Hendricks v. Alcoa Steamship Co.

32 F.R.D. 169, 6 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 769, 1962 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6035
District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania·Decided December 31, 1962·No. Civ. A. No. 30135·Published·Cited by 9 cases

Opinion

VAN DUSEN, District Judge.

The above nine-page Motion, with voluminous attachments, is based on the following documents and information in the record in this case:

1. On September 19, 1961, plaintiff propounded interrogatories to be answered by the present defendant (Document No. 6).

2. On November 1, 1961, the court entered an order directing certain of such interrogatories to be answered within thirty days (Document No. 11).

3. Since defendant had failed to comply with the order of November 1, 1961, plaintiff filed a motion for an order, requesting, among other things, a default judgment under F.R.Civ.P. 37, on December 18,1961 (Document No. 17).

4. On February 8, 1962, the court filed its order sur the above-mentioned first motion for sanctions under Rule 37 (Document No. 17), directing the defendant, among other things, to answer certain interrogatories within 30 days and to submit certain additional information in connection with the answers which had been first filed by the defendant on January 11, 1962 (Document No. 24), within 30 days.

5. Since defendant had failed to comply with the court’s order of February 8, 1962, plaintiff filed a second motion for, among other things, an order entering default judgment under F.R.Civ.P. 37 on March 16, 1962 (Document No. 47). In view of an agreement by defendant “to recast the answers to” plaintiff’s interrogatories, plaintiff withdrew this second motion (see letter attached to order of April 11, 1962, being Document No. 54).

6. In June 1962, the plaintiff filed this third motion for default judgment under F.R.Civ.P. 37 (Document No. 65), which came before the court for argument in September 1962 and is the subject of this Memorandum.

7. In June 1962, defendant agreed in writing with the court to produce “the Chief Mate and Mr. Foster for their depositions, * * * the next time that such individuals are on the East Coast of the United States,” and to “the photographing of Hold No. 2 of the S.S. ALCOA PATRIOT and other appropriate areas of that vessel at a time when such hold is substantially empty * * [See Order of June 20, 1962 (Document No. 68) with attached letter of defendant dated June 25, 1962.] In a comment attached to the above-mentioned Order of June 20, 1962, the court commented on “the constant volume of requests for rulings in this case,” which volume has resulted on several occasions from the dilatory conduct of defendant in complying with the time limitations in the court rules and court orders.

8. The attached letters from counsel of December 13 and 14, 1962, make clear that none of these agreements described in paragraph 7 have been carried out. Defendant’s counsel has not clearly stated in his letter of December 14 that the Chief Mate has not been present on the East Coast of the United States within the last six months under circumstances where he could have been produced for the promised deposition.

The above brief references to the record make clear that defendant has failed to comply with orders dated November 1, 1961 (Document No. 11) and February 8, 1962 (Document No. 38), entered under F.R.Civ.P. 37(a), compelling the answers to interrogatories. Under these circumstances, a default judgment is authorized by F.R.Civ.P. 37 (b). Such a judgment is also authorized on this record under F.R.Civ.P. 37(d), due to wilful failure to answer interrogatories. See Rosenberg, Sanctions to Effectuate Pre-Trial Discovery, 58 Col.L. Rev. 480 (1958).

[171]*171Reluctant as the undersigned is to enter default judgments, the above record of plaintiff’s difficulties in obtaining discovery in this case indicates that drastic action is required. Defendant will be given an opportunity to show cause, if there is any, why this default judgment should be set aside.

ORDER

AND NOW, December 31, 1962, after consideration of plaintiff’s Motion To Strike Answer and For Related Relief (Document No. 65), oral argument on such Motion, the attached Memorandum of defendant, and the record, IT IS ORDERED that:

(a) judgment of default is entered in favor of Nicodemus Hendricks, plaintiff, and against Alcoa Steamship Co., Inc., defendant, and

(b) defendant is given the opportunity at 2 P.M. on Thursday, January 10,1963, to show cause Why this default judgment should be set aside and to apply for entry of an order vacating such judgment.

SUR DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO VACATE DEFAULT

The hearing held January 11, 19631 (see Document 75 for transcript), the affidavits filed by the parties (Documents 74, 76, and 77), and the record, make the following clear:

A. Both the Chief Mate2 and the Third Mate3 were present on the east coast of the United States on more than two occasions between June 1962 and the entry of the Order of December 31, 1962, and they were not produced for their depositions until after this court entered the default judgment of December 31, 1962. ,, .■

B. In spite of the fact that defendant voluntarily agreed, by letter of June 25, 1962, to produce “the Chief Mate and [the Third Mate] for their depositions * * * the next time that such individuals are on the East Coast of the United States,” its apparent justification for this failure to comply with its voluntary commitment to the court are statements that it made reasonable efforts to comply and statements such as the following on page 2 of its Memorandum, even though defendant had ample opportunity in, prior to, or subsequent to its letter of June 25, 1962, to state to the court that it was not feasible for it to comply with its above-mentioned undertaking:

“It is a matter of which the Court should take judicial notice that the within case is not close to trial and it is not practical to give it preference in trial preparation over cases which were and are close to trial in this Court.”

C. After entry of the default judgment of December 31, 1962, defendant has taken prompt action to produce the Chief Mate and Third Mate for their [172]*172depositions, which were taken on January-18 and January 22, 1963.

D. At no place in its affidavits (Documents 74 and 77), Motion to Vacate Default (Document 73), the attached Memorandum, or lengthy argument of defendant’s counsel' at the hearing (pages 2-11 and 24-50 of Document 75) has defendant ever expressed regret (a) that it has not complied with its voluntary agreement to produce the above-mentioned ■■ship’s officers “the next time that such individuals are on the East Coast of the United States” or (b) that it did not notify the court that its organization was such that it could not undertake to comply with those agreements.

E. Defendant has not challenged the allegation in the affidavit of plaintiff’s counsel (Document 76, page 9) that he is entitled to $1000. “because of loss of time and expense required of him, which could have been avoided had defendant complied with the orders of the Court and the spirit of the rules.” (See, also, pages 4 and 5 of Document 76 concerning expenses in connection with taking of photographs and the record showing, inter alia, arguments in September and January in this matter.)

F. Defendant has not contended that compliance with sub-paragraphs (a), (c), (d), and (f) of B on pages 8 and 9 of Document 76 would impose an unreasonable burden on it.

G.

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Hendricks v. Alcoa Steamship Co., 32 F.R.D. 169, 6 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 769, 1962 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6035 (E.D. Pa. 1962).

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