Continental Illinois National Bank & Trust Co. of Chicago v. Caton

136 F.R.D. 682, 1991 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16035, 1991 WL 86856
CourtDistrict Court, D. Kansas
DecidedMay 22, 1991
DocketNo. 88-1611-C
StatusPublished
Cited by74 cases

This text of 136 F.R.D. 682 (Continental Illinois National Bank & Trust Co. of Chicago v. Caton) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Continental Illinois National Bank & Trust Co. of Chicago v. Caton, 136 F.R.D. 682, 1991 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16035, 1991 WL 86856 (D. Kan. 1991).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

JOHN B. WOOLEY, United States Magistrate Judge.

On this 22nd day of May 1991, for decision by the court, is “Defendant Caton’s Motion to Compel” (Dkt. # 299) and Memorandum in Support thereof (Dkt. #300), both filed November 21, 1990. On December 10, 1990, plaintiff filed its Response thereto (Dkt. #304) and on January 4, 1991, Catón filed a Reply (Dkt. # 309).

Plaintiff is represented by W. Gordon Dobie, Dan K. Webb and Stephen C. Schulte of Winston & Strawn, Chicago, Illinois and Ken M. Peterson of Morris, Laing, Evans, Brock and Kennedy, Wichita, Kansas. Defendant Catón is represented by William R. Smith of Hershberger, Patterson, Jones & Roth, Wichita, Kansas. Kirchner Moore and Company is represented by James C. Ruh and John V. McDermott of Jensen, Byrne, Parsons, Ruh & Tilton, P.C., Denver, Colorado and John T. Conlee and David G. Seely of Fleeson, Gooing, Coulson & Kitch, Wichita, Kansas.

On August 9,1990, defendant Catón submitted eighteen interrogatories to plaintiff. On October 9, 1990, the court entered an Order (Page 3, Dkt. # 294, filed October 11, 1990) directing plaintiff to answer the outstanding Interrogatories submitted by Ca-tón. That order was based on the agreement of counsel, expressed in a telephone conversation October 9, 1990, that plaintiff would promptly answer the Interrogatories. On November 9,1990 (and before the Third Amended Complaint was filed March 6, 1991), plaintiff submitted its responses and, although substantive answers were supplied to some, plaintiff objected to all of the eighteen (18) Interrogatories except numbers 1 and 13. Number 1 is sufficiently answered. Plaintiff’s responses to 11 of the 18 questions are, for all practical purposes, the same. (See responses to Interrogatories numbered 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,11, 12 and 18.) Plaintiff’s response to number 10 is insufficient because it is premised on a false conclusion. Plaintiff’s response to number 13 is simply not responsive. Interrogatories 14-17, inclusive, are sufficiently answered. In the instant motion, Catón seeks to require the plaintiff to provide complete answers to the interrogatories.

Catón contends that plaintiff’s objections are without merit, that the answers given are incomplete and evasive; that Interrogatories 2 through 12 requested plaintiff to state specific facts supporting its various contentions and allegations in the complaint; that the incomplete and evasive manner in which plaintiff has responded is not a proper answer, and he refers the court, by way of example, to Interrogatory number 2 and the response thereto which requests the plaintiff to state facts supporting its various contentions and allegations in the complaint that Catón engaged in acts of racketeering, and plaintiff’s response thereto which, in addition to the objection that the interrogatory is overly broad, burdensome and oppressive, contained only references to Rule 33(c), the [684]*684depositions of Catón, Queen, Norton and Garden National Bank personnel, the Kirchner Moore employees and Continental Bank personnel, and the Third Amended Complaint.

Catón also refers to Interrogatory No. 13 in which he requested plaintiff to itemize its damages. In response, plaintiff failed to state any dollar amount and simply discussed the categories of damages sought. Catón states that after two and one-half years of litigation, he still does not know the amount of damages for which he is being sued, and argues that Rule 33, F.R. Cv.P. requires good faith answers be provided.

In addition, Catón requests, pursuant to F.R.Cv.P. 37(a)(4), that he be allowed expenses and attorney’s fees for having to file the instant motion and brief in support.

Plaintiff counters (1) that its answers comply with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure; (2) that, pursuant to the law of this Circuit, Catón has the burden of demonstrating that each interrogatory answer is incomplete and that plaintiff may more easily derive or ascertain the answer from identified documents than defendant; and (3) Caton’s request is burdensome, vexatious, unreasonably duplicative of other discovery, and would require plaintiff to do Caton’s trial preparation work and would necessitate that plaintiff review thirty depositions and all documents produced in this case.

Plaintiff argues that Catón fails to state which answers to the interrogatories are insufficient, and how each of the answers is insufficient.

Plaintiff also asserts that Interrogatory number 10 misstates paragraph 87 of the Amended Complaint and consequently it cannot be answered.

In Hickman v. Taylor, 329 U.S. 495, 500, 67 S.Ct. 385, 388, 91 L.Ed. 451 (1947), the United States Supreme Court stated:

The new rules ... restrict the pleadings to the task of general notice-giving and invest the deposition-discovery process with a vital role in the preparation for trial. The various instruments of discovery now serve (1) as a device, along with the pre-trial hearing under Rule 16, to narrow and clarify the basic issues between the parties, and (2) as a device for ascertaining the facts, or information as to the existence of whereabouts of facts, relative to those issues. Thus civil trial in the federal courts no longer need be carried on in the dark. The way is now clear, consistent with recognized privileges, for the parties to obtain the fullest possible knowledge of the issues and facts before trial.

An interrogatory may properly inquire into a party’s contentions in the case and the factual basis therefor. Bohannon v. Honda Motor Company, Ltd., 127 F.R.D. 536 (D.Kan.1989), citing Hercules, Inc. v. Exxon Corp., 434 F.Supp. 136, 157 (D.Del.1977).

The defendant is entitled to know the factual basis of plaintiff’s allegations and the documents which the plaintiff intends to use to support those allegations. Kar Products, Inc. v. Avnet, Inc., 78 F.R.D. 204 (N.D.Ga.1978); Chubb Integrated Systems Limited v. National Bank of Washington, 103 F.R.D. 52 (D.D.C.1984).

The proper way to answer an interrogatory is found in Miller v. Doctor’s General Hospital, 76 F.R.D. 136, 140 (W.D.Okla. 1977).

... The answers to interrogatories must be responsive, full, complete and uneva-sive. The answering party cannot limit his answers to matters within his own knowledge and ignore information immediately available to him or under his con-trol____ If an appropriate interrogatory is propounded, the answering party will be required to give the information available to him, if any, through his attorney, investigators employed by him or on his behalf or other agents or representative whether personally known to the answering party or note ... If the answering party lacks necessary information to make a full, fair and specific answer to an interrogatory, it should so state under oath and should set forth in detail the efforts made to obtain the information,

(citations omitted).

All discovery requests are a burden on the party who must respond there[685]*685to. Unless the task of producing or answering is unusual, undue or extraordinary, the general rule requires the entity answering or producing the documents to bear that burden. Jackson Jordan, Inc. v. Kyle Railways, Inc., No. 87-1059 (D.Kan. March 22, 1988).

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136 F.R.D. 682, 1991 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16035, 1991 WL 86856, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/continental-illinois-national-bank-trust-co-of-chicago-v-caton-ksd-1991.