Fausto v. Credigy Services Corp.

251 F.R.D. 427, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 53108, 2008 WL 2441927
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedJune 13, 2008
DocketNo. C07-05658 JW (RS)
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 251 F.R.D. 427 (Fausto v. Credigy Services Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fausto v. Credigy Services Corp., 251 F.R.D. 427, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 53108, 2008 WL 2441927 (N.D. Cal. 2008).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION TO COMPEL AND DENYING DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR A PROTECTIVE ORDER

RICHARD SEEBORG, United States Magistrate Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiffs Manuel and Luz Fausto bring suit under federal and California debt collection laws prohibiting debt collectors from engaging in abusive, deceptive, or unfair collection practices. The Faustos allege that Defendants Credigy Services Corporation, Credigy Receivables Inc., and Credigy Solutions Inc. (collectively “Credigy”) and five Credigy employees engaged in an unlawful letter-writing and telephone campaign in an effort to collect payment on a disputed debt.

Pursuant to Rules 26, 33, and 34 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Faustos move to compel initial disclosures and discovery. As the discovery is relevant, non-privileged, and overdue, the motion to compel will be granted.

Defendant Credigy, in turn, moves for a protective order excusing four individual defendants from appearing at deposition in Atlanta, Georgia. The date noticed for the deposition having passed, the motion seeks primarily to protect these four defendants— all of whom are believed to reside in Brazil— from being required to appear for future deposition in the United States. As the Faustos have shown good cause to require the depositions be held in the United States rather than Brazil, Credigy’s motion for a protective order will be denied.

II. BACKGROUND

The Faustos allege violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act of 1978 and the California Rosenthal Act. While Credigy primarily operates in Georgia and Nevada, it also has an office in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The Faustos allege that four of the named defendants, Luis Silva Renato Nunez, Paulo Peres, Ricardo Ventura, and Rita De Cassia Goncalves, are Brazilian nationals, who engaged in illegal collection practices against them from Credigy’s Brazil office.

The international aspects of this suit create logistical challenges and some understandable delays in discovery. Credigy has yet been unable to locate, individually serve, or provide contact information for defendants Goncalves and Ventura, who are no longer employed by Credigy in Brazil.1 Additionally, defendants Nunez and Goncalves initially were misidentified as Ryan Miller and “Thompson,” a mistake that has only recently been corrected. Finally, counsel have been unable to agree where depositions should take place, as it appears that Brazilian law generally prohibits the taking of deposition testimony in Brazil for foreign trials.

Parties nevertheless are bound to a strict scheduling order and must continue to advance the discovery process. Accordingly, the Faustos have moved to compel unfulfilled discovery, including: (1) initial disclosures of the full legal names, last known home addresses, and telephone numbers of those individuals likely to have discoverable information relevant to the dispute, including the four Brazilian defendants and Brett Boyde, a U.S.-based Credigy employee; (2) response to interrogatories requesting the same for the five individual defendants and two additional Credigy employees, Moisés Moteli and Ralph Phillips; (3) production of personnel files for the five individual defendants, Moteli, and Phillips; (4) production of a broad array of Credigy’s financial records dating back to 2005; and (5) production of any available documentation showing Credigy [429]*429submitted the Faustos’s alleged debt to a credit reporting agency.

The Faustos also scheduled depositions of the Brazilian defendants (including the two not yet located or served) in Atlanta, Georgia in May 2008, following a brief and — Credigy asserts — unconcluded meet and confer process. The day before the scheduled depositions, Credigy moved for a protective order to excuse the Brazilian employees from appearing. Credigy argues that the call-center employees could not practically be expected to appear, since they were given less than a month’s notice to obtain visas and travel to the United States. Credigy also argues the Faustos have not shown required good cause to hold the depositions in the United States rather than Brazil.

III. STANDARDS

A. Motion to Compel

Rules 26, 33, 34, and 37 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure govern discovery requirements, motions to compel, and the resolution of discovery disputes. Significantly, FRCP 37 grants judicial authority to compel disclosure and discovery where a party has failed to do so in a timely fashion. A judge may grant such a motion upon certification by the moving party that he attempted in good faith to obtain the discovery without court action. Fed. R. Civ. P 37(a)(1).

FRCP 26, 33, and 34 articulate the bounds of authorized disclosures and discovery as relevant to this motion to compel. FRCP 26 requires that each party automatically disclose “the name and, if known, the address and telephone number of each individual likely to have discoverable information ... that the disclosing party may use to support its claims or defenses,” Fed. R. Civ. Pro. 26(a)(1)(A)(i), “based on the information then reasonably available to it.” Fed. R. Civ. Pro. 26(a)(2)(A). In discovery, parties similarly are required to inform opposing counsel of “the identity and location of persons who know of any discoverable matter.” Fed. R. Civ. Pro. 26(b)(1). A disclosing party “may not satisfy this obligation by disclosing its business address and phone number unless it knows of no other address and number.” Dixon v. Certainteed Corp., 164 F.R.D. 685, 689 (D.Kan.1996) (emphasis added). FRCP 26, therefore, requires each party to make a good faith effort to obtain particularized address and telephone information for individuals relevant to the litigation.

FRCP 33 and 34 govern the use of special interrogatories and requests for the production of documents in discovery. Answering parties must provide a written response to each item requested within 30 days of service that includes either a specific objection or a full answer or agreement to produce. Fed.R.Civ.P. 33(b)(3), (4); Fed.R.Civ.P. 34(b)(2)(A), (B). The answering party may object on the grounds of relevance or privilege.

B. Protective Order

Ordinarily, “the deposition of a party may be noticed wherever the deposing party designates, subject to the Court’s power to grant a protective order.” Turner v. Prudential Ins. Co. of America, 119 F.R.D. 381, 383 (M.D.N.C.1988).

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

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
251 F.R.D. 427, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 53108, 2008 WL 2441927, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fausto-v-credigy-services-corp-cand-2008.