1 2 3 4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 5 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 6 SAN JOSE DIVISION 7 8 GREGORY HANDLOSER, et al., Case No. 19-cv-01242-LHK (VKD)
9 Plaintiffs, ORDER RE JULY 3, 2021 DISCOVERY 10 v. DISPUTE
11 HCL AMERICA, INC., et al., Re: Dkt. No. 210 Defendants. 12
13 14 Defendants HCL America, Inc. and HCL Technologies, Ltd. (collectively “HCL”) ask the 15 Court to order plaintiffs Gregory Handloser and Cerafin Castillo to provide additional discovery 16 and other relief relating to damages. Dkt. No. 210. Plaintiffs oppose the additional discovery as 17 overbroad and unwarranted. Id. The Court finds this matter suitable for determination without 18 oral argument. See Civil L.R. 7-1(b). 19 For the reasons explained below, the Court will require Mr. Castillo to provide additional 20 discovery, but will not require him to submit to an independent medical examination. The Court 21 will also require Mr. Handloser to provide additional discovery. 22 I. BACKGROUND 23 At issue in this case are plaintiffs’ individual claims for (1) disparate treatment on the basis 24 of race and citizenship in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1981; (2) disparate treatment on the basis of 25 race and national origin in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq.; and (3) disparate impact on the 26 basis of race and national origin in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq. Dkt. No. 40 at ¶¶ 51-63. 27 Both plaintiffs seek monetary relief. In addition to economic losses, both claim non-economic 1 relationships caused by HCL’s discrimination.” Dkt. No. 210-2 (response to Interrogatory No. 2); 2 Dkt. No. 211-8 (response to Interrogatory No. 2). 3 With respect to Mr. Castillo, HCL seeks the following discovery: 4 1. mental health and medical records from 2013 to present relating to injuries or 5 symptoms allegedly caused by HCL; 6 2. deposition testimony regarding psychiatric treatment, as to which Mr. Castillo 7 previously refused to testify on grounds of privilege; and 8 3. an independent medical examination, consisting of a clinical interview by Dr. 9 Margo Leahy and a mental status examination by Dr. Paul Berg. 10 With respect to Mr. Handloser, HCL seeks the following discovery and other relief: 11 1. performance reviews for his work at Infosys for the period 2010-2012; and 12 2. a stipulation that he claims only “garden variety” emotional distress. 13 II. LEGAL STANDARDS 14 As a general matter, HCL may obtain discovery of any matter that is relevant to a claim or 15 defense and that is “proportional to the needs of case, considering the importance of the issues at 16 stake in the action, the amount in controversy, the parties’ relative access to relevant information, 17 the parties’ resources, the importance of the discovery in resolving the issues, and whether the 18 burden or expense of the proposed discovery outweighs its likely benefit.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 19 26(b)(1). 20 Rule 35 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that, for good cause shown, a 21 court “may order a party whose mental or physical condition . . . is in controversy to submit to a 22 physical or mental examination by a suitably licensed or certified examiner.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 23 35(a). The party seeking the examination must demonstrate that the mental or physical condition 24 is in controversy and that good cause exists for the examination. Schlagenhauf v. Holder, 379 25 U.S. 104, 118-119 (1964). In evaluating whether a mental condition is in controversy, courts in 26 the Ninth Circuit typically consider whether, in addition to a claim of emotional distress, the case 27 involves one or more of the following factors: (1) a claim for intentional or negligent infliction of 1 of unusually severe emotional distress; (4) the plaintiff’s use of expert testimony to support a 2 claim of emotional distress; and (5) the plaintiff’s concession that his mental condition is in 3 controversy. See, e.g., Pringle v. Wheeler, No. 19-cv-7432-WHO, 2021 WL 1907824 at *2 (N.D. 4 Cal. Apr, 16, 2021). Good cause requires a showing, beyond mere relevance, of specific facts 5 justifying the need for an examination. Schlagenhauf, 379 U.S. at 118. Relevant factors include 6 the possibility of obtaining desired information by other means, whether plaintiff plans to prove 7 his claims through expert testimony, whether the examination will yield relevant information, and 8 whether plaintiff is claiming ongoing emotional distress. S.G. v. San Francisco Unified School 9 District, No. 17-cv-05678-EMC, 2019 WL 4479447 at *3 (N.D. Cal. Sept. 18, 2019). The 10 examination must be limited to the condition in controversy. Schlagenhauf, 379 U.S. at 118. 11 III. DISCUSSION 12 A. Discovery of Mr. Castillo 13 Mr. Castillo claims $400,000 in compensatory, non-economic damages. As reflected in 14 his response to HCL’s Interrogatory No. 2, Mr. Castillo claims he suffered (i) significant anxiety 15 and emotional distress, for which he sought treatment, (ii) significant mental anguish and 16 humiliation, and (iii) stress to his marital relationship. Although it is not clear from his 17 interrogatory answers, Mr. Castillo says in his portion of the joint submission that he seeks non- 18 economic damages for past mental health conditions. See Dkt. No. 210 at 8; Dkt. No. 210-2 19 (referring to mental health treatment and stress ceasing after 2019). 20 1. Records 21 HCL asks the Court to order Mr. Castillo to produce “mental health and medical records 22 from 2013 to present for any injuries or symptoms allegedly caused by HCL.” Dkt. No. 210 at 2; 23 Dkt. No. 210-1 (Request No. 13). Mr. Castillo has agreed to produce records for the period 2018- 24 2019, but objects to producing records before or after those dates. 25 The records HCL seeks are relevant to Mr. Castillo’s claim that HCL’s conduct caused the 26 injuries for which he claims non-economic damages. HCL is entitled to obtain records for a 27 reasonable period both before and after the specific period on which Mr. Castillo relies in order to 1 JST (DMR), 2013 WL 942499 at *3 (N.D. Cal. March 11, 2013) (permitting discovery of records 2 before claimed period of emotional distress as “[s]uch records may serve to verify the existence 3 and severity of Plaintiff’s symptoms, and may provide evidence pointing to causes other than 4 Defendants’ actions”). It is not clear from Mr. Castillo’s response to Interrogatory No. 2 or from 5 the joint submission whether or when all of the conditions or symptoms he attributes to HCL’s 6 conduct began or ceased. He states that he “did not seek medical treatment as a result of HCL’s 7 discrimination after 2019,” and that “[t]he stress to his marital relationship ended in 2019 and is 8 not ongoing.” Dkt. No. 210-2. However, he does not say that he no longer suffers from anxiety, 9 emotional distress, mental anguish, and humiliation, nor does he disavow damages for those 10 symptoms or conditions that he may continue to experience. 11 In these circumstances, the Court will permit discovery of Mr. Castillo’s mental health and 12 medical records for the same types of symptoms or conditions he claims were caused by HCL’s 13 conduct beginning two years before he first applied to HCL through the present.
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1 2 3 4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 5 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 6 SAN JOSE DIVISION 7 8 GREGORY HANDLOSER, et al., Case No. 19-cv-01242-LHK (VKD)
9 Plaintiffs, ORDER RE JULY 3, 2021 DISCOVERY 10 v. DISPUTE
11 HCL AMERICA, INC., et al., Re: Dkt. No. 210 Defendants. 12
13 14 Defendants HCL America, Inc. and HCL Technologies, Ltd. (collectively “HCL”) ask the 15 Court to order plaintiffs Gregory Handloser and Cerafin Castillo to provide additional discovery 16 and other relief relating to damages. Dkt. No. 210. Plaintiffs oppose the additional discovery as 17 overbroad and unwarranted. Id. The Court finds this matter suitable for determination without 18 oral argument. See Civil L.R. 7-1(b). 19 For the reasons explained below, the Court will require Mr. Castillo to provide additional 20 discovery, but will not require him to submit to an independent medical examination. The Court 21 will also require Mr. Handloser to provide additional discovery. 22 I. BACKGROUND 23 At issue in this case are plaintiffs’ individual claims for (1) disparate treatment on the basis 24 of race and citizenship in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1981; (2) disparate treatment on the basis of 25 race and national origin in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq.; and (3) disparate impact on the 26 basis of race and national origin in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq. Dkt. No. 40 at ¶¶ 51-63. 27 Both plaintiffs seek monetary relief. In addition to economic losses, both claim non-economic 1 relationships caused by HCL’s discrimination.” Dkt. No. 210-2 (response to Interrogatory No. 2); 2 Dkt. No. 211-8 (response to Interrogatory No. 2). 3 With respect to Mr. Castillo, HCL seeks the following discovery: 4 1. mental health and medical records from 2013 to present relating to injuries or 5 symptoms allegedly caused by HCL; 6 2. deposition testimony regarding psychiatric treatment, as to which Mr. Castillo 7 previously refused to testify on grounds of privilege; and 8 3. an independent medical examination, consisting of a clinical interview by Dr. 9 Margo Leahy and a mental status examination by Dr. Paul Berg. 10 With respect to Mr. Handloser, HCL seeks the following discovery and other relief: 11 1. performance reviews for his work at Infosys for the period 2010-2012; and 12 2. a stipulation that he claims only “garden variety” emotional distress. 13 II. LEGAL STANDARDS 14 As a general matter, HCL may obtain discovery of any matter that is relevant to a claim or 15 defense and that is “proportional to the needs of case, considering the importance of the issues at 16 stake in the action, the amount in controversy, the parties’ relative access to relevant information, 17 the parties’ resources, the importance of the discovery in resolving the issues, and whether the 18 burden or expense of the proposed discovery outweighs its likely benefit.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 19 26(b)(1). 20 Rule 35 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that, for good cause shown, a 21 court “may order a party whose mental or physical condition . . . is in controversy to submit to a 22 physical or mental examination by a suitably licensed or certified examiner.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 23 35(a). The party seeking the examination must demonstrate that the mental or physical condition 24 is in controversy and that good cause exists for the examination. Schlagenhauf v. Holder, 379 25 U.S. 104, 118-119 (1964). In evaluating whether a mental condition is in controversy, courts in 26 the Ninth Circuit typically consider whether, in addition to a claim of emotional distress, the case 27 involves one or more of the following factors: (1) a claim for intentional or negligent infliction of 1 of unusually severe emotional distress; (4) the plaintiff’s use of expert testimony to support a 2 claim of emotional distress; and (5) the plaintiff’s concession that his mental condition is in 3 controversy. See, e.g., Pringle v. Wheeler, No. 19-cv-7432-WHO, 2021 WL 1907824 at *2 (N.D. 4 Cal. Apr, 16, 2021). Good cause requires a showing, beyond mere relevance, of specific facts 5 justifying the need for an examination. Schlagenhauf, 379 U.S. at 118. Relevant factors include 6 the possibility of obtaining desired information by other means, whether plaintiff plans to prove 7 his claims through expert testimony, whether the examination will yield relevant information, and 8 whether plaintiff is claiming ongoing emotional distress. S.G. v. San Francisco Unified School 9 District, No. 17-cv-05678-EMC, 2019 WL 4479447 at *3 (N.D. Cal. Sept. 18, 2019). The 10 examination must be limited to the condition in controversy. Schlagenhauf, 379 U.S. at 118. 11 III. DISCUSSION 12 A. Discovery of Mr. Castillo 13 Mr. Castillo claims $400,000 in compensatory, non-economic damages. As reflected in 14 his response to HCL’s Interrogatory No. 2, Mr. Castillo claims he suffered (i) significant anxiety 15 and emotional distress, for which he sought treatment, (ii) significant mental anguish and 16 humiliation, and (iii) stress to his marital relationship. Although it is not clear from his 17 interrogatory answers, Mr. Castillo says in his portion of the joint submission that he seeks non- 18 economic damages for past mental health conditions. See Dkt. No. 210 at 8; Dkt. No. 210-2 19 (referring to mental health treatment and stress ceasing after 2019). 20 1. Records 21 HCL asks the Court to order Mr. Castillo to produce “mental health and medical records 22 from 2013 to present for any injuries or symptoms allegedly caused by HCL.” Dkt. No. 210 at 2; 23 Dkt. No. 210-1 (Request No. 13). Mr. Castillo has agreed to produce records for the period 2018- 24 2019, but objects to producing records before or after those dates. 25 The records HCL seeks are relevant to Mr. Castillo’s claim that HCL’s conduct caused the 26 injuries for which he claims non-economic damages. HCL is entitled to obtain records for a 27 reasonable period both before and after the specific period on which Mr. Castillo relies in order to 1 JST (DMR), 2013 WL 942499 at *3 (N.D. Cal. March 11, 2013) (permitting discovery of records 2 before claimed period of emotional distress as “[s]uch records may serve to verify the existence 3 and severity of Plaintiff’s symptoms, and may provide evidence pointing to causes other than 4 Defendants’ actions”). It is not clear from Mr. Castillo’s response to Interrogatory No. 2 or from 5 the joint submission whether or when all of the conditions or symptoms he attributes to HCL’s 6 conduct began or ceased. He states that he “did not seek medical treatment as a result of HCL’s 7 discrimination after 2019,” and that “[t]he stress to his marital relationship ended in 2019 and is 8 not ongoing.” Dkt. No. 210-2. However, he does not say that he no longer suffers from anxiety, 9 emotional distress, mental anguish, and humiliation, nor does he disavow damages for those 10 symptoms or conditions that he may continue to experience. 11 In these circumstances, the Court will permit discovery of Mr. Castillo’s mental health and 12 medical records for the same types of symptoms or conditions he claims were caused by HCL’s 13 conduct beginning two years before he first applied to HCL through the present. See Tamburri, 14 2013 WL 942499 at *3 (limiting discovery to “records that concern the types of mental or 15 emotional distress that Plaintiff specifically has put at issue, and their accompanying mental and 16 physical symptoms, manifestations and effects”). 17 2. Deposition 18 HCL asks the Court to order Mr. Castillo to submit to further deposition regarding his 19 psychiatric treatment. Mr. Castillo does not dispute that he refused to answer deposition questions 20 concerning his psychiatric treatment, even though he now seeks damages relating to that 21 treatment. The Court is not persuaded that his belated agreement to produce some records of his 22 treatment renders testimony about his treatment unreasonably duplicative. 23 Accordingly, Mr. Castillo must sit for further a deposition for the limited purpose of 24 answering the questions he initially refused to answer (see Dkt. No. 211-6) and reasonable follow 25 up questions. The deposition may not exceed one hour. 26 3. Independent Mental Examination 27 HCL asks the Court to order Mr. Castillo to submit to two separate mental examinations. 1 Court notes that a mental examination under Rule 35 requires a court order (absent stipulation of 2 the parties), and HCL did not ask the Court to order such an examination until after fact discovery 3 closed on June 28, 2021. 4 Mr. Castillo does not dispute that his mental condition is in controversy. His claim is not 5 limited to “garden variety” emotion distress but includes allegations of a specific mental health 6 condition (anxiety) that was of sufficient severity that he sought psychiatric treatment for it. 7 Accordingly, the Court finds that the first requirement for an examination is met. 8 The parties dispute whether HCL has shown good cause for a mental examination of Mr. 9 Castillo. HCL relies heavily on Snipes v. United States, 334 F.R.D. 667, 671 (N.D. Cal. 2020), 10 citing Mr. Castillo’s failure to produce medical records sufficient to permit HCL to assess the 11 nature, cause, extent, expected duration, and appropriate treatment of his mental health condition 12 and emotional distress. Mr. Castillo responds that the injuries for which he sought treatment are 13 past and any relevant information can be obtained from his interrogatory responses and from the 14 medical records he has agreed to produce. 15 HCL’s request for a Rule 35 order is untimely. However, even if it were not, the Court 16 concludes that HCL has not shown good cause for an order requiring Mr. Castillo to submit to an 17 independent medical examination. HCL’s showing is superficial and is premised almost 18 exclusively on Mr. Castillo’s failure to produce complete medical records and his failure to answer 19 questions in deposition. As discussed above, the Court will require Mr. Castillo to remedy these 20 deficiencies. The Court denies HCL’s request for an examination. 21 B. Discovery of Mr. Handloser 22 Mr. Handloser claims $3 million in compensatory, non-economic damages. As reflected in 23 his response to HCL’s Interrogatory No. 2, Mr. Handloser claims he suffered (i) humiliation, 24 (ii) harm to his professional reputation, and (iii) stress to his familial relationships. Dkt. No. 211-8 25 (response to Interrogatory No. 2). However, he contends that he does not claim ongoing 26 emotional distress and only ever experienced “garden variety” emotional distress. Dkt. No. 210 at 27 10. HCL observes that Mr. Handloser’s $3 million damages amount is inconsistent with a 1 “the non-economic damages amount cited by HCL encompasses more than emotional distress.” 2 Id. at 10. 3 1. Performance reviews 4 HCL argues that Mr. Handloser should produce the performance reviews from his work at 5 Infosys during the period 2010-2012 because it expects these reviews will show that Mr. 6 Handloser performed poorly, thereby undermining his current claim for 10 years’ front pay based 7 upon his history of employment. Mr. Handloser objects to this discovery on the ground that the 8 documents requested pre-date his first application to HCL by seven years and are therefore 9 irrelevant, and in any event, he says that HCL has subpoenaed these same records from Infosys. 10 The Court finds that the Infosys performance reviews are relevant to Mr. Handloser’s 11 damages claims, insofar as they may explain why he was fired from his position with that 12 company, which may support HCL’s defense to his claim regarding future employability. 13 However, if HCL has already obtained the records from Infosys by subpoena, Mr. Handloser need 14 not produce them himself. 15 2. Stipulation 16 HCL demands that Mr. Handloser stipulate that he seeks only “garden variety” emotional 17 distress damages. Mr. Handloser refuses to so stipulate, citing his interrogatory answer which he 18 says clearly refers to only “garden variety” emotional distress damages, in addition to other 19 damages unrelated to emotional distress. 20 The Court is not persuaded that Mr. Handloser must provide the stipulation HCL demands, 21 but some clarification of Mr. Handloser’s position is required. Mr. Handloser’s answer to 22 Interrogatory No. 2 is ambiguous. To address this ambiguity, Mr. Handloser must identify the 23 portion of the $3 million amount of “non-economic damages” he attributes to emotional distress 24 and the portion he attributes to other sources. In addition, Mr. Handloser must clarify whether his 25 emotional distress is ongoing, or whether it has ceased, and if so, by what date. 26 IV. CONCLUSION 27 Plaintiffs shall provide the additional discovery specified above as follows: 1 shall sit for a further deposition, not to exceed one hour, at a mutually agreeable date and time, but 2 || not later than July 30, 2021, unless the parties agree otherwise. 3 Mr. Handloser must produce his performance reviews by July 21, 2021, unless Infosys has 4 already produced them. He must serve his amended response to Interrogatory No. 2 by July 21, 5 2021. 6 IT IS SO ORDERED. 7 Dated: July 12, 2021 8 9 VIRGINIA K. DEMARCHI 10 United States Magistrate Judge 11 12
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