BPP Retail Properties, LLC v. North American Roofing Services, Inc.

300 F.R.D. 59, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91162, 2014 WL 2959511
CourtDistrict Court, D. Puerto Rico
DecidedJuly 2, 2014
DocketCivil No. 13-1259 (FAB)
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 300 F.R.D. 59 (BPP Retail Properties, LLC v. North American Roofing Services, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Puerto Rico primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
BPP Retail Properties, LLC v. North American Roofing Services, Inc., 300 F.R.D. 59, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91162, 2014 WL 2959511 (prd 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM & ORDER

BESOSA, District Judge.

Before the Court is plaintiff BPP Retail Properties, LLC (“BPP”)’s motion to compel production of documents and answers to interrogatories from defendants North American Roofing Systems (“NAR”) and Carlisle Construction Materials Inc. (“Carlisle”). (Docket No. 113.) After considering the parties’ arguments, the Court now GRANTS IN PART and DENIES IN PART plaintiffs motion.

[61]*61I. Background

Between April 18 and 22, 2014, BPP served defendants with its first requests for production (“RFP”), interrogatories, and notices of witness depositions. (Docket Nos. 72-79.) On May 22, 2014, BPP served defendants with its second requests for production and first interrogatories. (Docket Nos. 101—104.) Defendants served their responses and objections to BPP’s discovery requests on June 6, 2014.1 (Docket No. 113.) In a good-faith effort to resolve pending discovery disputes, the parties’ attorneys conferred between June 10 and 12, 2014. (Docket No. 113.) On June 16, 2014, after failing to reach a resolution on several discovery disputes, plaintiffs moved to compel defendants’ responses. Id. The discovery deadline in this case is July 30, 2014. (Docket No. 91.)

BPP seeks to compel the following:

1. Defendant NAR’s responses to BPP’s first RFPs 8, 9, and 10;
2. Defendant NAR’s responses to BPP’s first interrogatories 4, 5, 6, and 7;
3. Defendant Carlisle’s responses to BPP’s RFPs 6, 7, and 8; and
4. Defendant Carlisle’s responses to BPP’s first interrogatories 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11, and 12.

(Docket No. 113.) Plaintiffs requests can be categorized as seeking information and/or documents regarding (1) “other claims” involving thermoplastic polyolefin (“TPO”) roofing membranes;2 (2) indemnification agreements;3 and (3) the chemical makeup of TPO membranes sold by defendants.4 Defendants raised a combination of objections to these requests, including vagueness, irrelevance, overbreadth, privilege, and trade secret. (Docket No. 113.)

II. Legal Standard

Discovery may be obtained as to any non-privileged material relevant to any party’s claim or defense that is reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence. Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(b)(1). The party resisting discovery has the burden of showing “specifically how each interrogatory is not relevant or how each question is overly broad, burdensome or oppressive.” Vazquez-Fernandez v. Cambridge Coll., Inc., 269 F.R.D. 150, 155-56 (D.P.R.2010) (Arenas, J.) (internal quotation and citation omitted); Fed.R.Civ.P. 33(b)(4). When a party withholds otherwise discoverable information on the basis of privilege, the party must, “(i) expressly make the claim; and (ii) describe the nature of the documents, communications, or tangible things not produced or disclosed—and do so in a manner that, without revealing information itself privileged or protected, will enable other parties to assess the claim.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(b)(5)(A); Rivera v. Kmart Corp., 190 F.R.D. 298, 300 (D.P.R.2000) (Pieras, J.) (citing Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(b)(5)). If the responding party fails to object or state the reason for the objection timely, he or she may be held to have waived any objection. Rivera, 190 F.R.D. at 300 (citing Marx v. Kelly, Hart & Hallman, P.C., 929 F.2d 8, 12 (1st Cir.1991)).

III. Discussion

The Court addresses plaintiff’s motion and defendants’ objections by the category of information involved.

A. Information Regarding “Other Claims”

Plaintiff seeks information and documents regarding complaints, legal claims, or allegations made against defendants regarding the in service performance or premature failure of TPO roofing membranes between 2000 and 2008. (Docket Nos. 113 & 126). Citing cases that assessed the admissibility—rather than discoverability—of “other claims” in [62]*62products liability actions, defendants contend that plaintiffs requests are overly broad and seek information that is not relevant because the materials or conditions were not “the same as, or similar to,” the materials or conditions used in plaintiffs roofing installations.5 (Docket Nos. 115 & 116.)

The advisory committee notes to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26 (“Rule 26”) specify that “A variety of types of information not directly pertinent to the incident in suit could be relevant to the claims or defenses raised in a given action. For example, other incidents of the same type, or involving the same product, could be properly discoverable under the revised standard.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(b)(1) advisory committee notes. The “widely-accepted riew” among federal courts is that discovery of other litigation is permissible “where it involves (1) the same or similar claims arising from (2) the same or similar products at issue.” United Oil Co., Inc. v. Parts Assoc., Inc., 227 F.R.D. 404, 410 (D.Md.2005). See also Liberty Mut. Fire Ins. Co. v. Centimark Corp., No. 4:08CV230-DJS, 2009 WL 539927, at *2 (E.D.Mo. Mar. 4, 2009) (finding information regarding other legal actions to be reasonably relevant to plaintiffs’ claim, and rejecting defendant’s argument in a products liability action “that plaintiff cannot prove that defendant installed plaintiffs roof improperly or breached these parties’ contract by introducing evidence regarding claims made with respect to the design, manufacture, sale, or installation of other roofs around the country.”) (emphasis in original); Dollar v. Long Mfg., N.C., Inc., 561 F.2d 613, 617 (5th Cir.1977) (reversing trial court’s denial of motion to compel, because interrogatory seeking information regarding prior accidents and injuries was “reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.”); Kozlowski v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 73 F.R.D. 73, 75 (D.Mass.1976) (noting that “most courts have held that the existence and nature of other complaints in product liability cases is a proper subject for pretrial discovery”) (internal citations omitted). Courts considering whether plaintiffs in products liability cases are entitled to discovery concerning other claims or incidents have generally held that “plaintiff need not lay the same foundation of substantial similarity as would be necessary to support admission into evidence.” A.H. ex rel. Hadjih v. Evenflo Co., Inc., No. 10cv02435-MSK-KMT, 2011 WL 3684807, at *4 (D.Colo. Aug.

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300 F.R.D. 59, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91162, 2014 WL 2959511, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bpp-retail-properties-llc-v-north-american-roofing-services-inc-prd-2014.