge or notice that
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the exact same incident occurred on the premises. Id. Plaintiff alleges that while she was a guest at the
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defendants’ hotel she was robbed, physically attacked, and sexually assaulted. (#9). The defendants’
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knowledge or notice of prior incidents of a similar nature are relevant to this action. Oppenheimer
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Fund, 437 U.S. at 351; Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1); N.R.S. 651.015. The wrongful acts listed in request
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No. 52 are similar to the acts of physically attacking, sexually assaulting, and robbing, as they are either
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acts of violence, acts against a person, or acts against property. (#33). With regard to the time-period
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of the information sought, the court finds that the responsive documents for the past five years are
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discoverable regardless of when the defendants took ownership of the property. See Oppenheimer
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Fund, 437 U.S. at 351; Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1). If the defendants are in possession of the reports
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sought, the plaintiff may argue that this amounts to notice and/or knowledge of the incidents. As notice
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and/or knowledge of the incidents is a requirement to prove a claim under N.R.S. 651.015, the reports,
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regardless of the ownership at the time, are relevant. Id.
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Defendants express a concern with the privacy of the victims of these wrongful acts. (#43).
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Defendants assert that “the name and contact information of the alleged victims should be redacted as
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the claims may refer to circumstances, incidents, or conditions of a personal or upsetting nature.” Id.
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The court finds that redacting the names, contact information, and any identifying information will
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adequately address the defendants’ concern with regard to the privacy of the victims. On or before
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December 20, 2012, defendants must produce appropriately redacted documents in response to request
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for production of document Nos. 52, 53, and 54. After reviewing the produced redacted documents,
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plaintiff may request the identity and contact information for five (5) victims, and defendants must
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provide the information on a confidential basis, pursuant to the protective order entered by the court
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(#42).
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B.
Interrogatories
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Nos. 1, 2, and 7
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Plaintiff’s interrogatories Nos. 1, 2, and 7 seek information regarding (1) defendants’ knowledge
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of “criminal behavior” on the premises for the five year period leading up to the incident in question,
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(2) defendants’ involvement and knowledge gained from its investigation of “criminal behavior” on the
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premises in the five years leading up to the incident in question, and (3) instances and facts surrounding
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such circumstances, when defendants were aware of the presence of unauthorized persons or trespassers
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in the room towers for the period of five years leading up to the incident in question. (#33).
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As discussed above, the court finds that the defendants’ knowledge and/or notice of wrongful
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acts that occurred on their premises is relevant to plaintiff’s claims. N.R.S. 651.015 (2) and (3). See
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Oppenheimer Fund, 437 U.S. at 351; Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1). The information sought in interrogatories
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1, 2, and 7 is relevant. Id. The court finds, however, that as defendants are ordered to produce all
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responsive documents to requests Nos. 52, 53, and 54, defendants’ obligation to provide responses to
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interrogatories 1, 2, and 7, is satisfied under Rule 33(d). See Fed. R. Civ. P. 33(d)(2)(stating that if the
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answer to an interrogatory be determined by looking at records, the responding party may answer by
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“giving the interrogating party a reasonable opportunity to examine and audit the records and to make
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copies, compilations, abstracts, or summaries.”).
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2.
No. 12
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Based on defendants’ understanding that plaintiff is seeking security audits, both internally and
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by outside companies, only as performed by defendants and not from the prior owner, defendants
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asserted that they “will research [their] records and provide a supplemental response to this
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Interrogatory.” (#43). If the defendants have not provided supplementation, plaintiffs may, within one
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week from the entry of this order, file a motion to compel responses to interrogatory No. 12.
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3.
Nos. 15-25
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Plaintiff’s interrogatories Nos. 15-24 seek information pertaining to defendants’ affirmative
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defenses. (#43). Interrogatory No. 25 seeks a list of witnesses and what is anticipated that they will
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testify to. Id. Defendants take the position that their responses to these contention interrogatories are
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sufficient and do not need to be supplemented. Id. Plaintiff argues that the information is discoverable,
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because if defendants do not have evidence to support their affirmative defenses, the defenses should
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be withdrawn. Id.
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Rule 33(a)(2) states that “[a]n interrogatory is not objectionable merely because it asks for an
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opinion or contention that relates to fact or the application of law to fact, but the court may order that
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the interrogatory need not be answered until designated discovery is complete, or until a pretrial
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conference or some other time.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 33(a)(2). The court finds that information relating to
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defendants’ affirmative defenses is relevant and that defendants must answer plaintiff’s contention
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interrogatories Nos. 15-24. See Oppenheimer Fund, 437 U.S. at 351; Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1). By
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plaintiff seeking evidence in support of defendants’ contentions regarding their affirmative defenses,
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plaintiff is essentially asking defendants to explain how they have applied the law to the facts to
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formulate their defenses. Id. On or before December 20, 2012, defendants must provide plaintiff with
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responses to interrogatories 15-24. With regard to the witness list sought in No 25, the court finds that,
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in accordance with Rule 33(a)(2), the proper place for defendants to disclose their witness list is in the
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Joint Pre-Trial Order. Id.
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Accordingly, and for good cause shown,
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IT IS ORDERED that on or before December 20, 2012, defendants must provide responses to
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plaintiff’s Request For Production of Documents Nos. 52, 53, and 54, and Interrogatories 15-24.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that any motion to compel responses to Interrogatory 12 must be
filed on or before December 11, 2012.
DATED this 4th day of November, 2012.
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CAM FERENBACH
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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