Kramer v. Boeing Co.

126 F.R.D. 690, 1989 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8881, 1989 WL 85556
District Court, D. Minnesota·Decided August 1, 1989·No. Civ. 3-88-215·Published·Cited by 21 cases

Opinion

ORDER

JANICE M. SYMCHYCH, United States Magistrate.

This matter was before the court on June 14, 1989, for hearing on plaintiffs’ motions to compel discovery from and for sanctions against Pratt & Whitney, Pratt & Whitney’s motion to compel discovery from plaintiffs, and the parties’ joint motion to extend the discovery schedule. Plaintiffs were represented by David Fitzgerald, Esq. Pratt & Whitney was represented by William Flaskamp, Esq. Boeing was represented by Timothy Schupp, Esq.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

This action was removed to the United States District Court on April 6,1988, from Hennepin County District Court. As of September 12, 1988, a stipulated confidentiality order governed discovery in the case. A pretrial scheduling order was entered on October 26, 1988, which set the termination of the discovery period for November 1, 1990. On the same date, the court heard cross motions to compel discovery, and entered a written order on October 27, 1988, regarding those motions. The order required the parties to attempt a stipulated resolution of the outstanding motions, and if they were able to do so, to submit, a stipulated order for signature by November 9, 1988. Such an order was submitted and formally entered on November 14, 1988. If any issues remained from the outstanding cross motions, they were set to be heard November 23, 1988. No party filed for hearing on that date, and the court thereby considered, and considers the prior cross motions to be no longer pending in any manner.

The stipulated order resulted in part in a review of Pratt & Whitney documents by plaintiffs’ counsel and his retained consulting aviation expert. Some 60,000 documents were reviewed, including examination of microfiche, at Pratt & Whitney’s [692] Hartford, Connecticut facility. Plaintiffs’ counsel indicated which of those 60,000 he wished copied and delivered relying, in part, on the expertise of the consulting expert and his professional judgment of relevancy of a given document.

In a letter dated April 14, 1989, counsel for Pratt & Whitney notified plaintiffs’ counsel that 220 of the requested documents were being withheld on five separate bases:

“1. Documents which relate to compressor disks other than the seventh stage.
2. Documents which relate to engines other than the JT8D-15.
3. Documents which relate to incidents other than the Cameroon incident.
4. Documents which contain proprietary data.
5. Documents which relate to foreign certifications.”

A number of interrogatories were answered by Pratt & Whitney by interposing the same objections. Plaintiffs’ now-pending Rule 37 motion followed. Pratt & Whitney’s submissions to the court contain the 220 withheld documents for in camera review, along with a brief elaborating the foregoing grounds for nonproduction. Each of the in camera documents has been reviewed by the court. Plaintiffs seek an order compelling responses to specifically enumerated interrogatories and document requests; an order overruling the broad objections of Pratt & Whitney for purposes of these and future discovery materials; an order requiring Pratt & Whitney’s authorization for release of materials submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA); and sanctions in the sum of $20,000 for failure to make discovery to plaintiffs.

The delays in exchanging discovery and other interceding matters give rise to the motion for extension of the pretrial schedule. Pratt & Whitney’s motions to compel discovery from plaintiffs were resolved before hearing and are moot.

DISCUSSION

I. PRATT & WHITNEY’S OBJECTIONS

Pratt & Whitney maintains objection to production and copying of the 220 documents it has submitted for in camera review. But for these 220 documents, plaintiffs’ selection from the 60,000 documents has been produced. Defendant interposed its objections as to these documents only after they were reviewed by plaintiff’s counsel and his expert, and designated by them for production. Plaintiffs argue that a court order resulting in the production of these 220 documents, and an order overruling Pratt & Whitney’s objections would resolve this, as well as future anticipated discovery disputes.

A. RELEVANCY

The bulk of Pratt & Whitney’s objections to production of the 220 documents is based on relevancy. This is a difficult objection upon which to prevail during the discovery phase of an action. The spirit of Rule 26(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure is that discovery be self-effectuating, without need to resort to the court, and that its scope be liberal, extending to all matters reasonably calculated to lead to admissible evidence. This standard is well-ensconced, and is generally known and understood by civil practitioners. Hickman v. Taylor, 329 U.S. 495, 67 S.Ct. 385, 91 L.Ed. 451 (1947); Greyhound Lines, Inc. v. Miller, 402 F.2d 134 (8th Cir.1968); Carlson Cos., Inc. v. Sperry and Hutchinson Co., 374 F.Supp. 1080, 1100 (D.Minn.1974); Laker Airways Ltd. v. Pan American World Airways, 103 F.R.D. 22 (D.C.Cir. 1984); National Organization for Women, Inc. (NOW), St. Paul Chapter v. Minnesota Min. & Mfg. Co., 73 F.R.D. 467 (D.C.Minn.1977). One objecting to discovery on the grounds of relevancy carries the burden to sustain the objection. Dellums v. Powell, 642 F.2d 1351, 1364 (D.C. Cir.1980); Wallace v. General Electric Co., 1988 W.L. 31069 (E.D.Pa.1988); Gulf Oil Corp. v. Schlesinger, 465 F.Supp. 913, 916-17 (E.D.Pa.1979); Martin v. Lamb, 122 F.R.D. 143, 147 (W.D.N.Y.1988); Robinson v. MacGovern, 83 F.R.D. 79, 85 (E.D.Pa. 1979); In re Folding Carton Antitrust Litigation, 83 F.R.D. 251, 254 (N.D.Ill. [693]*6931978); 8 Wright & Miller, Federal Practice & Procedure, § 2173 at 542-44 (1970).

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Kramer v. Boeing Co., 126 F.R.D. 690, 1989 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8881, 1989 WL 85556 (mnd 1989).

126 F.R.D. 690 (Kramer v. Boeing Co.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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