O'Brien v. Amtrak

163 F.R.D. 232, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13450, 1995 WL 549058
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedSeptember 12, 1995
DocketCiv. A. No. 94-CV-6076
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 163 F.R.D. 232 (O'Brien v. Amtrak) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
O'Brien v. Amtrak, 163 F.R.D. 232, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13450, 1995 WL 549058 (E.D. Pa. 1995).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

JOYNER, District Judge.

Today we resolve a series of motions filed by both Plaintiff, Patricia O’Brien, and Defendants, Amtrak and the New Jersey Transit Authority. Plaintiffs lawsuit alleges that unhealthy conditions at her workplace, the Amtrak Ticket Office within the Trenton Train Station, caused her serious medical problems. Some of these unhealthy conditions included rodent infestation, pesticide spraying during working hours, poor ventilation and air quality and general filth and uncleanliness.

Defendants’ Motion asks this Court to reconsider our July 24, 1995 Order denying Defendants’ request for leave to file a dispositive motion outside the time frame established in this Court’s Scheduling Order, as amended. Plaintiffs three Motions request this Court to (1) compel certain discovery of Defendants, (2) grant Plaintiff leave to take certain other discovery, and (3) sanction Defendants for their counsel’s actions at depositions. We shall address each motion in turn.

1. Defendants’ Motion for Reconsideration or Alternative Motion to Preclude Plaintiffs Expert Reports as Untimely

Defendants asked this Court to grant them leave to file a dispositive motion outside the [234]*234time established by the Scheduling Orders in place in this action. The Scheduling Orders tie the date dispositive motions are due to the date discovery is scheduled to be completed. Defendants’ request observed that the ease had been placed in the arbitration program and that a subsequent trial was not likely to occur for sixty days after the arbitration. Because of that, they requested that they be permitted to file a dispositive motion not more than sixty days after arbitration. Defendants presented no argument or evidence on the issue of why the Scheduling Order should be amended, and why their dispositive motion should be filed so far in the future. This Court denied the request on July 24, 1995.

Defendants now seek a reconsideration of that Order. In the Motion, Defendants argue that because of numerous discovery delays and because the case is now in arbitration, they reasonably believed that the Scheduling Orders in place no longer had effect. Because of this, they assert, they requested a date certain for filing their dis-positive motion. Defendants also reason that because this Court denied their motion, that we should therefore strike Plaintiff’s expert reports as untimely.

The purpose of a motion to reconsider is to “correct manifest errors of law or fact or to present newly discovered evidence,” not to re-argue the issue. Harsco Corp. v. Zlotnicki, 779 F.2d 906, 909 (3d Cir.1985). We do not find that Defendants have demonstrated that there was an error of law or fact that would support reconsideration of the July 24, 1995 Order. Defendants have not presented any newly discovered evidence. If Defendants’ motion would, indeed, dispose of this action, they have not explained to this Court why they wish to delay such a resolution until two months after an arbitration. Accordingly, we deny Defendants’ Motion to Reconsider. In addition, for the reasons given below, we deny Defendants’ alternate Motion to Strike Plaintiff’s expert reports as untimely.

2. Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel

Plaintiff has requested a certain report that relates to renovation that was done at the Amtrak Ticket Office. Plaintiff asserts that other discovery reveals that this report indicates that the Amtrak Ticket Office had an old and poorly maintained ventilation system, contained dead rodents and other undisclosed items, and contained asbestos. Because of the nature of the claims in this ease, Plaintiff asserts that this report is relevant and discoverable.

Defendants have not released this report. They agree that the report may contain information that can lead to relevant information, but argue that “the report contains information which could be considered embarrassing to New Jersey Transit Authority because many aspects of the station were found to be in poor condition and in need of repair. Such conditions could, if divulged through this lawsuit, negatively impact rider-§hip.” They also assert that the report is confidential and that even other workers at the Trenton Rail Station do not have access to it. Because of these factors, Defendants argue, the harm they would suffer by producing the report outweighs the benefit to Plaintiff, and therefore the Motion to Compel should be denied. In the alternative, Defendants agree to release the report on the condition that it be kept confidential, and returned to them at the close of this litigation.

Defendants also argue that discovery of this report is unreasonably burdensome and unjustified due to its voluminous length. They rely heavily on their assertion that Plaintiff has not proven the cause of her medical problems, and therefore, there is no proof that the report has any information relevant to them. Defendants encourage this Court to weigh Plaintiffs discovery requests against the amount in controversy, which they estimate at less than $20,000. If we weigh Plaintiff’s claim against the discovery sought, Defendants assert, we will find the requests to be burdensome and unjustified.

We find that the report is discoverable under the liberal discovery provided for in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(b)(1). We also find that Defendants have not demonstrated that they are entitled to a Protective Order under Rule [235]*23526(c). This Rule permits protective orders when justice so requires to protect a person from annoyance, embarrassment, oppression or undue burden or expense. Defendants have not presented any evidence to support their qualified assertion that the renovation report could be considered embarrassing and that its disclosure could negatively impact ridership. Nor have Defendants presented evidence to indicate that the cost of photocopying the report is so great that it is unjustified in comparison with their estimate of Plaintiffs claim.

For the above reasons, we grant Plaintiffs Motion to Compel this report, and order Defendants to do so within three days of the date of this Order’s entry. Because Defendants have not produced any evidence or argument to support a confidentiality order governing the report, we do not make any special rulings to that effect.

S. Plaintiffs Motion for Leave to Pursue Discovery and Produce Liability Expert Report

Plaintiff seeks additional time to conduct discovery and to produce her liability expert’s report. She seeks this time as a result of Defendants’ alleged failure to timely participate in discovery. According to Plaintiff, Defendants refused to produce several witnesses for depositions except on the condition that Plaintiff first produce her expert medical report, which was not yet due. In addition, Defendants have refused to produce several documents that were only identified for the first time during depositions on the ground that those requests are untimely.

Because of these and other delays, Plaintiff asserts that the parties began to negotiate a stipulation to extend the discovery period.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
163 F.R.D. 232, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13450, 1995 WL 549058, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/obrien-v-amtrak-paed-1995.