Accurso v. Infra-Red Services, Inc.

169 F. Supp. 3d 612, 94 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 31406, 2016 WL 930686
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedMarch 11, 2016
DocketCIVIL ACTION NO. 13-7509
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 169 F. Supp. 3d 612 (Accurso v. Infra-Red Services, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Accurso v. Infra-Red Services, Inc., 169 F. Supp. 3d 612, 94 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 31406, 2016 WL 930686 (E.D. Pa. 2016).

Opinion

[615]*615MEMORANDUM

Pratter, United States District Judge

Peter Accurso has brought suit against his former employers, Brian Land, Audrey Strein, and three roofing companies established by Mr. Land and Ms. Strein1, alleging violation of the Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA), 29 U.S.C. § 2001 et seq., breach of contract, intentional interference with contract, violation of the Pennsylvania Wage Payment and Collection Law, 43 Pa. Stat. Ann § 260.1 et seq., and civil conspiracy. The Defendants have responded with counter claims against Mr. Accurso, alleging breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, usurpation of corporate opportunity, fraud, intentional interference with prospective contractual relationships, and misappropriation of trade secrets.

In August, the Court granted in part and denied in part the Defendants’ motion for summary judgment. See Accurso v. Infra-Red Servs., Inc., 119 F.Supp.3d 316 (E.D.Pa.2015).2 Trial in this matter is currently scheduled to commence on April 1, 2016. Pending before the Court are motions in limine filed by Mr. Land, Ms. Strein and the corporate defendants (Doc. No. 91) as well as Mr. Accurso (Doc. No. 92). For the reasons outlined below, the Court will grant the Defendants’ in limine motions in part and deny them in part. The Court will also grant Mr. Accurso’s in limine motions in part and deny them in part.

I. Defendants’ In Limine Motions (Doc No. 91)

The Defendants’ briefing raises six separate in limine motions challenging evidence relevant to both the claims brought by Mr. Accurso as well as the Defendants’ own counterclaims against Mr. Accurso.

A. Motion to Exclude Plaintiffs Damages Evidence

The Defendants first assert that Mr. Accurso should be prevented from presenting any evidence of his damages because he “has not responded to interrogatories or deposition questions or any disclosure requirement of this court as to his claimed damages.” See Doc. No. 91 at 1. This motion is made without reference to any legal authority or factual support in the record.

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(c) provides that a party who has failed to disclose information required under Rule 26(a) will not be allowed to rely upon that information at trial unless the failure is substantially justified or harmless. The burden, however, falls on the moving party to establish that exclusion is the most appropriate remedy. Dychalo v. Copperloy Corp., 78 F.R.D. 146, 148 (E.D.Pa.) aff'd sub nom. Copperloy Corp. v. Congoleum Indus., Inc., 588 F.2d 819 (3d Cir.1978) and aff'd sub nom. Dychala v. Copperloy Corp., 588 F.2d 820 (3d Cir.1978) (citing Dudley v. South Jersey Metal, Inc., 555 F.2d 96 (3d Cir.1977)). Exclusion is an extreme sanction and a district court’s discretion to exclude evidence is not unlimited. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has articulated a set of five factors that should be considered when evaluating the exclusion of evidence. ZF Meritor, LLC v. Ea[616]*616ton Corp., 696 F.3d 254, 298 (3d Cir.2012) (citing Meyers v. Pennypack Woods Home Ownership Ass’n, 559 F.2d 894, 905 (3d Cir.1977)). Those factors are (1) “the prejudice or surprise in fact of the party against whom the excluded witnesses would have testified” or the excluded evidence would have been offered; (2) “the ability of that party to cure the prejudice”; (3) the extent to which allowing such witnesses or evidence would “disrupt the orderly and efficient trial of the case or of other cases in the court”; (4) any “bad faith or willfulness in failing to comply with the court’s order”; and (5) the importance of the excluded evidence. ZF Meritor, 696 F.3d at 298 (citing Pennypack, 559 F.2d at 904-05).

The Defendants here have not come close to meeting their burden. They have not identified which interrogatories or deposition questions Mr. Accurso has failed to answer. They have failed to provide any argument or explanation as to the nature and extent of the prejudice they would suffer should the Court admit the evidence. They have not articulated any potential for disruption of the case or made any allegations of bad faith on Mr. Accur-so’s part. Moreover, based upon the record citations provided by Mr. Accurso in response to the defense motion, it appears that many of the Defendants’ general characterizations of the factual record are incorrect. See Doc. No. 102 at 2. In his briefing, Mr. Accurso identifies an interrogatory response which explains his alleged damages. He also identifies to two exhibits from the deposition of Defendant Brian Land which detail certain deposits to Roofing Dynamics Inc. and Roofing Dynamics Group’s bank accounts, which Mr. Accurso contends encompass his damages. See Doc. No. 102 at 3. Consequently, the record indicates that the Defendants are aware of the substance of Mr. Accurso’s alleged damages.

On the record before the Court, there is no basis to conclude that the Defendants would suffer any prejudice should the Court allow Plaintiff to present evidence of his alleged damages at trial. Therefore, the Defendants’ motion to exclude damages evidence will be denied.

B. Motion to Exclude Evidence of Personal Liability of Brian Land and/or Audrey Strein

The Defendants’ second motion in limine seeks to exclude any evidence which goes to establish Mr. Land or Ms. Strein’s personal liability on any of the remaining counts. Again, the Defendants’ motion fails to provide any authority or factual support for their position. The only articulated basis for the exclusion of the challenged evidence is the naked assertion that Mr. Accurso failed to identify any evidence in discovery which justifies piercing the corporate veil of Infra-Red Services, Inc., Roofing Dynamics Group, LLC or Roofing Dynamics, Inc.

There are several weaknesses with the Defendants’ argument. First and foremost, while the Defendants have characterized this as a motion in limine, in actuality it appears to be a motion for summary judgment. The Defendants do not argue that any specific evidence is inadmissible for any articulable reason, but rather that no relevant evidence on this point has been uncovered. If this were the case, the logical remedy would be summary judgment on the unsupported and/or unsupportable claims, not a motion in limine to exclude evidence the Defendants assert does not exist. To the extent that the Defendants are substantially seeking summary judgment, however, that effort is not only un[617]*617timely3

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169 F. Supp. 3d 612, 94 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 31406, 2016 WL 930686, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/accurso-v-infra-red-services-inc-paed-2016.