Jones v. Commander, Kansas Army Ammunitions Plant

147 F.R.D. 248, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11068, 1993 WL 70236
CourtDistrict Court, D. Kansas
DecidedMarch 1, 1993
DocketCiv. A. No. 92-1086-FGT
StatusPublished
Cited by27 cases

This text of 147 F.R.D. 248 (Jones v. Commander, Kansas Army Ammunitions Plant) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jones v. Commander, Kansas Army Ammunitions Plant, 147 F.R.D. 248, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11068, 1993 WL 70236 (D. Kan. 1993).

Opinion

MINUTE ORDER

THEIS, Senior District Judge:

IT IS ORDERED that the plaintiff’s objections to magistrate’s order (Doc. 25) filed in the above captioned case shall be and are hereby overruled.

ORDER

REID, United States Magistrate Judge.

On October 30, 1992, defendant filed a motion for a protective order limiting the scope of discovery (Doc. 13). On November 5, 1992, plaintiff filed a motion to compel and a response to the motion for protective order (Doc. 15-16). On November 12, 1992, defendant filed a reply on the motion for a protective order (Doc. 20), and a response to plaintiffs motion to compel (Doc. 21).

Plaintiff, a woman, alleges that she was the subject of sexual harassment by a female supervisor, Captain Deborah Blanton, at the Kansas Army Ammunitions Plant in Parsons, Kansas. The controversy over discovery centers on whether plaintiff can seek information about the sexual preference or orientation of Captain Blanton.

Relevancy has been defined as encompassing 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. Discovery is not limited to issues raised by the pleadings, for discovery itself is designed to help define and clarify the issues. Oppenheimer Fund, Inc. v. Sanders, 437 U.S. 340, 351, 98 S.Ct. 2380, 2389, 57 L.Ed.2d 253 (1978). A request for discovery should be considered relevant if there is any possibility that the information sought may be relevant to the subject matter of this action. Discovery should ordinarily be allowed under the concept of relevancy unless it is clear that the information sought can have no possible bearing upon the subject matter of this action. Snowden v. Connaught Laboratories, Inc., 137 F.R.D. 325, 329 (D.Kan.1991); Gagne v. Reddy, 104 F.R.D. 454, 456 (D.Mass.1984); Roesberg v. Johns-Manville Corp., 85 F.R.D. 292, 296 (E.D.Pa.1980); Miller v. Doctor’s General Hospital, 76 F.R.D. 136, 138-39 (W.D.Okla.1977).

There are two distinct categories of sexual harassment claims. The first is quid pro quo sexual harassment, in which submission to sexual conduct is made a condition of concrete employment benefits. The second is hostile work environment sexual harassment, which arises when sexual conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment. For the latter to be actionable, it must be sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of the victim’s employment and create an abusive working environment. Hicks v. Gates Rubber Co., 833 F.2d 1406, 1413 (10th Cir.1987). Sexual harassment need not involve conduct that is explicitly sexual in nature, but may [251]*251include any harassment or other unequal treatment of an employee, if sufficiently pervasive, that would not occur but for the sex of the employee. Hicks, 833 F.2d at 1415; Campbell v. Board of Regents of State of Kansas, 770 F.Supp. 1479, 1485-86 (D.Kan. 1991). The ease of Jones v. Flagship International, 793 F.2d 714, 719, 720 (5th Cir. 1986) similarly lists the elements of hostile work environment sexual harassment as follows:

“(1) The employee belongs to a protected group, ie., a simple stipulation that the employee is a man or a woman,
(2) The employee was subject to unwelcome sexual harassment, ie., sexual advances, request for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that is unwelcome in the sense that it is unsolicited or unincited and is undesirable or offensive to the employee;
(3) The harassment complained of was based upon sex, ie., that but for the fact of her [or his] sex, the plaintiff would not have been the object of harassment;
(4) The harassment complained of affected a ‘term, condition or privilege of employment, ie., the sexual harassment must be sufficiently pervasive so as to alter the conditions of employment and create an abusive working environment.”

In hostile work environment sexual harassment eases, incidents of sexual harassment directed at employees other than the plaintiff can be used as proof of the plaintiffs claim. Hicks, 833 F.2d at 1415-16. However, incidents too remote in time or too attenuated from plaintiffs situation are not relevant. Garvey v. Dickinson College, 763 F.Supp. 799, 801-02 (M.D.Pa.1991). In determining whether or not hostile work environment sexual harassment has occurred, the focus should be on the perspective of the victim. Ellison v. Brady, 924 F.2d 872, 878 (9th Cir.1991).

With the above concepts in mind, the court will now examine the specific discovery matters which are in dispute. In request for production number one, the plaintiff seeks all officer evaluation reports, with attachments, concerning Captain Deborah Blanton. Defendant does not object to the production of those evaluations covering the time period that the Captain supervised the plaintiff, but objects to those outside of that supervisory period. The court finds that the evaluations of Captain Blanton outside the time period she supervised the plaintiff could lead to relevant evidence. Therefore, the court will require the production of Captain Blanton’s evaluations. The court has no objection to the deletion of social security numbers which are contained in those evaluations. The court would also concur if the defendant or Captain Blanton wanted to make the disclosure of her evaluations subject to a protective order. If requested, defendant can prepare such an order, have it signed by counsel, and then submitted to the court for its approval.

Plaintiffs request for production number three seeks any and all complaints, memoranda, notes or other documents memorializing or evidencing any formal or informal complaint or report of sexual harassment or other sexual conduct by Captain Blanton against any employee or member of the United States Army. First, plaintiff fails to establish the relevance of any complaint regarding the Captain’s sexual conduct. Furthermore, plaintiff fails to define what she means by complaints of sexual conduct. The term is thus vague and ambiguous, making an adequate response very difficult. Furthermore, this case involves allegations of sexual harassment. Thus, discovery should be focused on that issue. While the court acknowledges the potential difficulty in obtaining this material on the Captain, as the government has set forth in its brief, the court finds the information potentially relevant and a reasonable request. Plaintiff is entitled to inquire into whether or not the U.S. Army was aware of other allegations of sexual harassment against Captain Blanton. Defendant shall therefore respond to the request for production as its pertains to sexual harassment. The court would again permit disclosure of this material to be subject to a protective order, as previously noted.

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

Related

Avant v. Ahern Rentals Inc
D. South Carolina, 2021
Bible v. Rio Properties, Inc.
246 F.R.D. 614 (C.D. California, 2007)
United States ex rel. O'Connell v. Chapman University
245 F.R.D. 646 (C.D. California, 2007)
Hill v. Bauer
242 F.R.D. 556 (C.D. California, 2007)
A. Farber & Partners Inc. v. Garber
234 F.R.D. 186 (C.D. California, 2006)
Moon v. SCP Pool Corp.
232 F.R.D. 633 (C.D. California, 2005)
Keith H. v. Long Beach Unified School District
228 F.R.D. 652 (C.D. California, 2005)
United States ex rel. Schwartz v. Trw, Inc.
211 F.R.D. 388 (C.D. California, 2002)
Oakes v. Halvorsen Marine Ltd.
179 F.R.D. 281 (C.D. California, 1998)
Paulsen v. Case Corp.
168 F.R.D. 285 (C.D. California, 1996)
Haselhorst v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
163 F.R.D. 10 (D. Kansas, 1995)
Jones v. Boeing Co.
163 F.R.D. 15 (D. Kansas, 1995)
United States v. City of Torrance
164 F.R.D. 493 (C.D. California, 1995)
Ceramic Corp. of America v. Inka Maritime Corp. Inc.
163 F.R.D. 584 (C.D. California, 1995)
Gheesling v. Chater
162 F.R.D. 649 (D. Kansas, 1995)
Ragge v. MCA/Universal Studios
165 F.R.D. 601 (C.D. California, 1995)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
147 F.R.D. 248, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11068, 1993 WL 70236, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jones-v-commander-kansas-army-ammunitions-plant-ksd-1993.