Pajak v. Under Armour, Inc.

CourtDistrict Court, N.D. West Virginia
DecidedJanuary 17, 2020
Docket1:19-cv-00160
StatusUnknown

This text of Pajak v. Under Armour, Inc. (Pajak v. Under Armour, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. West Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pajak v. Under Armour, Inc., (N.D.W. Va. 2020).

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF WEST VIRGINIA CLARKSBURG

CYNTHIA D. PAJAK,

Plaintiff, v. Civil Action No. 1:19-CV-160 (JUDGE KEELEY) UNDER ARMOUR, INC., UNDER ARMOUR RETAIL, INC., AND BRIAN BOUCHER,

Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

This matter is before the undersigned pursuant to Referral Orders (ECF Nos. 41 and 48) entered by Honorable Senior United States District Judge Irene M. Keeley. On December 19, 2019, District Judge Keeley entered a Referral Order (ECF No. 41) referring Defendant Under Armour Retail, Inc.’s Motion to Compel Plaintiff to Produce Discoverable Information (ECF No. 38) and Plaintiff Cynthia D. Pajak’s Motion to Compel Under Armour Defendants to Fully Respond to Plaintiff’s Discovery Requests (ECF No. 39) and Motion to Compel Defendant Boucher to Fully Respond to Plaintiff’s Discovery Requests (ECF No. 40) to the undersigned for a hearing and disposition. On January 9, 2020, District Judge Keeley further entered an Order referring Plaintiff’s Motion for Protective Order Regarding the Deposition of Brian Boucher (ECF No. 47) to the undersigned for a hearing and disposition. The undersigned held a combined Motion Hearing on January 14, 2020, at which Plaintiff Cynthia D. Pajak appeared by Counsel Allison B. Williams, Esq. and Larry J. Rector, Esq., the Under Armour Defendants by Counsel Grace E. Hurney, Esq. and Justin M. Harrison, Esq., and Defendant Brian Boucher by Counsel Scott H. Kaminski, Esq. Accordingly, for the reasons stated herein, Defendant Under Armour Retail, Inc.’s Motion to Compel Plaintiff to Produce Discoverable Information (ECF No. 38) is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART to the extent consistent with this Order; Plaintiff Cynthia D. Pajak’s Motion to Compel Under Armour Defendants to Fully Respond to Plaintiff’s Discovery Requests (ECF No. 39) is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART to the extent consistent with this Order; Plaintiff’s Motion to

Compel Defendant Boucher to Fully Respond to Plaintiff’s Discovery Requests (ECF No. 40) is GRANTED; and Plaintiff’s Motion for Protective Order Regarding the Deposition of Brian Boucher (ECF No. 47) is GRANTED. I. BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY Plaintiff Cynthia D. Pajak (“Plaintiff”) initiated this action by filing a Complaint on July 16, 2019, in the Circuit Court of Harrison County, West Virginia, alleging wrongful discharge, violations of the West Virginia Human Rights Act, Negligent Hiring, Supervision, and Retention, and Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress or Tort of Outrage against her former employer, Under Armour, Inc., Under Armour Retail Inc., and her supervisor Brian Boucher (“Defendants”) (ECF No. 1-1 at 3-20). Plaintiff’s claims against the Defendants are rooted in allegations of gender-

discrimination and retaliation. Defendants, Under Armour, Inc., and Under Armour Retail, Inc. (collectively “Under Armour”) removed this action from the Circuit Court of Harrison Count, West Virginia, to the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, Clarksburg Division, on August 19, 2019. (ECF No. 1). On September 2, 2019, Defendant Under Armour Retail, Inc. served its First Set of Interrogatories and Requests for Production of Documents to Plaintiff. (ECF No. 12). On October 2, 2019, Plaintiff served her First Set of Interrogatories (ECF No. 13) and First Request for Production of Documents (ECF No. 14) on the Under Armour Defendants. On October 3, 2019, Plaintiff further served her First Set of Interrogatories (ECF No. 15) and First Request for Production of Documents (ECF No. 16) on Defendant Brian Boucher. On October 28, 2019, Plaintiff served her Answers, Responses and Objections to Defendant Under Armour Retail, Inc’s First Set of Interrogatories and Requests for Production of Documents to Plaintiff (ECF No. 27).

On November 4, 2019, Defendant Brian Boucher served his Responses to Cynthia Pajak’s First Set of Interrogatories (ECF No. 30) and Responses to Cynthia Pajak’s First for Production of Documents. (ECF No. 31). The Under Armour Defendants filed their Responses to Plaintiff’s First Set of Interrogatories (ECF No. 32) and Responses to Plaintiff’s First Requests for Production of Documents (ECF No. 33). On November 26, 2019, the Under Armour Defendants filed a Stipulation (ECF No. 36) in which the parties agreed to extend the thirty day deadline for filing motions of compel under L.R. Civ. P. 37.02(b) to December 18, 2019, in order to allow the parties to continue conferring on their discovery disputes in good faith. Accordingly, on December 18, 2019, the Under Armour Defendants filed a Motion to Compel

Plaintiff to Produce Discoverable Information (ECF No. 38) and Plaintiff filed a Motion to Compel Under Armour Defendants Fully Respond to Plaintiff’s Discovery Requests (ECF No. 39) and a Motion to Compel Defendant Boucher to Fully Respond to Plaintiff’s Discovery Requests (ECF No. 40). Plaintiff further filed a Motion for Protective Order Regarding the Deposition of Brian Boucher (ECF No. 47) on January 9, 2020. Each party submitted Responses in Opposition to the respective Motions and Replies to the Responses. This matter has been fully briefed. A combined motion hearing was held before the undersigned on January 14, 2020. II. LEGAL STANDARD Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26 states: “[p]arties may obtain discovery regarding any matter, not privileged, that is relevant to the claim or defense of any party, including the existence, description, nature, custody, condition, and location of any books, documents, or other tangible things and the identity and location of persons having knowledge of any discoverable matter.”

Significantly, “relevant information need not be admissible at the trial if the discovery appears reasonable calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 26. Further, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 33 governs interrogatories and provides in relevant part: “[e]ach interrogatory shall be answered separately and fully in writing under oath, unless it is objected to, in which event the objecting party shall state the reasons for the objection and shall answer to the extent the interrogatory is not objectionable.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 33. Further, all objections “must be stated with specificity.” Id. Objections of the “familiar litany that an interrogatory or a document production request is ‘overly broad, burdensome, oppressive, and irrelevant’ will not suffice.” Momah v. Albert Einstein Medical Center, 164 F.R.D. 412, 417 (E.D. Pa. 1996) (quoting Josephs v. Harris Corp., 677 F.2d 985, 992 (3d Cir. 1982)).

Requests for Production and responses thereto are governed by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 34. Fed. R. Civ. P. 34 states in relevant part: “[f]or each item or category, the response must either state that inspection and related activities will be permitted as requested or state with specificity the grounds for objecting to the request, including the reasons.” Further, [a]n objection must state whether any responsive materials are being withheld on the basis of that objection.

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Related

Keplinger v. Virginia Electric & Power Co.
537 S.E.2d 632 (West Virginia Supreme Court, 2000)
Rogers v. Tri-State Materials Corp.
51 F.R.D. 234 (N.D. West Virginia, 1970)
Momah v. Albert Einstein Medical Center
164 F.R.D. 412 (E.D. Pennsylvania, 1996)

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