Moses v. Halstead

236 F.R.D. 667, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52915, 2006 WL 2257711
CourtDistrict Court, D. Kansas
DecidedJuly 28, 2006
DocketCivil Action No. 05-2488-KHV-DJW
StatusPublished
Cited by54 cases

This text of 236 F.R.D. 667 (Moses v. Halstead) 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
Moses v. Halstead, 236 F.R.D. 667, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52915, 2006 WL 2257711 (D. Kan. 2006).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

WAXSE, United States Magistrate Judge.

Pending before the Court is Plaintiffs Motion to Compel Discovery (doc. 25). For the reasons set forth below, the Motion will be denied in part and granted in part.

I. Background Information

This case involves a single-vehicle accident that occurred in Buchanan County, Missouri, on November 22, 1996. Plaintiff was a passenger in the vehicle, which was driven by Defendant Chris Halstead (“Halstead”). Plaintiff was covered by a Kansas policy for liability for uninsured motorist benefits issued by Allstate Insurance Company (“Allstate”). Plaintiff suffered bodily injuries and incurred medical expenses as a result of the automobile accident.

On November 17, 1997, Plaintiff, through her attorney, wrote to Allstate, offering to settle all of her claims against Halstead for $25,000, which was the applicable policy limits of the liability policy issued by Allstate. On or about November 20, 1997, Allstate rejected Plaintiffs demand. Thereafter, Plaintiff filed a lawsuit against Halstead in the Circuit Court of Buchanan County, Missouri. The jury awarded Plaintiff $100,000 in actual damages for injuries she suffered in the accident. Although Allstate had earlier rejected Plaintiff’s request to settle for the policy limits, after the judgment was entered, Allstate tendered the policy limits of $25,000 to Plaintiff in partial satisfaction of the judgment.

Plaintiff registered her judgment in the District Court of Atchison County, Kansas. She requested an Order of Garnishment, listing Allstate as the garnishee. Allstate removed the action to this Court on November 18, 2005.

In this action, Plaintiff seeks damages from Allstate, alleging breach of contractual and fiduciary duties based on Allstate’s failure to settle the claim for the policy limits on November 1997 and its alleged failure to diligently investigate the facts of the accident in connection with its November 1997 decision not to settle for the policy limits. Plaintiff claims that Allstate wrongfully, negligently, and in bad faith refused to accept Plaintiffs November 1997 offer to settle for the policy limits.

Plaintiff served interrogatories, requests for production, and requests for admissions on Allstate. Allstate responded, asserting various objections. Plaintiff now moves the [671]*671Court for an Order compelling Allstate to fully respond to her written discovery requests.

II. Discussion

A. Interrogatories

1. Interrogatory No. 1

This interrogatory asks Allstate to identify the persons “who were involved in the decision to not pay policy limits with Plaintiffs first demand, and later decided to offer Plaintiff policy limits” and to provide their addresses and telephone numbers. Allstate objected on the grounds that the interrogatory is not reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence and the information requested is not material to any issue in dispute.

Plaintiff asserts that this interrogatory does seek relevant information because one of the factors that may be used to prove an insurer’s bad faith is the failure of the insurer to properly investigate the circumstances so as to determine the evidence that exists against the insured. Plaintiff contends that this interrogatory will lead to the discovery of information regarding the persons responsible for undertaking Allstate’s investigation and making the November 1997 decision to not pay the policy limits.

In its brief opposing the Motion to Compel, Allstate states: “There is no objection to the first part of the Interrogatory. In fact, the file has been produced. [However,] [anything that occurred after November 20, 1997 is simply not reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.”1 In other words, Allstate objects to identifying the individuals who, after the judgment was entered, decided to offer Plaintiff the policy limits. According to Allstate, the only material issues in this case relate to the decision to not settle for the policy limits on November 20, 1997, and, therefore, any information for the time period following that date, including its later decision to offer the policy limits, is irrelevant.

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(1) provides that “[p]arties may obtain discovery regarding any matter, not privileged, that is relevant to the claim or defense of any party.... Relevant information need not be admissible at the trial if the discovery appears reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.”2 Relevancy is broadly construed, and a request for discovery should be considered relevant if there is “any possibility” that the information sought may be relevant to the claim or defense of any party.3 A request for discovery should be allowed “unless it is clear that the information sought can have no possible bearing” on the claim or defense of a party.4

When the discovery sought appears relevant on its face, the party resisting the discovery has the burden to establish that the requested discovery does not come within the scope of relevance as defined under Rule 26(b)(1), or is of such marginal relevance that the potential harm occasioned by the discovery would outweigh the ordinary presumption in favor of broad disclosure.5 Conversely, when the relevancy of the discovery request is not readily apparent on its face, the party seeking the discovery has the burden to show the relevancy of the request.6

Clearly, this interrogatory is, on its face, relevant as it applies to Allstate’s initial decision not to settle for the policy limits on November 20, 1997, and Allstate concedes that it is relevant. The Court also finds that the interrogatory is relevant on its face as it pertains to Allstate’s later decision to pay the [672]*672policy limits. The Court finds that Plaintiff is entitled to learn the identities of the individuals who made the later decision to pay, as such information may lead to the discovery of admissible evidence regarding the reasons Allstate changed its mind and decided to pay the policy limits. For example, Plaintiff may learn that the individuals responsible for making the later decision conducted an investigation into the facts of the automobile accident. If a more thorough investigation was conducted, it might show that the initial investigation which led to Allstate’s November 20, 1997 decision not to pay the policy limits was inadequate. As Plaintiff points out, the adequacy of the insurer’s investigation is a factor that may be considered in determining whether the insurer acted in good faith.7

In light of the above, the Court will grant the Motion to Compel with respect to Interrogatory No. 1. Allstate shall serve an amended response to this interrogatory within twenty (20) days of the date of filing of this Order.

2. Interrogatory No. 2

Interrogatory No. 2 asks Allstate to identify “all persons believed or known by you who has [sic] or claims to have knowledge concerning any of the issues raised by the pleadings, include in your answer the subject matter about which each such person has knowledge.”

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Bluebook (online)
236 F.R.D. 667, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52915, 2006 WL 2257711, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/moses-v-halstead-ksd-2006.