Capricorn Power Co. v. Siemens Westinghouse Power Corp.

220 F.R.D. 429, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10016, 2004 WL 870659
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedApril 21, 2004
DocketCivil Action No. 01-39J
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 220 F.R.D. 429 (Capricorn Power Co. v. Siemens Westinghouse Power Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Capricorn Power Co. v. Siemens Westinghouse Power Corp., 220 F.R.D. 429, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10016, 2004 WL 870659 (W.D. Pa. 2004).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION and ORDER OF COURT

GIBSON, District Judge.

SYNOPSIS

Both the Defendant and the Plaintiffs have filed motions requesting orders of court that direct the preservation of documents and things. The current case law does not provide a definitive test to apply when deciding such motions. Upon review of the circumstances, and being guided by present law, a three part test is developed and applied by the Court. Under such a test, both motions for an order of preservation are denied. The Defendant’s motion to strike the Plaintiffs motion is also denied as moot. The Court possesses jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332.

FACTUAL/PROCEDURAL HISTORY

This case comes before the Court on the following motions:

Siemens Westinghouse Power Corporation’s (hereinafter “Defendant”) Motion for Order of Court Directing Preservation of Documents, Software and Things; Capricorn Power Company, Inc. and all other Plaintiffs’ (hereinafter “Plaintiffs”) Response and Counter-Motion To Defendant’s Motion For Order of Court Directing Preservation of Documents, Software and Things; and Defendant’s Response, Motion to Strike Plaintiffs’ Counter-Motion To Defendant’s Motion For Order of Court Directing Preservation of Documents, Software and Things and Plaintiffs Response in Opposition to Defendant’s Motion to Strike Plaintiffs’ Counter-Motion To Defendant’s Motion for Order of Court Directing preservation of Documents, Software and Things.

This matter came to trial before a jury on January 12, 2004 and ended in a mistrial on January 15, 2004. The mistrial was declared because an expert report dated June 23, 2000 was not produced by Plaintiff until January 15, 2004. The expert report was referred to by a witness on January 14, 2004 in the course of a Daubert hearing concerning the expert opinions of Dr. Bagnall and was turned over to counsel for Defendant before the resumption of trial testimony on the morning of January 15, 2004. Prior to beginning testimony on January 15, 2004 the Court heard oral argument from both parties on the Defendant’s Motion for Mistrial and subsequently granted the motion, finding that the late production prejudiced the Defendant’s case as to the preparation of its expert witnesses, the cross-examination of the Plaintiffs’ witnesses, as well as the fact that the expert report “may have a significant impact upon the entire posture and strategy of Defendant’s case.” Trial transcript from January 15, 2004 at p. 63.

Subsequently, the Defendant moved for the preservation of documents in a motion filed on February 18, 2004 requesting a court order be issued to preserve all relevant material set forth in the subpoena attached to the Defendant’s Motion. Based upon the [431]*431testimony of*Dr. Bagnall, the Defendant believes other potential materials exist that would be relevant to its case. Defendant requests an order to “fully secure all of the information gathered by Mr. Bagnall and CTC,” and to “properly prepare for filing of dispositive Motions based upon this new evidence.” The Defendant further indicates that it is a party’s duty to preserve evidence under F.R.C.P. 34; that the Plaintiff will not be harmed by such an order; that the Defendant previously delayed the filing of its motion in order for Concurrent Technologies Corporation (hereinafter “CTC”) to respond to the subpoena; and that CTC missed the Defendant’s deadline and the Defendant’s motion was then filed.

The Plaintiffs filed their response and a counter-motion on March 9, 2004. Plaintiffs do not object to the Defendant’s motion, except to the extent that they believe an order for preservation of material should be issued as to both parties. The Plaintiffs indicate that their experts and consultants have preserved the materials for which the Defendant requested a preservation order. Further, the Plaintiffs request that certain materials be preserved by the Defendant for their benefit “[bjeeause of Defendant’s past failures to produce documents and materials during the course of discovery in this matter and because of Defendant’s apparent intent to now change the nature of its defense in this action.” The materials referenced by the Plaintiffs are materials previously requested by them in discovery.

The Defendant responded to the Plaintiffs’ counter-motion arguing, inter alia, that the materials that the Plaintiffs wish to have preserved are irrelevant pursuant to previous orders entered by both Judge Kim R. Gibson and Judge Terrence McVerry, who formerly presided over this matter. A motion to strike the Plaintiffs’ counter-motion was also filed by the Defendant along with its response on March 19, 2004.

ANALYSIS

The Court notes that orders directing parties to preserve materials or documents are common in circumstances in which evidence is subject to being destroyed or lost in routine and sometimes not-so-routine deletion or destruction of information in various mediums. However, the reported case law concerning standards for deciding such motions is scant.

In the case of Humble Oil & Refining Company v. Harang et al., 262 F.Supp. 39 (E.D.La.1966), the District Court in the Eastern District of Louisiana addressed a request for the issuance of a preliminary injunction to prevent destruction of certain records which the plaintiff sought in discovery. The court took up the matter after the expiration of a restraining order that had been issued at the time of the filing of the complaint. The court analyzed the plaintiffs request for a preliminary injunction as follows:

An injunction should be issued only to prevent irreparable injury, but the rush of a litigant to the courthouse to seek the court’s aid in restraint of an adverse party is not justified merely because it is alleged that, in the absence of judicial prohibition, an event may occur, the consequences of which cannot be reversed. The necessity for the injunction must be demonstrated clearly. Injunctions will not be issued merely to allay the fears and apprehensions or to soothe the anxieties of the parties.
It is apparent that the plaintiff may be irreparably injured if the evidentiary documents necessary to prove its claim are destroyed or otherwise put beyond the reach of the court. But this is true in every situation in which proof of a claim rests on documentary evidence; the parties may be irreparably injured if the documents are destroyed. Were the fact that a party to a law suit would suffer irreparable injury if a document were destroyed the sole test for the issuance of an injunction to prevent its destruction, injunctions should issue in every case in which important documents are within the control of either party. Obviously, this is not done and it cannot and should not be done. When the party who seeks an injunction shoius potential irreparable injury, he has established merely one essential condition for relief. He must demonstrate in addi[432]*432tion that there is real danger that the acts to be enjoined will occur, that there is no other remedy available, and that, under these circumstances, the court should exercise its discretion to afford the unusual relief provided by its injunction.

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Bluebook (online)
220 F.R.D. 429, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10016, 2004 WL 870659, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/capricorn-power-co-v-siemens-westinghouse-power-corp-pawd-2004.