Executive Management Services, Inc. v. Fifth Third Bank

309 F.R.D. 455, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 105600, 2015 WL 4758696
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Indiana
DecidedAugust 12, 2015
DocketNo. 1:13-cv-00582-WTL-MJD
StatusPublished

This text of 309 F.R.D. 455 (Executive Management Services, Inc. v. Fifth Third Bank) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Indiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Executive Management Services, Inc. v. Fifth Third Bank, 309 F.R.D. 455, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 105600, 2015 WL 4758696 (S.D. Ind. 2015).

Opinion

ORDER ON MOTIONS TO COMPEL

MARK J. DINSMORE, United States Magistrate Judge.

This matter comes before the Court on Fifth Third Bank’s (“Defendant”) Motions to Compel Production from Somerset CPAs, P.C. [Dkt. 178] and to Compel Plaintiffs and Bose, or, in the Alternative, Motion for Evi-dentiary Inference [Dkt. 183]. For the following reasons, the Court hereby GRANTS IN PART and DENIES IN PART each of Defendant’s motions to compel.

I. Background

Plaintiffs Executive Management Services, Inc. (EMS), EMS Florida, Inc. (“EMS Florida”), D & B Ventures, LLC (“D & B”), and Air Golf II, LLC (“Air Golf’) (collectively “Plaintiffs”) filed this suit against Defendant on April 8, 2013. [Dkt. 1 at 1.] Around January 24, 2006, the EMS Plaintiffs and Defendant entered into an interest rate swap agreement (“Agreement”), which was memorialized on an International Swap Dealers Association Master Agreement form and an accompanying Schedule. [Dkt. 1-2 at 1.] Due to the credit crisis that began in 2008, the Agreement between the EMS Plaintiffs and Defendant was not successful, and Plaintiffs thereafter filed this suit. [Dkt. 1 at 10-11.]

Soon after Plaintiffs filed their Complaint, Defendant filed its Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings [Dkt. 37], which the District Judge granted in part and denied in part [Dkt. 74]. Accordingly, two of the Plaintiffs’ four original claims remain: (1) Breach of the Duty of Good Faith and Fair Dealing, which involves the unfolding of the parties’ business relationship beginning in 2008 and (2) Breach of Fiduciary Duty, which involves Defendant’s communications to Plaintiffs pri- or to entering into the Agreement in 2006 and until the termination of the parties’ business relationship. [See Dkt. 1 (Counts III and IV, respectively) and Dkt. 74 (Entry on Defendant’s Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings).]

Throughout the course of discovery, it has become apparent to Defendant that, during the period relevant to the remaining claims of this lawsuit, Somerset CPAs, P.C. (“Som[458]*458erset”) served as Plaintiffs’ outside accounting firm. [Dkt. 179 at 1.] On March 10, 2015, in order to obtain information relevant to Plaintiff claims, Defendant served Somerset with a Subpoena and Non-Party Request for Production of Documents. [Id,.] In response, Somerset objected to producing the requested documents to Defendant for several reasons, including accountant-client privilege, but supplied Plaintiffs with their client file, which consists of 381 electronic folders of 6,357 files, including tax returns, work papers, and correspondence. [Dkt. 195 at 3-4.] Because it has yet to receive any responsive documents and asserts that the accountant-client privilege does not apply, Defendant filed a Motion to Compel Production from Somerset. [Dkt. 179 at 1.]

Additionally, in response to Defendant’s September 26, 2013 request for production of documents, Plaintiffs withheld certain relevant communications with the law firm Bose McKinney & Evans, LLP (“Bose”) on the basis of attorney-client privilege. [Dkt. 184 at 2.] While the corresponding privilege log noted some such correspondence, Defendant is not convinced that the entirety of the withheld communications have been logged and asserts that the communications have not been properly withheld. [Id] Thus, on June 3, 2014, Defendant additionally served Bose with a Subpoena and Non-Party Request for Production of Documents, and Bose responded in part by providing Defendant with redacted documents and no accompanying privilege log. [Id] Based on its dissatisfaction with Plaintiffs’ and Bose’s responses, Defendant sought leave to file a motion to compel, which was granted, and filed its Motion to Compel Plaintiffs and Bose. [Id at 184.] On July 31, 2015, oral argument was held on both of Defendant’s pending motions to compel, which motions are now before the Court.

II. Legal Standard

Rule 37 permits a party to file a motion to compel an opposing party to make a required disclosure upon “evasive or incomplete disclosure, answer, or response.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 37(a). A required disclosure, as broadly defined by Rule 26, includes any information that a party may use to support its claims. Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(a)(1)(A). “For good cause, the court may order discovery of any matter relevant” to the issues of the case. Fed. R.Civ.P. 26(b)(1). With regard to requesting discovery from non-parties, Rule 45 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure outlines the procedures for serving a third party with a subpoena for testimony or document production. Fed.R.Civ.P. 45. When seeking such evidence from a non-party, the party issuing the subpoena “must take reasonable steps to avoid imposing undue burden or expense on a person subject to the subpoena.” Fed. R.Civ.P. 45(d)(1). Additionally, while the third party may timely object to the requested production, the serving party then “may move the court ... for an order compelling production or inspection” of the requested materials. Fed.R.Civ.P. 45(d)(2). Ultimately, this Court has “broad discretion in discovery matters, [including when ruling on a] motion to compel discovery.” Packman v. Chicago Tribune Co., 267 F.3d 628, 646 (7th Cir.2001).

III. Discussion

At oral argument, Defendant confirmed that its present discovery dispute has been narrowed to the following documents since it initially filed its motions to compel: (1) the 6,357 documents that make up Plaintiffs’ client file with Somerset, which Somerset previously produced to Plaintiffs’ counsel, though Defendant seeks to reserve the right to request additional searches of Somerset’s files at a later date; (2) communications between Plaintiffs and Bose that allegedly pertain to the underlying financial transaction and Agreement; and (3) the invoices of Bose, which were produced in a redacted form without an accompanying privilege log.

A. Choice of Privilege Law

All of the documents at issue are potentially privileged materials, either through accountant-client privilege or attorney-client privilege. Thus, in order to properly determine whether the documents at issue are discoverable, the Court must first determine which state’s privilege laws apply. Defendant asserts that New York state privilege law applies due to the fact that the parties’ [459]*459“Agreement will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.” [Dkt. 179 at 11-12 (argument); Dkt.

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Bluebook (online)
309 F.R.D. 455, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 105600, 2015 WL 4758696, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/executive-management-services-inc-v-fifth-third-bank-insd-2015.