Hurst v. Conopco, Inc.

264 F.R.D. 30, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3324, 2010 WL 165870
CourtDistrict Court, D. Connecticut
DecidedJanuary 15, 2010
DocketCivil No. 3:08-CV-1422 (CFD)
StatusPublished

This text of 264 F.R.D. 30 (Hurst v. Conopco, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Connecticut primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hurst v. Conopco, Inc., 264 F.R.D. 30, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3324, 2010 WL 165870 (D. Conn. 2010).

Opinion

RULING AND ORDER ON DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO COMPEL

THOMAS P. SMITH, United States Magistrate Judge.

The defendant, Conopeo, Inc. (“Conopeo”), has filed a motion to compel the plaintiff, Nigel Hurst (“Hurst”), to disclose certain financial records that pertain to certain allegations in Hurst’s complaint. (Def.’s Mot. Compel 1.) Conopeo has also moved for Hurst to pay reasonable attorney’s fees, pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 37(a)(5). As set forth below, Conopco’s motion to compel is GRANTED.

I. Standard of Review

Parties may obtain discovery regarding any non-privileged matter that is relevant to any party’s claim or defense involved in the pending litigation. Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(b)(1). The information sought need not be admissible at trial as long as the discovery appears reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence. Id. “Relevance” under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(1) has been construed broadly to include “any matter that bears on, or that reasonably could lead to other matter that could bear on, any issue that is or may be in the case.” Oppenheimer Fund, Inc. v. Sanders, 437 U.S. 340, 351, 98 S.Ct. 2380, 57 L.Ed.2d 253 (1978). A party may object to a relevant discovery request, however, if it is “overly broad” or “unduly burdensome.” See 7 Jambs Wm. Moore et al., Moore’S Federal Practice ¶¶ 33.173[3]-[4] (3d ed.2004). To assert a proper objection on this basis, however, one must do more than “simply intone [the] familiar litany that the interrogatories are burdensome, oppressive or overly broad.” Compagnie Francaise d’Assurance Pour le Commerce Exterieur v. Phillips Petroleum Co., 105 F.R.D. 16, 42 (S.D.N.Y.1984). Instead, the objecting party bears the burden of demonstrating “specifically how, despite the broad and liberal construction afforded the federal discovery rules, each [request] is not relevant or how each question is overly broad, burdensome or oppressive by submitting affidavits or offering evidence revealing the nature of the burden.” Id.; see also Hickman v. Taylor, 329 U.S. 495, 507, 67 S.Ct. 385, 91 L.Ed. 451 (1947) (stating that “the deposition-discovery rules are to be accorded a broad and liberal treatment”).

II. Factual Background

On April 6, 2005, Hurst and Conopeo entered into an Agreement and General Release (the “Agreement”) setting forth terms for the termination of Hurst’s employment with Conopeo. (Def.’s Mot. Compel 1.) The Agreement contained specific terms and conditions regarding payment from Conopeo to Hurst upon Hurst’s relocation to another residence. Id. Hurst also received nearly $2 million under the Agreement. Id. Hurst alleges that the Agreement further obligated Conopeo to pay for certain relocation costs, “including the real estate broker’s commission up to a maximum of 7%, plus reasonable and customary closing costs,----” (Pl.’s [32]*32Compl. ¶ 11.) Conopeo denies this allegation and refers the Court to the legal and technical language of the Agreement. (Def.’s Answer ¶ 11; Def.’s Mot. Compel Ex. B.) Resolution of this particular dispute is immaterial to the resolution of the instant motion.

Before Hurst entered into the Agreement with Conopeo, he allegedly informed Conopeo that termination of his employment would “decrease available income to cover family costs, including education,” thereby forcing him and his family to relocate. (Pl.’s Compl. ¶ 19.) In response, Conopeo allegedly promised to pay for all of Hurts’s expenses stemming from the relocation, “including brokerage fees and closing costs....” Id. Plaintiff claims to have relied upon these statements two years later in May, 2007, when he and his family decided to move from their home in Stamford, Connecticut.

In May, 2007, Hurst received a firm offer of $2.4 million for his home in Stamford. Id. at ¶ 25. The brokerage commission and closing costs from the proposed sale totaled approximately $200,000. Id. Hurst asserts that Conopeo repudiated the terms of the Agreement by refusing to pay that amount. Id. at ¶¶ 26, 28. As a result, Hurst’s family allegedly could not absorb the $200,000 that Co-nopeo refused to pay, thereby forcing Hurst to reject the $2.4 million offer. Id. at ¶ 28. Subsequently, the value of the home dropped substantially, causing Hurst and his family to suffer “economic losses and emotional distress.” Id. Hurst now seeks to recover the decline in value of his Stamford home; to wit, $2.4 million less the ultimate selling price of the residence. Id. at ¶ 35.

On November 19, 2008, Conopeo requested from Hurst “all documents concerning Plaintiffs financial condition, ..., from January 1, 2006, to the present, including, but not limited to, banking accounts, financial accounts, brokerage accounts, securities, bonds, assets, liabilities, real property, debts, mortgages, personal property, financial statements, net worth statements, balance sheets, applications for financing, fees, royalties, accounts receivables, compensation, contract rights, intangibles, income tax returns and accompanying schedules, IRS W-2 forms, IRS 1099 forms and authorizations for income tax returns.” (Def.’s Mot. Compel Ex. D. ¶ 9.)

Conopeo claims that Hurst has not produced complete financial records from 2005, 2006, and 2007. Specifically, Conopeo states that Hurst has only produced his complete 2005 income tax return, two pages of his 2006 income tax return, and “selected records of assets and liabilities for the period from April to May 2007 ____” (Def.’s Mot. Compel 3.) Accordingly, Hurst has not yet produced the following: (1) complete 2006 and 2007 income tax returns, with schedules; (2) complete financial records for 2005, 2006, and 2007; and (3) applications for financing during the period of January 2005 through the present, or authorizations for Conopeo to obtain that information from the applicable lending institutions. Id. Conopeo, in filing the instant motion, seeks to compel Hurst’s production of these items.

Hurst argues that Conopco’s production requests are neither relevant nor likely to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence. (Pl.’s Obj. 1.) Hurst further argues that Co-nopco’s production requests are unreasonable, oppressive, and constitute an invasion of his privacy. Id. Moreover, Hurst argues that financial records from before 2007 have no bearing on the court’s interpretation of the Agreement, the issue of whether Conop-eo breached the Agreement in May, 2007, and the extent of the damages he may have suffered due to Conopco’s alleged breach of the Agreement. Id. at 4-5. Finally, Hurst argues that he has already produced “substantial financial information concerning the time period when the sale of the house fell through----” Id. at 5. These items, Hurst argues, illustrate his financial condition at the moment the sale of the house fell through. Id.

III. Analysis

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

Related

Hickman v. Taylor
329 U.S. 495 (Supreme Court, 1947)
Oppenheimer Fund, Inc. v. Sanders
437 U.S. 340 (Supreme Court, 1978)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
264 F.R.D. 30, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3324, 2010 WL 165870, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hurst-v-conopco-inc-ctd-2010.