Tavares v. Enterprise Rent-A-Car Company of Rhode Island

Filing 47

ORDER denying 30 Motion for Protective Order; denying 31 Motion to Amend/Correct. So Ordered by Chief Judge William E. Smith on 5/30/14. (Jackson, Ryan)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF RHODE ISLAND
___________________________________
)
ROGERIO S. TAVARES,
)
)
Plaintiff,
)
)
v.
)
C.A. No. 13-521 S
)
ENTERPRISE RENT-A-CAR COMPANY
)
OF RHODE ISLAND,
)
)
Defendant.
)
___________________________________)
ORDER
WILLIAM E. SMITH, Chief Judge.
On March 17, 2014, United States Magistrate Judge Lincoln
D.

Almond

held

a

hearing

in

the

above-captioned

matter.

Plaintiff Rogerio S. Tavares was dissatisfied with the outcome.
In

an

oral

decision,

Judge

Almond

denied

a

Motion

for

Protective Order that Plaintiff had previously filed which would
have

blocked

records

Defendant

through

previously-filed

from

obtaining

discovery.
Motion

for

Judge
Leave

to

certain
Almond
File

mental

also

Amended

health

denied

a

Complaint.

Plaintiff has filed motions that appeal both rulings (ECF Nos.
30 and 31).
I.

Both motions are DENIED.

Motion for Protective Order
With

respect

to

the

Motion

for

Protective

Order,

Judge

Almond reasoned that Plaintiff had put his mental condition at
issue based on the nature of his claims against Defendant.

(See

Mar. 17, 2014 Hr’g Tr.)

Nevertheless, Judge Almond ordered that

any such records be subject to a confidentiality agreement and
that

access

witnesses.

be

limited

(Id.)

to

Defendant’s

attorneys

and

expert

Plaintiff has now filed a Second Motion for

Entering a Protective Order (ECF No. 30), which raises the same
arguments as those rejected by Judge Almond, and which the Court
construes as an appeal of Judge Almond’s decision.
This Court may modify or set aside any part of a magistrate
judge’s pretrial order that is clearly erroneous or contrary to
law.

See Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(a).

“A determination is ‘clearly

erroneous’ when, although there is evidence to support it, the
court,

after

reviewing

all

the

evidence,

is

left

with

the

definite and firm conviction that the magistrate judge made a
mistake.”

Harvard

Pilgrim

Health

Care

of

New

England

v.

Thompson, 318 F. Supp. 2d 1, 6 (D.R.I. 2004) (citing United
States v. U.S. Gypsum Co., 333 U.S. 364, 395 (1948)).
This Court agrees with Judge Almond’s denial of Plaintiff’s
Motion for Protective Order.

See Rankin v. Liberty Mut. Ins.

Co., No. 94-1850, 1995 U.S. App. LEXIS 6150, at *5 n.3 (1st Cir.
Mar. 27, 1995) (per curiam) (“In discrimination cases where the
complaint merely includes an allegation of emotional distress
there is disagreement whether the plaintiff’s mental condition
is thereby placed ‘in controversy’ for discovery purposes . . .
[where], however, plaintiff alleged both a separate tort claim
2

for emotional distress, and a continuing psychiatric disability,
[] there is no question that she had placed her mental condition
in controversy.”) (citations omitted).

Judge Almond’s pretrial

order was neither erroneous nor contrary to law, and Plaintiff’s
Second Motion for Entering a Protective Order is DENIED.
II.

Motion for Leave to File Amended Complaint
Judge Almond denied Plaintiff’s Motion for Leave to File an

Amended Complaint, reasoning that an amendment to add additional
parties that were not named in Plaintiff’s charges to the Rhode
Island Commission for Human Rights would be futile.

Thornton v.

United Parcel Service, Inc., 587 F.3d 27, 31 (1st Cir. 2009)
(“[I]t is well-settled that an employee alleging discrimination
must

file

an

administrative

claim

with

the

EEOC

or

with

a

parallel state agency before a civil action may be brought.”).
Plaintiff’s instant Second Motion for Leave to File Amended
Complaint and to Add Enterprise Holdings raises the same issues
as those previously rejected by Judge Almond.
because

the

Court

agrees

with

Plaintiff’s motion is DENIED.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

William E. Smith
Chief Judge
Date: May 30, 2014
3

Judge

Almond’s

As such, and
determination,