Dixon v. Certainteed Corp.

164 F.R.D. 685, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1695, 1996 WL 69577
District Court, D. Kansas·Decided February 14, 1996·No. Civ. A. No. 94-2310-GTV·Published·Cited by 25 cases

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

RUSHFELT, United States Magistrate Judge.

The court has under consideration a Motion To Compel CertainTeed Corporation (CertainTeed) to Disclose The Addresses And Telephone Numbers Of Individuals Identified Pursuant To Rule 26 and For Sanctions (doc. 113) and a Motion For Leave To Take Additional Depositions of Certain-Teed Employees and For Sanctions (doc. 114), both filed by plaintiff Barney Dixon. Fed.R.Civ.P. 37 governs motions to compel. Fed.R.Civ.P. 30 governs motions for leave to take additional depositions. Defendant Cer-tainTeed opposes the motions.

Plaintiff seeks an order permitting him to depose 17 employees of CertainTeed and re-depose two witnesses, Susan Lovell and Doug Hall. He further seeks an order compelling CertainTeed to disclose the address and telephone numbers of all individuals identified pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(a). In addition he seeks reimbursement of his costs and expenses incurred upon the motions. He also seeks to place the costs of redepos-ing the two witnesses upon CertainTeed. He requests that, pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 37(c)(1), the court inform the jury of the failure of CertainTeed to make disclosures.

At the planning meeting pursuant Fed. R.Civ.P. 26(f), the parties agreed to limit the number of depositions to 30. Plaintiff claims he “was sandbagged by defendant” into agreeing to this limit. He points out that, soon after suggesting such a limit, Certain-Teed identified 31 individuals with discoverable information. It also identified ten relevant documents at that time. Despite such identification, plaintiff contends that Certain-Teed did not identify all relevant documents or all persons with discoverable information. He suggests that CertainTeed should have identified safety reports of its safety teams who inspect its premises, which in turn would identify the members of such teams. He asserts that members of safety teams would likely have discoverable information relevant to disputed facts. He further argues the safety reports would be relevant to disputed facts alleged with particularity in the pleadings. He suggests that he would have used the reports to cross-examine CertainTeed deponents had he had them. He proposes that the failure to identify all persons necessitates additional depositions. He claims the information sought is crucial to his case.

Plaintiff has sought, to no avail, addresses and telephone numbers of persons identified pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(a) so that he can informally interview them. He asked Cer-tainTeed to provide such information when it expressed a concern about escalating costs of discovery and told him that it would not voluntarily produce any further employees for deposition. He suggests that he had to turn to the court when CertainTeed denied his request for the information. He asserts that CertainTeed wrongfully believes that he cannot properly interview its past or present employees.

Plaintiff also suggests the untimely identification of documents necessitates redeposing Ms. Lovell and Mr. Hall. Ms. Lovell was a plant nurse. Plaintiff deposed her for her knowledge of the accident and the care she provided him. Unknown to plaintiff at the time of her deposition, Ms. Lovell had served [688] as a member of a safety team which had inspected the premises of CertainTeed two weeks before the accident leading to this lawsuit. Plaintiff asserts that four months after her deposition defendant CertainTeed produced a safety report, revealing such information. He contends that the condition of the premises two weeks prior to his accident is highly relevant and should have been disclosed pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(a). He wants to redepose Ms. Lovell to inquire about her participation on the safety team.

When deposing Mr. Hall, plaintiff did not know that the co-defendant Precision Constructors, Inc., had interviewed Hall the day after plaintiffs accident. A construction log reveals statements by Mr. Hall regarding the area where the accident occurred. Plaintiff contends he did not inquire into such matters, because he had no knowledge of the log until four months after the deposition of Mr. Hall. He wants to redepose Mr. Hall for the limited purpose of inquiring about the statements to Precision.

Plaintiff believes sanctions are appropriate for the conduct of CertainTeed. He contends that Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(g)(1) mandates that a party make reasonable inquiry into the facts, before making disclosures pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(a). He suggests that CertainTeed did not conduct a reasonable investigation. He argues, that if it had, then it would have identified the safety reports discussed herein, which in turn would have identified members of safety teams at Cer-tainTeed. He contends, furthermore, that CertainTeed should have produced the construction log before the deposition of Mr. Hall. He also contends that CertainTeed has a photograph depicting an unsafe guardrail that it still has not produced. He submits that these failures have caused needless expenditure of time and effort. He suggests that the court sanction CertainTeed for such conduct.

CertainTeed suggests that resolution of both motions turns on a single issue, i.e. whether it should be required to produce additional employees for depositions. It contends that plaintiff has had more than adequate access to its employees. It submits that discovery expenses are mounting. It suggests, furthermore, that the discovery sought is cumulative and duplicative. Citing correspondence between counsel for the parties, it maintains that home addresses and phone numbers of current employees are not necessary at the initial disclosure stage, as plaintiff cannot informally contact such employees. It suggests, moreover, that the applicable address for current employees would be its business address. It submits that sanctions are inappropriate. It claims to have made a reasonable investigation before its disclosures. It asks the court to expressly limit the number of future depositions, if the court decides to allow additional ones. It also asks for reimbursement of its costs and expenses expended in response to the motions.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Dixon v. Certainteed Corp., 164 F.R.D. 685, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1695, 1996 WL 69577 (D. Kan. 1996).

164 F.R.D. 685 (Dixon v. Certainteed Corp.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related