A.W. v. I.B. Corp.

224 F.R.D. 20, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12279, 94 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 179, 2004 WL 1516829
CourtDistrict Court, D. Maine
DecidedJuly 2, 2004
DocketNo. CIV. 03-228-P-C
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 224 F.R.D. 20 (A.W. v. I.B. Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
A.W. v. I.B. Corp., 224 F.R.D. 20, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12279, 94 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 179, 2004 WL 1516829 (D. Me. 2004).

Opinion

[21]*21MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER ON DISCOVERY DISPUTE

DAVID M. COHEN, United States Magistrate Judge.

Pursuant to Local Rule 26, in the wake of a deadlock leading to suspension of plaintiff A.W.’s June 1, 2004 deposition, A.W. and defendant I.B. Corp. (“IBC”) brought the instant discovery dispute to the court’s attention. I held a hearing in this matter on June 16, 2004 by telephone and on June 30, 2004 in the courtroom. Between the two hearing dates the parties submitted, with leave of court, letter memoranda (respectively, “Plaintiffs Memorandum” and “Defendant’s Memorandum”) and other materials, including a transcript of A.W.’s deposition (“AW.Dep.”), a copy of a psychiatrist’s letter (“Psychiatrist’s Letter”) and a copy of the psychiatrist’s Comprehensive Psychiatric Evaluation, Summary of Examination Notes. After hearing and with the benefit of the written materials, which I have thoroughly reviewed, I now grant in part and deny in part both parties’ requests.

I. Factual Context

A.W., a male, brings a single-count hostile-environment sexual-harassment claim pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of [22]*221964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., and the Civil Rights Act of 1991, 42 U.S.C. § 1981a. See Plaintiffs First Amended Complaint for Hostile Work Environment; Demand for Jury Trial (Docket No. 12) ¶¶ 18-23. He alleges, inter alia, that (i) he began employment with IBC in 2001 as an on-call employee, (ii) beginning in 2001 and continuing until February 2002, P.T., a male co-worker, began to create a hostile work environment for him by engaging in conduct that included grabbing A.W.’s buttocks or groin, rubbing his groin into A.W.’s buttocks, flashing A.W. by dropping his pants and on one occasion shoving his hands into A.W.’s shorts and grabbing his penis and buttocks. See id. ¶¶ 7-13. He further asserts, in relevant part, that the hostile environment caused him to experience severe emotional distress and to seek professional counseling to treat the symptoms of that distress. See id. 1122.

During AW.’s deposition, his counsel instructed him on a number of occasions not to answer questions from defendant’s counsel bearing on his sexual history. See, e.g., AW.Dep. at 104-06, 182-84. Defendant’s counsel complains that plaintiffs counsel improperly instructed his client not to answer questions. See Defendant’s Memorandum at 1. He asks the court to compel A.W. to respond to certain enumerated questions and also requests that appropriate enlargements of the discovery and motion deadlines be granted. See id. at 2-5. Plaintiffs counsel asks the court to enter an order prohibiting questions concerning A.W.’s sexual history with persons other than P.T. and precluding defendant’s counsel from arguing with the witness, asking the same questions more than once and covering material that has been covered in the first deposition. See Plaintiffs Memorandum at 3. He also asks that the court limit the duration of the remainder of A.W.’s deposition to thirty minutes. See id.

II. Analysis

A. Rulings at Hearing

I addressed some of the parties’ requests at the conclusion of the hearing held on June 30, 2004, ruling that:

1. Plaintiffs counsel did not transgress Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 30(d)(1), which permits a person to “instruct a deponent not to answer only when necessary to preserve a privilege, to enforce a limitation directed by the court, or to present a motion under Rule 30(d)(4).” Although plaintiffs counsel makes no showing of privilege as a basis for his instructions that his client not answer certain questions, the deposition transcript indicates that he did ultimately recess the deposition to seek guidance from the court. See A.W.Dep. at 200-01. He permissibly waited until A.W.’s deposition had gone on for some time before recessing to present a Rule 30(d)(4) motion. He was not obliged to stop the deposition at the earliest opportunity; indeed, had he done so, I would have lacked the full exposition of the disputed issues that the A.W. deposition transcript provides.

2. With respect to plaintiffs counsel’s requests to prohibit opposing counsel from (i) arguing with the witness, (ii) asking the same question more than once, (iii) covering material already covered in the first deposition or (iv) taking more than thirty minutes to complete the deposition, my reading of the transcript indicates that both counsel allowed themselves to get hot under the collar and certainly could have and should have dealt with each other with more civility than is evident from the transcript. I expect that as counsel go forward they will redouble then efforts to deal with each other in a professional manner. I see no need for entry of formal orders and on that basis decline plaintiffs counsel’s requests.

3. The discovery deadline in this case is enlarged to July 23, 2004, and the motion deadline to July 30, 2004.

B. Fed.R.Civ.P. 26; Fed.R.Evid. 412

I turn to the discovery disputes that form the heart of this matter. These disputes implicate two portions of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26, which provides in relevant part:

(b) Discovery Scope and Limits. Unless otherwise limited by order of the court in accordance with these rules, the scope of discovery is as follows:
[23]*23(1) In General. Parties may obtain discovery regarding any matter, not privileged, that is relevant to the claim or defense of any party .... For good cause, the court may order discovery of any matter relevant to the subject matter involved in the action. Relevant information need not be admissible at the trial if the discovery appears reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.
* * sK ❖ * *
(c) Protective Orders. Upon motion by a party or by the person from whom discovery is sought, accompanied by a certification that the movant has in good faith conferred or attempted to confer with other affected parties in an effort to resolve the dispute without court action, and for good cause shown, the court ... may make any order which justice requires to protect a party or person from annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, or undue burden or expense[.]

Fed.R.Civ.P. 26.

A.W. claims that he was subjected to sexual harassment in the form of a hostile work environment. To prove such a claim, a plaintiff must establish

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224 F.R.D. 20, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12279, 94 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 179, 2004 WL 1516829, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/aw-v-ib-corp-med-2004.