Brasfield & Gorrie LLC v. Hirschfeld Steel Group LP

CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Alabama
DecidedNovember 22, 2021
Docket7:20-cv-00984
StatusUnknown

This text of Brasfield & Gorrie LLC v. Hirschfeld Steel Group LP (Brasfield & Gorrie LLC v. Hirschfeld Steel Group LP) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Brasfield & Gorrie LLC v. Hirschfeld Steel Group LP, (N.D. Ala. 2021).

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA SOUTHERN DIVISION

BRASFIELD & GORRIE, ) LLC , ) ) Plaintiff and Counter ) Defendant, ) v. ) 2:20-cv-00984-LSC ) HIRSCHFELD STEEL ) GROUP LP d/b/a

) HIRSCHFELD INDUSTRIES and W&W-AFCO STEEL, ) ) LLC ) Defendants and Counter ) Claimants. ) MEMORANDUM OF OPINION AND ORDER Before the Court are Brasfield and Gorrie, LLC’s (“B&G”) Motion to Compel (Doc. 31) and Hirschfeld Steel Group LP d/b/a Hirschfeld Industries (“Hirschfeld”) (which through merger now exists as surviving entity W&W-AFCO Steel LLC) and W&W-AFCO Steel LLC’s (collectively “W&W-AFCO”) Motion to Quash (Doc. 32). The motions have been fully briefed and are ripe for review. For the reasons stated below, B&G’s Motion to Compel (Doc. 32) is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART and W&W-AFCO’s Motion to Quash (Doc. 31) is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.1

I. BACKGROUND B&G was awarded a contract by the Alabama Department of Transportation

for the construction and improvement of a 4.165-mile section of Interstate 59 in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama (the “Project”). On November 14, 2017, B&G executed a purchase order with Hirschfeld to detail and fabricate structural steel and

two steel arches over McFarland Boulevard (the “North Arch” and the “South Arch”) in conformance with contract drawings and specifications. In September 2018, Hirschfeld merged into W&W-AFCO, and W&W-AFCO assumed

Hirschfeld’s rights and obligations under the purchase order with B&G. W&W-AFCO delivered the four segments of the South Arch to the Project site on June 19 and 20, 2019. During the field “fit up” of the four segments, B&G

alleges they discovered nonconformances with the South Arch and on June 28, 2019, notified W&W-AFCO of such. On July 25 and 26, 2019, W&W-AFCO personnel traveled to the Project site, performed field measurements, engineering, and

surveys, and jacked, shimmed, and positioned the South Arch for welding and

1 B&G’s Motion to Compel and W&W-AFCO’s Motion to Quash contain the same arguments. Accordingly, the Court will address both at the same time. erection, eventually representing that the South Arch was erectable as delivered. In November 2019, B&G attempted to erect the South Arch but failed. The parties

dispute the cause of the failure of the South Arch. On November 8, 2019, B&G sent notice to W&W-AFCO blaming it for the failure and claiming that it had incurred

numerous costs relating to the failure. (Doc. 33–1.) On December 4, 2019, B&G warned W&W-AFCO to put its insurance carries on notice due to the potential impact of a rejection of the South Arch. (Doc. 33–2 at 2.) On that same day, W&W-

AFCO contacted Genesis Structures, Inc. (“Genesis”), a third-party engineering firm, for the first time. (Doc. 33–5 at 2.) On December 10, 2019, W&W-AFCO wrote B&G disputing “liability for the costs and impacts associated with the fit-up of the

South Arch.” (Doc. 33–4.) W&W-AFCO also informed B&G in the same letter that it would retain Genesis to examine the issue. On March 18, 2020, B&G issued its first notice of default to W&W-AFCO

and requested that W&W-AFCO submit a written plan and schedule to cure the default. (Doc. 32–4.) W&W-AFCO responded on March 20, 2020 and stated that it had hired Genesis to investigate the issue and expected Genesis’s results the

following week. (Doc. 32–5 at 4.) On March 26, 2020, W&W-AFCO provided B&G with Genesis’s report regarding the South Arch dated March 24, 2020. (Doc. 32–6.) On March 27, 2020, B&G informed W&W-AFCO that the Genesis report and W&W-AFCO’s March 20, 2020 response were insufficient to cure the default. (Doc. 32–9.) Like with the South Arch, B&G also claimed that W&W-AFCO

defectively fabricated the steel for the North Arch. After numerous letters and a joint survey of the North Arch, B&G declared W&W-AFCO in default on June 5, 2020.

On June 12, 2020, W&W-AFCO denied any liability for the defective arches. As a result, B&G terminated the purchase order and initiated litigation. On June 17, 2020, W&W-AFCO sent B&G another Genesis report dated June 10, 2020. (Doc. 32–14.)

Like the South Arch report of March 24, 2020, this report contained Genesis’s analysis of whether the North Arch was properly fabricated by W&W-AFCO. On May 5, 2021, B&G issued a document subpoena to Genesis generally

seeking documents relating to the arches or services rendered by Genesis on the Project. (See Doc 32–1.) On May 19, 2021, Genesis served an objection to B&G’s subpoena on the grounds that Genesis constituted an expert engaged by W&W-

AFCO in anticipation of litigation and not expected to appear as a witness, and that Genesis’s documents were prepared in advance of litigation for another party. (Doc. 32–16.) On September 7, 2021, B&G issued Genesis a 30(b)(6) subpoena to appear

at a deposition to testify primarily on the services rendered to W&W-AFCO relating to the arches and the Project. (Doc. 33–10.) On September 13, 2021, counsel for Genesis served an objection to B&G’s subpoena based on Genesis being an expert engaged in anticipation of litigation. (Doc. 33–11.) On September 24, 2021, B&G filed their Motion to Compel (Doc. 32) and W&W-AFCO filed their Motion to

Quash (Doc. 31.) II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45, this Court must quash a subpoena that seeks disclosure of privileged or otherwise protected material if no exception or waiver applies. Fed. R. Civ. P. 45(d)(3)(A). Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure

26, this Court may enter a protective order to protect a party or person from annoyance or oppression, among other things. Fed R. Civ. P. 26(c)(1); Farnsworth v. Procter & Gamble Co., 758 F.2d 1545, 1548 (11th Cir. 1985) (noting that Rule 26(c)

“gives the district court discretionary power to fashion a protective order.”). When entering a protective order, the Court may forbid the disclosure of discovery and limit the scope of discovery to certain matters, among other things. Fed. R. Civ. P.

26(c)(1). III. DISCUSSION B&G’s Motion to Compel asks this Court to order Genesis to: (1) produce

documents responsive to the subpoena for the production of documents and (2) designate representative(s) to appear for deposition and testify on behalf of Genesis as commanded in the 30(b)(6) subpoena. (Doc. 32 at 2.) W&W-AFCO seeks to quash both subpoenas and to have this Court enter a protective order prohibiting further discovery directed to Genesis. (Doc. 31 at 1–2.) As these motions deal with

the same subject matter, this Court will address both simultaneously. A. Genesis’s Reports

B&G contends that the reports compiled by Genesis are categorically not work product (Doc. 34 at 2.) B&G also contends that even if these reports and the underlying data are protected by the work product privilege, W&W-AFCO has

waived the word product privilege. (Doc. 32 at 14.) 1. Work Product The threshold question raised by every invocation of the work-product

protection is whether the requested materials are, in fact, work product. “[T]o be shielded from discovery the document must be (1) produced by an attorney or her agent and (2) created in anticipation of litigation.” Adams v. City of Montgomery, 282

F.R.D. 627, 633 (M.D. Ala. 2012), supplemented, No. 10-CV-924, 2012 WL 1952294 (M.D. Ala. May 30, 2012)).

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