Kahn v. Secretary of Health, Education, & Welfare

53 F.R.D. 241, 15 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 841, 1971 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13178
CourtDistrict Court, D. Massachusetts
DecidedMay 21, 1971
DocketCiv. A. No. 69-271
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 53 F.R.D. 241 (Kahn v. Secretary of Health, Education, & Welfare) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Massachusetts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kahn v. Secretary of Health, Education, & Welfare, 53 F.R.D. 241, 15 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 841, 1971 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13178 (D. Mass. 1971).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

JULIAN, District Judge.

The plaintiff, Dr. Henry S. Kahn, brought this action against the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, the Surgeon General, and the Secretary of the Army, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, challenging the lawfulness of defendants’ denying his application for a commission in the Public Health Service and seeking an order directing that he be granted such a commission. The case is considered on plaintiff’s motion for sanctions pursuant to Rule 37 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, on plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment, and on the defendant Secretary of the Army’s motion to dismiss.

The complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted against the Secretary of the Army. Accordingly, the complaint is dismissed as to him.

I.

FAILURE TO COMPLY; EVIDENCE OF BAD FAITH

Plaintiff commenced this action in March, 1969, after he had received two letters from Mr. J. M. Dees, Chief, Employment Operations Branch, Commissions, Office of Personnel Training, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, informing him that his application for a commission in the Public Health Service had been rejected because he did “not meet the standards for such appointment.” Defendants’ answer to the complaint contradicted the letters written to plaintiff by Mr. Dees by admitting that plaintiff had fully met the standards for appointment, claiming instead that the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare1 was not re[244]*244quired to appoint all qualified candidates.

Plaintiff pursued discovery procedures, but defendants refused to answer questions dealing with the loyalty and security evaluation conducted in connection with the plaintiff’s application. Defendants also refused to produce for plaintiff’s inspection documents relevant to the security investigation on plaintiff’s application, on the ground that the requested documents were “classified” and privileged from disclosure. This Court considered that argument carefully and on September 8, 1970, ordered defendants to produce all the documents sought by plaintiff for in camera inspection by the Court. On October 8, 1970, defendants produced some of the material plaintiff had requested, but refused to produce items numbered 3, 4, 5, and 6, which were requested in plaintiff’s motion to produce, in direct disobedience of this Court’s clear and explicit order.

It is therefore established that defendants failed to comply with this Court’s discovery order, and, accordingly, defendants are subject to the sanctions enumerated in Rule 37(b) (2) of the Federal Rules, notwithstanding the fact that the defendants are agents of the Federal Government. See, e. g., United States v. Procter & Gamble, 1958, 356 U.S. 677, 681, 78 S.Ct. 983, 2 L.Ed.2d 1077; Sperandeo for and on Behalf of N.L.R.B. v. Milk Drivers & Dairy Employees Local U. No. 537, 1964, 10 Cir., 334 F.2d 381, 384.

The Court has broad discretion to “make such orders in regard to the failure [to comply] as are just,” Fed. R.Civ.P. 37(b) (2), and the Court may consider the full record in exercising its discretion. Diapulse Corp. of America v. Curtis Publishing Co., 1967, 2 Cir., 374 F.2d 442. I find that the record in this case indicates that defendants have in bad faith attempted to deprive plaintiff of a fair judicial determination of his claim.

Defendants explained their failure to produce for in camera inspection the documents listed in items 4-6 of plaintiff’s motion to produce by asserting that these documents are classified and privileged from disclosure. Defendants are in effect saying that they are a law unto themselves, that their determination of what documents are classified is not subject to review by the Court. This contention was rejected by this Court in its September 8, 1970 Order for In Camera Inspection. Except in cases where a statute, regulation, or executive order specifically provides otherwise, it is for the Court and not for the governmental agency or officer to determine what documents are privileged. See United States v. Reynolds, 1953, 345 U.S. 1, 73 S.Ct. 528, 97 L.Ed. 727; Sperandeo for and on Behalf of N.L.R.B. v. Milk Drivers & Dairy Employees Local U. No. 537, supra, 334 F.2d at 384; 4 Moore’s Federal Practice, ][¶ 26.61 [7], 26.61 [6.-4], [7]. Defendants have cited no such statute, regulation, or executive order which is applicable to the material involved in this case, and the Court has found none.

One of the documents ordered produced, but which was withheld, was the “personnel file” of plaintiff (item 3 of the plaintiff’s motion to produce). The defendants have asserted that there is no “official personnel file,” because ■ plaintiff was never hired by the Government. However, plaintiff actually sought and this Court ordered the production of the plaintiff’s personnel file, without regard to whether or not it ever became “official.” The deposition of Mr. Dees reveals (at 39, 47) that such a personnel file does exist. I conclude that defendants’ excuse for not producing this docu[245]*245ment is evasive and completely without merit.

A further inconsistency in defendants’ position has been revealed by one of the documents which was disclosed. The plaintiff’s “Appointment Progress Record” bears the notation “Reject Security 8/16/68.” It is a reasonable inference from this document that plaintiff was rejected for unspecified security reasons, not because, as alleged in defendants’ amended answer, there was a surplus of qualified candidates. Defendants have failed to produce for in camera inspection the documents which may or may not specify exactly why plaintiff was actually rejected.

In summary, more than two years after this litigation was begun, plaintiff has still been unable to discover the reasons he was disqualified, because of the intransigence of defendants, who have 1) given three different unsupported and inconsistent reasons for plaintiff’s rejection, 2) refused to answer proper questions in deposition with reference to plaintiff’s security investigation reports, and 3) refused even to allow this Court to determine in camera whether certain documents should be made available to plaintiff.

The Court finds that defendants have in this case deliberately followed a pattern of evasion intended to obstruct the judicial process and to deprive the plaintiff of a judicial determination of his claim.

II.

PREJUDICE TO PLAINTIFF

The very essence of plaintiff’s claim is that he was rejected for reasons that have no basis in fact or validity in law, and that the defendants have never given the plaintiff an opportunity to reply to any charges that may have been levelled against him.

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Bluebook (online)
53 F.R.D. 241, 15 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 841, 1971 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13178, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kahn-v-secretary-of-health-education-welfare-mad-1971.