ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA, INC. v. Cafesjian

746 F. Supp. 2d 55, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 112601, 2010 WL 4258900
District Court, District of Columbia·Decided October 22, 2010·No. Civil Action 07-1259, 08-255, 08-1254(CKK)·Published·Cited by 13 cases

Opinion

PRETRIAL CONFERENCE MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

COLLEEN KOLLAR-KOTELLY, District Judge.

On October 18, 2010, the Court held a Pretrial Conference in the above-captioned consolidated actions. The Armenian Assembly of America (“the Assembly”) and the Armenian Genocide Museum & Memorial, Inc. (“AGMM”) (collectively, “Plaintiffs”), have filed a Consolidated Complaint against Defendants Cafesjian Family Foundation, Inc. (“CFF”), Gerard L. Cafesjian (“Cafesjian”), and John J. Waters Jr. (“Waters”). Plaintiffs allege that Cafesjian and Waters breached their fiduciary duties to AGMM and the Assembly, that Cafesjian breached his duty of good faith and fair dealing to the Assembly, and that Cafesjian and Waters misappropriated trade secrets of the Assembly. Defendants have filed a Streamlined Answer and Counterclaims alleging breaches of contract and the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing by the Assembly and AGMM, as well as unjust enrichment and a claim for indemnification. The parties have waived their right to a jury trial, and the Court shall try these actions as the finder of fact.

On September 27, 2010, the parties filed their Joint Pretrial Statement setting forth their claims and defenses, witnesses, exhibits, deposition designations, itemization of damages and other relief, and other information relevant to the preparation of trial. Prior to the Pretrial Conference, the parties filed their respective objections to the Pretrial Statement, to which the par *60 ties each filed responses and replies. Plaintiffs have also filed motions in limine to exclude the expert testimony and report of both James C. Howard and Robert M. Krasne. Defendants have filed a Motion In Limine to Strike Plaintiffs’ Damage Claims. These motions were fully briefed prior to the Pretrial Conference. The Court discussed these motions and objections and made various rulings on the record during the Pretrial Conference. This Memorandum Opinion and Order is intended to review and summarize those discussions and the rulings made on the record, and they are hereby incorporated and made a part of this order. The Court’s rulings are based on the grounds set forth by the parties in their papers and during the Pretrial Conference.

DISCUSSION

A. Testimony of Gerard Cafesjian in Plaintiffs’ Case-in-Chief

Plaintiffs seek to call Defendant Cafesjian to testify as a witness during their case-in-chief. 1 However, Cafesjian is not willing to appear voluntarily during Plaintiffs’ case, and Plaintiffs are unable to subpoena him because he remains outside the subpoena power of this Court, which is limited to the District of Columbia and the area within 100 miles of the federal courthouse where this Court sits. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 45(b)(2) (stating that a subpoena may be served within the district of the issuing court or outside that district but within 100 miles of the place specified for trial). Cafesjian is planning to appear voluntarily to testify during Defendants’ casein-chief. However, his appearance will not occur until after Plaintiffs have rested their case. Therefore, Plaintiffs will be unable to subpoena Cafesjian in time for him to give testimony during their case-in-chief. During the Pretrial Conference, the Court asked whether the parties could come to an agreement that would enable Cafesjian, who is elderly and not planning to attend the entirety of the trial, to testify during Plaintiffs’ case. The parties were unable to come to any agreement.

Plaintiffs contend, however, that Cafesjian may be compelled to testify by subpoena because he is a party witness, and they argue that Rule 45 does not protect party witnesses from having to travel to this forum to give testimony. Plaintiffs cite to decisions from a number of courts interpreting Rule 45 so as to permit the service of a subpoena on a party witness beyond the 100-mile radius of the court. See, e.g., In re Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether ("MTBE”) Prods. Liab. Litig., No. M2188, 2009 WL 1840882, at *1 (S.D.N.Y. June 24, 2009) (allowing service of trial subpoenas on corporate defendant’s officers outside the territorial limits of Rule 45(b)(2)); In re Ames Dep’t Stores, Inc., No. 01-42217, 2004 WL 1661983, at *1-*2 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. June 25, 2004); Am. Fed’n of Gov’t Employees Local 922 v. Ashcroft, 354 F.Supp.2d 909, 915 (E.D.Ark.2003). These courts rely on the 1991 amendments to Rule 45, which added present paragraph 45(c) regarding the protections for witnesses served with a subpoena. Rule 45(c)(3)(A)(ii) provides that a court must quash or modify a subpoena that “requires a person who is neither a party nor a party’s officer to travel more than 100 miles from where that person resides, is employed, or regularly transacts business in person — except that, subject to Rule 45(c)(3)(B)(iii), the person may be commanded to attend a trial by traveling from any such place within the state where the trial is held.” Rule 45(c)(3)(B)(iii) provides *61 that the issuing court may, on motion, quash or modify a subpoena if it requires “a person who is neither a party nor a party’s officer to incur substantial expense to travel more than 100 miles to attend trial.” These courts hold that because the restriction in subparagraph (c)(3)(A)(ii) applies only to nonparty witnesses, courts should draw an inverse inference and conclude that party witnesses may be subpoenaed beyond the territorial limits of sub-paragraph (b)(2). See In re Vioxx Prods. Liab. Litig., 438 F.Supp.2d 664, 666-67 (E.D.La.2006). This appears to be the conclusion of the majority of courts that have addressed this issue. See id. at 666 (citing cases).

However, an increasing number of courts have questioned the wisdom of this interpretation. See Iorio v. Allianz Life Ins. Co., No. 05cv633, 2009 WL 3415689 (S.D.Cal. Oct. 21, 2009); Dolezal v. Fritch, No. CV-08-1362-PHX-DGC, 2009 WL 764542 (D.Ariz. Mar. 24, 2009); Chao v. Tyson Foods, Inc., 255 F.R.D. 556 (N.D.Ala.2009); Lyman v. St. Jude Med. S.C., Inc., 580 F.Supp.2d 719, 733 (E.D.Wis.2008); Johnson v. Big Lots Stores, Inc., 251 F.R.D. 213 (E.D.La.2008); JamSports and Entm’t, LLC v. Paradama Prods., Inc., No. 02 C 2298, 2005 WL 14917, at *1-*2 (N.D.Ill. Jan. 3, 2005); Johnson v. Land O’Lakes, Inc., 181 F.R.D. 388 (N.D.Iowa 1998). There is no controlling precedent in this jurisdiction, and only one court in this district appears to have considered this question. In Mazloum v. District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department, 248 F.R.D. 725 (D.D.C.2008), Judge John D. Bates criticized the majority view of Rule 45 as contrary to the text of the rule:

To begin with, based simply on the text of Rule 45(b)(2) it would seem that Rule 45 (c) (3) (A) (ii) functions as a limitation on the scope of Rule 45(b)(2)(B) rather than an expansion of authority. In relevant part, Rule 45(b)(2) states: “Subject to

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ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA, INC. v. Cafesjian, 746 F. Supp. 2d 55, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 112601, 2010 WL 4258900 (D.D.C. 2010).

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