Liguori et al v. Hansen et al

Filing 472

ORDER granting 460 Motion for Leave to Serve Additional Interrogatories. Signed by Magistrate Judge George Foley, Jr on 10/17/2017. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - JM)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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DISTRICT OF NEVADA
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VICTORIA NELSON, Chapter 7
Bankruptcy Trustee, et al.,

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Plaintiffs,
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vs.
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BERT HANSEN, et al.,
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Defendants.
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__________________________________________)

Case No. 2:11-cv-00492-GWF
ORDER

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This matter is before the Court on Plaintiff’s Motion for Leave to Serve Additional

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Interrogatories in Aid of Judgment or Execution (ECF No. 460), filed on September 20, 2017.

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Defendant filed a Response (ECF No. 464) on October 4, 2017. Plaintiff did not file a reply.

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In an effort to collect upon their judgment, Plaintiffs seek to serve Defendant Bert Hansen,

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the judgment debtor, with 29 interrogatories rather than the proscribed 25. Plaintiffs argue that

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they are entitled serve the additional four interrogatories because the scope of post-judgment

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discovery is broad and the questions posed are directly related to their attempts at collecting on the

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judgment. Defendant argues that the additional requests are not necessary because they are

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repetitive in that they are seeking information on subjects that have already been asked and

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answered. Because of the repetitiveness, Defendant argues that the interrogatories are burdensome

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and are employed for purposes of harassment.

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Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 69(a)(2) governs judgment enforcement proceedings. It

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entitles a judgment creditor to “a very thorough examination of the judgment debtor.” Credit

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Lyonnais, S.A. v. SGC Int'l, Inc., 160 F.3d 428, 430–31 (8th Cir.1998) (quoting Caisson Corp. v.

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County West Bldg. Corp., 62 F.R.D. 331, 335 (E.D.Pa.1974)). “The presumption should be in favor

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of full discovery of any matters arguably related to the [creditor's] efforts to trace [the debtor's]

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assets and otherwise to enforce the judgment.” Id. Therefore, the scope of discovery in post-

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judgment proceedings is very broad.

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Rule 33(a)(1) provides that “[u]nless otherwise stipulated or ordered by the court, a party

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may serve on any other party no more than 25 written interrogatories, including all discrete

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subparts. Leave to serve additional interrogatories may be granted to the extent consistent with

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Rule 26(b)(1) and (2). Rule 26(b)(1) allows a party to “obtain discovery regarding any

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nonprivileged matter that is relevant to any party’s claim or defense and proportional to the needs

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of the case, . . .” Moreover, Rule 26(b)(2) provides that the court may alter or limit the number of

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interrogatories and must do so if any of the following occur:

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(i) the discovery sought is unreasonably cumulative or duplicative, or
can be obtained from some other source that is more convenient, less
burdensome, or less expensive;
(ii) the party seeking discovery has had ample opportunity to obtain
the information by discovery in the action; or
(iii) the proposed discovery is outside the scope permitted by Rule
26(b)(1).

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Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(2)(C)(i)-(iii).
As discussed above, the scope of post-judgment discovery is very broad and the Court is

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inclined to allow Plaintiff to propound the 29 proposed interrogatories on Defendant. The

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interrogatories are relevant to the judgment creditor’s efforts to ascertain Defendant’s assets in

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order to collect on the judgment. Moreover, the Court finds that the additional four interrogatories

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do not impose an undue burden on Defendant and are not being used for the purpose of harassment.

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Accordingly,

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IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion for Leave to Serve Additional
Interrogatories in Aid of Judgment or Execution (ECF No. 460) is granted.
DATED this 17th day of October, 2017.

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______________________________________
GEORGE FOLEY, JR.
United States Magistrate Judge

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