Castro et al v. Poulton et al

Filing 37

ORDER Denying 29 Motion to Strike Deposition Testimony of Jose Salud Castro and Carolina Tafoya-De-Castro without prejudice. Signed by Magistrate Judge George Foley, Jr. on 12/9/16. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - ADR)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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DISTRICT OF NEVADA

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Plaintiffs,
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vs.
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CRAIG STUART POULTON, individually and as
the employee of USF REDDAWAY, INC.,
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Defendants.
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__________________________________________)
AZUCENA CASTRO, CLAUDIA E. CASTRO,
JOSE SILVESTRE CASTRO,

Case No. 2:15-cv-01908-JCM-GWF
ORDER

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This matter is before the Court on Plaintiff Azucena Castro’s Motion to Strike Deposition

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Testimony of Jose Salud Castro and Carolina Tafoya-De-Castro (ECF No. 29), filed on October 12,

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2016. Defendants filed their Opposition (ECF No. 31) on October 28, 2016. Plaintiff filed her Reply

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(ECF No. 32) on November 7, 2016.

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BACKGROUND
This negligence action arose from a rear-end auto collision that occurred on November 26,

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2013. Plaintiff Azucena Castro (“Plaintiff”) was the driver of a sedan that was rear-ended by

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Defendants’ semi tractor-trailer. At the time of the accident and subsequent to the accident, Plaintiff

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lived with her parents, Jose Salud Castro (“Jose Salud”) and Carolina Tafoya-De-Castro (“Carolina”).

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After the accident, Plaintiff’s father picked Plaintiff up from the scene of the accident because her car

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could not be driven. Defendants deposed Jose Salud and Carolina on September 22, 2016. Plaintiff

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represents that when Defendants sought their deposition testimony, it was presumed it was because

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Plaintiff testified that she was living with her parents at the time of the accident and continued to live

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with them during the treatment of her injuries sustained in the accident. See Plaintiff’s Motion to

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Strike, (ECF No. 29), pg. 2.

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During their depositions, Defendants asked Jose Salud and Carolina questions regarding their

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background, Plaintiff’s accident, Plaintiff’s health, and their own prior accidents, injuries, and medical

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treatment. When Defendants asked Jose Salud about the injuries he sustained from an accident, the

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parties conferred off the record and attempted to call the undersigned Magistrate Judge. As the

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depositions took place late in the day, the parties were unable to reach the Court and the depositions

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proceeded. Plaintiff argues that the depositions were conducted to unreasonably annoy, embarrass, and

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oppress the witnesses and that the testimony regarding the witnesses’ accident history, lawsuits, and

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medical treatment is irrelevant. Plaintiff requests that the Court strike the irrelevant portions of the

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deposition testimony.1

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DISCUSSION

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Under Rule 12(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Court may strike from a pleading

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an insufficient defense or any redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous matter. Fed. R. Civ. P.

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12(f). The essential function of a Rule 12(f) motion is to avoid the expenditure of time and money that

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must arise from litigating spurious issues by dispensing with those issues prior to trial. Fantasy, Inc. v.

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Fogerty, 984 F.2d 1524, 1527 (9th cir. 1993), rev’d on other grounds, 510 U.S. 517, 114 S. Ct. 1023.

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Striking material pursuant to Rule 12(f) is considered a “drastic remedy” that is “generally disfavored.”

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Nevada Fair Housing Center, Inc. V. Clark County, 565 F. Supp.2d 1178 (D. Nev. 2008). Given their

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disfavored status, courts often require a showing of prejudice by the moving party before granting the

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requested relief. Roadhouse v. Las Vegas Metro. Police Dep’t, 290 F.R.D. 535, 543 (D. Nev. 2013).

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Whether to grant a motion to strike lies within the sound discretion of the district court. Id. The court

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may strike a party’s submissions other than pleadings under its “inherent power over the administration

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of its business.” Spurlock v. F.B.I, 69 F.3d 1010, 1016 (9th Cir. 1995).
Rule 26(b)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that “[p]arties may obtain

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discovery regarding any nonprivileged matter that is relevant to any party’s claim or defense and

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proportional to the needs of the case, considering the importance of the issues at stake in the action, the

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Plaintiff agree to allow pages 19-39 of Jose Salud’s deposition transcript and pages 20-47 of Carolina’s deposition
transcript as relevant testimony.

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amount in controversy, the parties’ relative access to relevant information, the parties’ resources, and

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the importance of the discovery in resolving the issues, and whether the burden and expense of the

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proposed discovery outweighs its likely benefit. Information within the scope of discovery need not be

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admissible in evidence to be discoverable.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1). It is the objecting party’s burden

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to establish why a discovery request should be denied. See Tedrow v. Boeing Employees Credit Union,

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315 F.R.D. 358, 359 (W.D. Wash. 2016); Painters Joint Comm. v. Employee Painters Trust Health &

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Welfare Fund, 2011 WL 4573349, at *5 (D. Nev. Sept. 29, 2011).

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Applying the principles of Rule 26, the Court finds that Plaintiff fails to show that portions of

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the witnesses’ deposition testimony warrant being stricken as irrelevant. However, if Defendants intend

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to introduce the deposition testimony as evidence, the Court does not preclude Plaintiff from objecting

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to its admissibility. The Court therefore denies Plaintiff’s Motion to Strike without prejudice to

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Plaintiff filing a motion in limine to exclude Plaintiff’s parents’ deposition testimony. Accordingly,

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IT IS HEREBY ORDERED Plaintiff Azucena Castro’s Motion to Strike Deposition

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Testimony of Jose Salud Castro and Carolina Tafoya-De-Castro (ECF No. 29) is denied without

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prejudice.

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DATED this 9th day of December, 2016.

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______________________________________
GEORGE FOLEY, JR.
United States Magistrate Judge

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