Chesher v. Neyer

220 F.R.D. 523, 58 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 645, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5663, 2004 WL 717264
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Ohio
DecidedJanuary 27, 2004
DocketNo. 1:01-CV-00566
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 220 F.R.D. 523 (Chesher v. Neyer) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Chesher v. Neyer, 220 F.R.D. 523, 58 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 645, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5663, 2004 WL 717264 (S.D. Ohio 2004).

Opinion

ORDER

SPIEGEL, Senior District Judge.

This matter is before the Court on the Magistrate Judge’s October 23, 2003 Order (doe. 125), Defendants’ Objection (doc. 130), and Plaintiffs’ Response (doc. 134). The Court will also consider the Magistrate Judge’s October 28, 2003 Order (doc. 128), Plaintiffs’ Objection (doc. 135), Defendant Parrott’s Response in Opposition (doc. 139), and the Response in Opposition filed by Michael K. Allen, Brian E. Hurley, Thomas P. Longano, and David T. Stevenson (doc. 140). Finally, the Court will consider the Defendants’ Unopposed Joint Motion for Extension of Time to Respond to Plaintiffs’ Motion for Approval of Class Notice, And For Trial Scheduling Order, Bellwether Trial, Summary Jury Trial, and Status Conference (doc. 148).

I. The Magistrate Judge’s October 23, 2003 Order (doc. 125).

The Magistrate Judge’s October 23, 2003 Order granted Plaintiffs’ Motion to Compel drafts or non-final versions of a 1999 opinion letter (hereinafter, “Opinion Letter”), from the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office1 to Dr. Parrott (doc. 125). The Magistrate Judge found that the Plaintiffs’ document request number twelve clearly encompassed drafts of the letter (Id.).2 The Magistrate Judge further found that rather than objecting to the request the County Defendants denied having responsive documents (Id.). Having failed to object or motion for a protective order, the Magistrate Judge found that Defendants waived any objection, and ordered Defendants to produce the requested documents, and reimburse Plaintiffs’ fees and expenses pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 37(d).

1. Defendants’ Objections

Defendants objected to the Magistrate Judge’s Order arguing that the requested documents do not exist, that Plaintiffs’ Motion to Compel was moot, and that even if such documents did exist, the Board of Commissioners cannot be held responsible for responding to discovery requests on behalf of the Prosecutor’s Office (doc. 130). Defendants argue that Plaintiffs’ Motion was moot based on the fact that Plaintiffs’ Counsel orally indicated, as much in light of Dr. Parrot’s production of the final version of the Opinion Letter (Id.). Defendants argue that the letter Defendants’ counsel drafted confirming their understanding did not provide that the motion was moot only insofar as it relates to Dr. Parrott, so that the motion in its entirety was moot (Id.). Defendants argue that Plaintiffs had not requested the drafts until five months after the production of the Opinion Letter by Dr. Parrott, and should not be heard to complain now (Id.). Defendants argue that because the Counsel for the County Defendants does not represent the non-party Prosecutor’s Office, the County Defendants’ response to Plaintiffs’ discovery request was accurate (Id.). County Defendants argue that they have no authority or responsibility for responding to discovery on behalf of the non-party Prosecutor’s Office (Id.). Defendants argue that Plaintiffs must direct any discovery requests to the Prosecutor’s Office itself (Id.). Defendants argue rhetorically that if the County Defendants must respond on behalf of the [526]*526Prosecutor’s Office, they should have to respond on behalf of all county offices, and possibly even the Common Pleas Court judge who presided over the criminal action against Tobias and Condon (Id,.).

Defendants next argue that Plaintiffs’ Counsel has previously issued subpoenas to Dave Stevenson of the Prosecutor’s Office as a non-party (Id.). Consequently, Defendants argue, Plaintiffs have recognized the Prosecutor’s Office as a non-party and should not maintain that the Prosecutor’s Office was required to respond to discovery requests issued to the County (Id.). Similarly, in coordinating the depositions of Michael Allen, Brian Hurley, and Thomas Longano in this matter, Defendants aver that Plaintiffs’ counsel worked directly with the Prosecutor’s Office and later its special counsel (Id.). Defendants further argue that if Counsel for the County represents the Prosecutor’s Office, Plaintiffs’ Counsel has committed ethical violations by speaking directly to the Prosecutor’s Office on numerous occasions (Id.).

County Defendants posit that they are unable to waive the attorney/client privilege enjoyed by the coroner and his legal counsel, as such privilege belongs to the coroner and only he may waive it (Id.). Defendants aver that their original response that they had no responsive documents within their custody or control remains truthful and accurate because any such documents would be in the possession of the Prosecutor’s Office, which is not a named Defendant (Id.). Accordingly, Defendants argue that the Magistrate Judge’s award of attorney fees and expenses to Plaintiffs is unjust (Id.).

2. Plaintiffs’ Response

Plaintiffs respond that Defendants have misread the Magistrate Judge’s Order, assuming that such Order came about because Defendants did not respond to Plaintiffs’ Motion to Compel (doc. 134). Plaintiffs argue that actually such order is grounded in the Magistrate Judge’s finding that Defendants did not respond properly to Plaintiffs’ document request number twelve (Id.). Plaintiffs submit, however, that the portion of the Magistrate Judge’s Order requiring Defendants to pay attorney fees and costs should not be enforced based on Defendants’ counsel’s good faith belief that the Prosecutor’s Office is not part of the County (Id.).

Plaintiffs argue that the Magistrate Judge clearly and correctly concluded that documents in the possession of the Prosecutor’s Office are in the possession of the County (Id.). Plaintiffs posit that the County remains a Defendant in this ease, and in Plaintiffs’ First Set of Interrogatories, the County was defined to include its “employees and/or agents, and/or other persons acting or purporting to act on [behalf of the County]” (Id.). Plaintiffs request that the Court (1) uphold that part of the Magistrate Judge’s order appearing to hold that the documents in possession of the Prosecutor’s Office are considered to be in the possession of the County, (2) to hold that henceforth all responsive documents in the possession of the Prosecutor’s Office are to be considered in the possession of the County and are to produced accordingly, absent legitimate privilege, and (3) to require that, when documents in the Prosecutor’s Office are withheld based on an asserted privilege, that a privilege log shall be provided (Id.).

3. Analysis

Having reviewed the Magistrate Judge’s Order and the parties’ respective arguments, the Court finds well-taken the position that the drafts of the Opinion Letter fall within the scope of Plaintiffs’ document requests. The Court agrees that the imposition of attorneys fees and costs is unnecessary in this ease as Defense counsel acted in a good faith understanding that the documents were not within the possession of the County. The Court does not find erroneous the Magistrate Judge’s finding that Defendant Parrot waived any attorney-client privilege associated with the drafts when he produced the final version of the Opinion Letter to Plaintiffs.

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220 F.R.D. 523, 58 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 645, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5663, 2004 WL 717264, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chesher-v-neyer-ohsd-2004.