Gibson v. National Railroad Passenger Corp.

170 F.R.D. 408, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1246, 1997 WL 56905
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedFebruary 10, 1997
DocketCivil Action No. 96-5430
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 170 F.R.D. 408 (Gibson v. National Railroad Passenger Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gibson v. National Railroad Passenger Corp., 170 F.R.D. 408, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1246, 1997 WL 56905 (E.D. Pa. 1997).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

JOYNER, District Judge.

This personal injury action is brought by a minor, Danron Gibson (“Danron”), by and through his parent and natural guardian, Da-nier Gibson (“Danier”), and by Danier in her own right, against the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (“Amtrak” or “Defendant”). Plaintiffs seek damages resulting from an incident in which Danron allegedly suffered electrical burns on property owned by Amtrak.1 Plaintiffs seek recovery, inter alia, under the so-called “attractive nuisance doctrine,” whereby landowners may be held liable for damages caused by “Artificial Con[409]*409ditions Highly Dangerous to Trespassing Children.” Restatement (Second) of Torts, § 339; see also Thompson v. Reading Co., 343 Pa. 585, 23 A.2d 729 (1942)(adopting § 339).2

On November 8, 1996, Plaintiffs served Amtrak with 30 Interrogatories, 23 Requests for Production of Documents, and 18 Requests for Admission. Amtrak answered 33 of these discovery requests without objection and objected to the remaining 38, of which it answered 28 to the extent that it did not object After making reasonable efforts to resolve the disputes, Plaintiffs filed the instant Motion to Strike Defendant’s Discovery Responses and to compel complete responses to their Interrogatories, Requests for Production of Documents, and Requests for Admission.

We agree with most of the arguments Amtrak makes in response to Plaintiffs’ Motion and, accordingly, sustain its objections. In particular, we note our agreement with Amtrak’s objections to Interrogatories 27, 29, and 30 and Document Requests 22 and 23. These requests, as currently worded, seek information beyond the scope of Rule 26(b)(1) and are unduly burdensome. Plaintiffs must confine these requests,to the parameters of the attractive nuisance doctrine as defined in § 339. We limit the scope of this Memorandum, however, to an analysis of Amtrak’s objection to Plaintiffs’ Request for Production of Documents 10. We sustain Amtrak’s objection, but we believe further discussion is warranted to avoid subsequent confusion and delay.

In Request for Production of Documents 10, Plaintiffs ask Amtrak to produce for inspection and copying “[a]ll photographs and/or motion pictures of any and all surveillance of plaintiff performed by anyone acting on behalf of defendant, defendant’s insurer and/or defendant’s attorney.” (Pis.’ Exh. C at 2) Amtrak neither confirms nor denies the existence of any such surveillance. Rather, it objects to this request “pursuant to 26(b)(1), 26(b)(3), the Work-Product Doctrine and Snead v. American Export-Isbrandtsen Lines, Inc., 59 F.R.D. 148 (E.D.Pa.1973), and the cases decided subsequent thereto.” (Def.’s Exh. C at 2-3) Amtrak argues that, until it decides to use such surveillance at trial, it need not even reveal the existence of any such films or tapes. Further, should it eventually decide to introduce any surveillance evidence at trial, Amtrak contends that it must be permitted to depose Plaintiff “to inquire as to the nature of and extent of the injuries claimed, their effects and current disabilities” before producing the films. (Def.’s Mem. at 20). There is no controlling precedent in this Circuit on these issues, therefore we exercise our discretion by drawing guidance from the numerous federal courts that have addressed similar situations.

Amtrak’s second contention is consistent with the approach courts generally take where a defendant in a personal injury action intends to introduce surveillance evidence of the plaintiff at trial. Photos taken and films made in surveillance of the plaintiff are plainly relevant to the litigation. See, e.g., Wegner v. Cliff Viessman, Inc., 153 F.R.D. 154, 159 (N.D.Iowa 1994); see also Chiasson v. Zapata Gulf Marine Corp., 988 F.2d 513, 517 (5th Cir.1993). Such evidence must also be regarded as work product since it is gathered in anticipation of litigation by a party or the party’s representative. See, e.g., Smith v. Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc., 168 F.R.D. 582 (S.D.Tex.1996); Ward v. CSX Transpor[410]*410tation, Inc., 161 F.R.D. 38, 40 (E.D.N.C. 1995); Wegner, 153 F.R.D. at 156; Snead, 59 F.R.D. at 150; see also Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(b)(3). Where that party intends to use the films at trial, however, courts generally find that the work product privilege is waived given the plaintiffs (1) substantial need for evidence that may prove critical at trial, and (2) inability to obtain the substantial equivalent of this record of plaintiffs condition at a particular time and place. See Smith, 168 F.R.D. at 586-87; Ward, 161 F.R.D. at 40-41; Blount v. Wake Electric Membership Corporation, 162 F.R.D. 102, 104 (E.D.N.C.1993); Wegner, 153 F.R.D. at 159-60; Snead, 59 F.R.D. at 151-52. To preserve the impeachment value of such surveillance, courts generally allow the plaintiffs deposition to be taken before any films or photos need be produced. See, e.g., Smith, 168 F.R.D. at 587. Indeed, this was the precise action taken by this Court in Corrigan v. Methodist Hospital, 158 F.R.D. 54, 58-59 (E.D.Pa.1994).

We also agree with Amtrak that, if it does not intend to introduce any surveillance evidence at trial, it need not produce the putative photos and films during discovery. A decision not to use the evidence at trial presumably indicates that it either corroborates Plaintiffs’ claims or is simply inconclusive. In either case, we find that the work product doctrine bars discovery because Plaintiffs have no substantial need of the evidence. See Fisher v. National R.R. Passenger Corp., 152 F.R.D. 145, 150-55 (S.D.Ind.1993); Snead, 59 F.R.D. at 151; but see In re Kaplan, 110 F.R.D. 161 (S.D.N.Y.1986)(requiring defendant to produce “not only those portions of film or tape which it intends to introduce at trial, but all films or tapes in its possession”); Delvaux v. Ford Motor Co., 518 F.Supp. 1249, 1252 (E.D.Wis.1981). Plaintiffs can clearly obtain evidence tending to prove that Danron’s injuries are as they claim without appropriating Amtrak’s work product. Fisher at 152-53.

We disagree, however, with Amtrak’s contention that it need not even disclose the existence of surveillance evidence until it decides that it intends to introduce the evidence at trial. First, such reasoning is inconsistent with discovery rules that “were designed to ... make trials ‘less a game of blind man’s bluff and more a fair contest.’ ” Wegner, 153 F.R.D. at 159 (citing United States v. Procter & Gamble Co., 356 U.S. 677, 682, 78 S.Ct. 983, 986, 2 L.Ed.2d 1077 (1958)); see also Smith, 168 F.R.D. at 586-87 (requiring disclosure of existence of surveillance evidence prior to taking of plaintiffs deposition). Indeed, Judge VanArtsdalen, a member of the three-judge panel that decided the seminal Snead case, quoted this very language in DiGiacobbe v. National Railroad Passenger Corp., 1987 WL 11227, *2 (E.D.Pa. May 21, 1987), affd

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Bluebook (online)
170 F.R.D. 408, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1246, 1997 WL 56905, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gibson-v-national-railroad-passenger-corp-paed-1997.