RBS Citizens, N.A. v. Husain

291 F.R.D. 209, 2013 WL 2457982, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79812
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedJune 4, 2013
DocketNo. 09 C 4956
StatusPublished
Cited by48 cases

This text of 291 F.R.D. 209 (RBS Citizens, N.A. v. Husain) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
RBS Citizens, N.A. v. Husain, 291 F.R.D. 209, 2013 WL 2457982, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79812 (N.D. Ill. 2013).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

RUBEN CASTILLO, District Judge.

RBS Citizens, N.A. (“RBS”) brings this diversity action against Mumtaz Husain, Mu-rad Husain, Homewood Donuts, Inc. doing business as Dunkin Donuts (“Homewood”), Calumet Foods, Inc. (“Calumet”), Oaklawn Inc. (“Oaklawn”), 183 Donuts, Inc. (“183 Donuts”), South Holland Donuts, Inc. (“South Holland Donuts”), South Holland Management & Property, LLC (“South Holland Management”), 4M Properties & Management, Inc. (“4M”), and Mehendl Panjwani (collectively “Defendants”) alleging breaches of guaranty, breaches of contract, and replevin. (R. 1, Compl.) Defendants1 assert counter claims of breach of contract, common law and statutory fraud, violation of the Bank Holding Company Act, 12 U.S.C. § 1972 et seq., and violation of the Illinois Interest Act, 815 Ill. Comp. Stat. 205/1 et seq., (R. 90, Am. Countercls.), as well as various affirmative defenses, (R. 91, Am. Affirmative Defenses). While the procedural history of this case is long and complex, it need not be recited in full here. The claims are centered around a series of loan and guaranty agreements (“the Loans”) between RBS and Defendants financing several Dunkin Donuts franchises. (R. 1, Compl. ¶ 14.) The specific issues presently before the Court are evidentiary in nature. The Court now addresses RBS’s motion to exclude the testimony of Amjad Kadwani (R. 175) and Defendants’ motion to compel the production of documents withheld or redacted under claims of privilege or irrelevance (R. 169). For the reasons set forth below, RBS’s motion (R. 175) is GRANTED and Defendants’ motion (R. 169) is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.

DISCUSSION

I. RBS’s motion to exclude Kadwani’s testimony

RBS filed its complaint on August 12, 2009. (R. 1, Compl.) After heavy motion practice, including certain discovery stays, the Court notified the parties on December 1, 2011 that they were granted leave to proceed with all discovery. (R. 117, Min. Entry.) The Court set September 30, 2012 as the discovery cutoff date. (R. 145, Min. Entry.) Subsequently, the Court granted Defendants’ motion to extend the discovery deadline to October 12, 2012, (R. 159, Min. Entry), then granted Defendants’ further motion to extend discovery until November 9, 2012, (R. 165, Min. Entry). Defendants served RBS with supplemental interrogatory answers that named Kadwani, the Husains’ accountant, as someone with knowledge of Defendants’ finances and a potential trial witness for the first time on November 7, 2012, two days before the extended close of discovery. (R. 175, Pl.’s Mot. ¶¶ 5-6; R. 175-1, Ex. A, Defs.’ Second Supp. Answers to Pl.’s Second Interrogs.)

RBS moves to exclude Kadwani’s testimony on the basis that Defendants failed to identify him in response to RBS’s interrogatories and affirmatively denied that they eon-[214]*214suited an accountant with regards to the loans at issue here. (R. 175, PL’s Mot. ¶ 5.) RBS contends that even if, as Defendants claim, Kadwani’s name appeared in the documents they produced, it had no reason to seek to depose Kadwani given Defendants’ denial that they relied on an accountant. (Id. ¶ 8.)

Defendants argue that although they did not formally disclose Kadwani prior to November 7, 2012, RBS “was or should have been aware of’ him because he set up the corporations that owned the franchises at issue, worked with RBS to provide financial information about the franchises, and participated in at least one settlement conference between RBS and the Husains. (R. 179, Defs.’ Resp. at 4.) Defendants additionally contend that their supplemental response in which they disclosed Kadwani was timely because they disclosed him as soon as counsel realized that his knowledge about the financial performance of the franchises may be relevant. (Id.) Defendants contend that they did not disclose Kadwani previously because “he did not have a direct role in the negotiation of the loan agreements,” but that “[a]s the case progressed,” defense counsel came to realize that Kadwani’s “knowledge about the financial performance of the franchises may be relevant given that [RBS] initially declared a default based on the violation of the financial covenants, not non-payment.” (Id. at 4-5.) Defendants argue that the timing of the disclosure is harmless because RBS still has plenty of time to depose Kadwani before trial. (Id. at 5.) Finally, Defendants argue that RBS itself scheduled depositions for after the discovery cut-off date, so it cannot object to deposing Kadwani after discovery has formally ended. (Id. at 5-6.)

The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure require each party to disclose “each individual likely to have discoverable information,” Fed. R.Civ.P. 26(a)(1)(A), and to supplement those disclosures “in a timely manner if the party learns that in some material respect the disclosure or response is incomplete or incorrect, and if the additional or corrective information has not otherwise been made known to the other parties during the discovery process or in writing,” Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(e)(1)(A). If a party fails to comply with the disclosure requirements set out in Rule 26, the information or witness it failed to disclose is automatically excluded “unless the failure was substantially justified or is harmless.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 37(c)(1); Salgado by Salgado v. Gen. Motors Corp., 150 F.3d 735, 742 (7th Cir.1998) (citing Finley v. Marathon Oil Co., 75 F.3d 1225, 1230 (7th Cir.1996)).

First, the Court finds that Defendants’ disclosure of Kadwani two days before the discovery cut-off date, which had already been extended twice, was clearly untimely. Local Rule 16.1 provides: “Except to the extent specified by the court on motion of either party, discovery must be completed before the discovery closing date. Discovery requested before the discovery closing date, but not scheduled for completion before the discovery closing date, does not comply with this order.” Defendants could not reasonably expect that disclosing Kadwani two days before the discovery closing date gave RBS a fair opportunity to depose him before the end of discovery. Accordingly, Kadwani is automatically excluded unless Defendants’ failure to disclose him earlier was substantially justified or is harmless. Fed.R.Civ.P. 37(c)(1).

Defendants do not attempt to argue that their untimely disclosure is justified, only that it is harmless because there is still time to depose Kadwani and they “have no objection” to producing Kadwani for a deposition after the close of discovery. (R. 179, Defs.’ Resp. at 5.) RBS argues that Kadwani’s belated disclosure is not harmless because the disclosure of Kadwani for the first time two days prior to discovery cutoff did not allow it any meaningful opportunity to pursue discovery as to him. (R.

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Bluebook (online)
291 F.R.D. 209, 2013 WL 2457982, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79812, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rbs-citizens-na-v-husain-ilnd-2013.