Moroughan v. Cnty. of Suffolk

320 F. Supp. 3d 511
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedJune 22, 2018
DocketCV 12–512 (JFB) (AKT)
StatusPublished
Cited by40 cases

This text of 320 F. Supp. 3d 511 (Moroughan v. Cnty. of Suffolk) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Moroughan v. Cnty. of Suffolk, 320 F. Supp. 3d 511 (E.D.N.Y. 2018).

Opinion

A. KATHLEEN TOMLINSON, Magistrate Judge:

I. PRELIMINARY STATEMENT

The history of discovery and extensive motion practice in this case is well-known and well-documented and the Court will not repeat that chronology here. Instead, the Court focuses on the motion by counsel for defendant Nassau County to re-open discovery at this point in this case. See DE 246.

At the February 13, 2018 Motion Hearing/Status Conference, Plaintiff's counsel *514advised the Court that he had been served by Nassau County's counsel just the day before with a purported demand for production of documents directed to the Internal Affairs Unit ("IAU") of the Suffolk County Police Department. See February 13, 2018 Civil Conference Minute Order [DE 241]. Plaintiff's counsel also stated that he was made aware that Nassau County's counsel was attempting to serve deposition notices for two members of the Suffolk County Board of Review. Id. Plaintiff objected on both counts. The Court informed Nassau County's counsel that discovery was closed and had been for some time. Consequently, if counsel intended to pursue this issue, the Court informed him that he would have to file a motion seeking to re-open discovery and meet the threshold criteria for establishing good cause as to why such relief should be granted at this juncture.

II. THE PARTIES' CONTENTIONS

Counsel for Nassau County, Christopher Clarke, Esq., asserts that the County should be permitted the additional discovery sought here because the "discovery demand and deposition subpoena mirror plaintiff's subpoena served upon Nassau IAB Detective Distler which resulted in Nassau's motion to quash filed on June 15, 2015." DE 246. In 2015, Nassau County argued that the IAU materials sought by the plaintiff were privileged and not subject to disclosure. Id. According to Attorney Clarke, based upon the February 5, 2018 decision issued by this Court denying Nassau's motion to quash and directing that Detective Distler be presented for deposition, he proceeded to (1) serve demands on Suffolk County for its Internal Affairs Unit documents relating to this case and (2) serve a subpoena to depose Suffolk's lead investigator. Id. Attorney Clarke maintains that discovery is ongoing and not closed and that "there has been no delay from Nassau in seeking this discovery ... and no realistic concern of any delay in this case." Id.

Plaintiff's counsel opposes the motion, pointing out that this case was commenced some six years ago and that after "years of discovery, the day before the parties appeared before Judge Joseph F. Bianco on February 13, 2018 to have a summary judgment motion schedule set, Nassau advised that it intended to depose an investigator from the Suffolk IAB..." DE 250. Counsel further argues that defendant Nassau County received back in September 2015 the audio-recordings of the Suffolk IAU interviews which it is now purportedly seeking in its first document request. Plaintiff's counsel adds that "[i]n fact, these were produced before Mr. Clarke's office started representing Nassau, and plaintiff utilized transcripts of these recordings during numerous depositions." Id. (emphasis in original).

Ultimately, plaintiff's counsel argues that Nassau County had ample opportunity to pursue the evidence it now seeks during the multi-year course of discovery. Plaintiff maintains that Nassau County has not shown the requisite good cause to justify the re-opening of discovery at this late date and has not met the six-part test articulated by this Court in Pharmacy Inc. v. Am. Pharm. Partners, Inc., CV 05-776, 2008 WL 4415263, at *3 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 24, 2008).

III. APPLICABLE LEGAL STANDARD

" 'A party seeking to reopen discovery bears the burden of establishing good cause and discovery should not be extended when there was ample opportunity to pursue the evidence during discovery.' " Leong v. 127 Glen Head Inc., CV 13-5528, 2016 WL 845325, at *3 (E.D.N.Y. Mar. 2, 2016) (quoting *515Thieriot v. Jaspan Schlesinger Hoffman LLP, No. 07-CV-5315, 2010 WL 4038765 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 30, 2010) ); see Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corp. v. Esprit De Corp., 769 F.2d 919, 927 (2d Cir. 1985) (denying plaintiff's request to re-open discovery when plaintiff had "ample time in which to pursue the discovery that it now claims is essential").

The decision whether to reopen discovery is within a district court's discretion. Krawec v. Kiewit Constructors Inc. , No. 11-CV-123, 2013 WL 1104414, at *8 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 1, 2013) ; see Wingates, LLC v. Commonwealth Ins. Co. of Am. , 626 Fed.Appx. 316, 319 (2d Cir. 2015) (summary order) (finding no abuse of discretion in the district court's "refus[al] to allow [the plaintiffs] to reopen discovery for the purposes of disclosing an expert witness pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(2)"); see generally Wills v. Amerada Hess Corp. , 379 F.3d 32, 41 (2d Cir. 2004) (stating that a district court has "broad discretion to direct and manage the pre-trial discovery process."). "As a general rule, discovery should only be re-opened for good cause, depending on the diligence of the moving party." Krawec , 2013 WL 1104414, at *8 (citing Grochowski v. Phoenix Constr. , 318 F.3d 80, 86 (2d Cir. 2003) ); see, e.g., Bakalar v. Vavra , 851 F.Supp.2d 489, 493 (S.D.N.Y. 2011) ("In deciding whether to reopen discovery, courts consider whether good cause exists.") (citing Gray v. Town of Darien , 927 F.2d 69 (2d Cir. 1991) ); see Marshall v. Starbucks Corp. , No. 11-CV-02521,

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Bluebook (online)
320 F. Supp. 3d 511, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/moroughan-v-cnty-of-suffolk-nyed-2018.