Security Insurance v. Trustmark Insurance

218 F.R.D. 24, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18247, 2003 WL 22350777
District Court, D. Connecticut·Decided April 17, 2003·No. Civ. No. 3:01CV2198(PCD)·Published·Cited by 4 cases

Opinion

RULINGS ON THIRD-PARTY DEFENDANT TIG INSURANCE COMPANY’S MOTION FOR EXPEDITED PROTECTIVE ORDER AND DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO COMPEL FURTHER RESPONSE TO ITS REQUEST FOR PRODUCTION

DORSEY, District Judge.

Third-party defendant TIG Insurance Company (“TIG”) moves for a protective order regarding a letter rogatory issued by defendant against Fairfax Holdings, Ltd. (“Fairfax”), a Canadian company and parent company of TIG. Defendant moves to compel further production by TIG. Familiarity with prior rulings is presumed. For the reasons set forth, TIG’s motion for a protective order is denied and defendant’s motion to compel is granted in part.

I. MOTION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER

TIG moves for a protective order arguing that a letter rogatory requesting assistance from Canada in seeking evidence from Fair-fax was not filed as a motion pursuant to D. Conn. L. Civ. R. 7(a), is procedurally defective pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 7(b)(1),(3) and Fed. R. Crv. P. 11(a), is untimely and is overly broad and seeks production of irrelevant material.

“Where ... the [discovery is] relevant, the burden is upon the party seeking ... a protective order to show good cause.” Penthouse Int’l, Ltd. v. Playboy Enters., 663 F.2d 371, 391 (2d Cir.1981) (citation omitted); see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c); Dove v. Atl. Capital Corp., 963 F.2d 15, 19 (2d Cir.1992) (burden is on moving party to show good cause). Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c), however, “is not a blanket authorization for the court to prohibit disclosure of information whenever it deems it advisable to do so, but is rather a grant of power to impose conditions on discovery in order to prevent injury, harassment, or abuse of the court’s processes.” Bridge C.A.T. Scan Assocs. v. Technicare Corp., 710 F.2d 940, 944-45 (2d Cir.1983).

The present letter rogatory, lacking the force of an order and phrased as a request, was not issued as an order as no treaty provided a basis for such characterization. On reconsideration, the interaction of Fed. R. Civ. P. 28(b), providing that a letter rogatory “shall be issued on application and notice and on terms that are just and appropriate,” and Fed. R. Civ. P. 7(b)(1), which provides that “[a]n application to the court for an order shall be by motion,” suggests that the more appropriate course would have been by motion.1

As such, the motion for protective order will be construed as both an objection to issuance of the letter rogatory and as a motion for a protective order. A party opposing issuance of a letter rogatory must [27]*27show “good reason” why such letter should not issue. Zassenhaus v. Evening Star Newspaper Co., 404 F.2d 1361, 1364 (D.C.Cir. 1968); DBMS Consultants Ltd. v. Computer Associates Int’l, Inc., 131 F.R.D. 367, 369 (D.Mass.1990); B & L Drilling Electronics v. Totco, 87 F.R.D. 543, 545 (W.D.Okla.1978). In determining whether to issue a letter rogatory, evidence sought from the proposed discovery will not be weighed and no attempt will be made to predict whether such evidence will ultimately be obtained through discovery. DBMS Consultants Ltd., 131 F.R.D. at 369.

TIG objects to the proposed discovery as untimely, overly broad and seeking production of irrelevant information. In light of the parties’ stipulated extension of the discovery deadline to 4/25/03, the first objection is without merit. Nor will the remaining objections suffice to preclude issuance of the letter. Fairfax acquired TIG in April 1999, and in doing so performed due diligence on TIG’s operations. The date is sufficiently close to the allegations of the third party complaint to conclude that information generated from Fairfax’s inquiry may be relevant to the present claims.

TIG also argues that the due diligence performed encompasses more than the workers compensation insurance involved herein. Assuming arguendo that the request might touch on irrelevant matter, which does not appear to be the case, such would not constitute good reason not to issue the letter seeking otherwise relevant material.

An overly broad request may justify issuance of a protective order precluding irrelevant discovery. TIG has not, however, established that the discovery sought is irrelevant to the present claims and defenses. The due diligence performed by Fairfax when it acquired TIG potentially would uncover deficiencies in TIG’s business practices and bear relevance to defendant’s claims. Nor does the fact that defendant presses its discovery late in the discovery period justify issuance of a protective order. As the discovery period remains open by virtue of the extension sought on consent of all parties, there is no basis on which to deny defendant the discovery sought. TIG has therefore failed to establish a protective order is appropriate. The motion is denied.

II. DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO COMPEL

Defendant moves to compel production by TIG responsive to its requests for further production.

“[T]he scope of discovery under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b) is very broad, ‘encompass[ing] any matter that bears on, or that reasonably could lead to other matter that could bear on, any issue that is or may be in the case.’” Maresco v. Evans Chemetics, Div. of W.R. Grace & Co., 964 F.2d 106, 114 (2d Cir.1992) (quoting Oppenheimer Fund, Inc. v. Sanders, 437 U.S. 340, 351, 98 S.Ct. 2380, 2389, 57 L.Ed.2d 253 (1978)). “Parties 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.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1). The scope of discovery, however, is not without bounds, and limitations are imposed where the discovery is “unreasonably cumulative or duplicative,” overly “burdensome ... [or] expensive” or “the burden or expense of the proposed discovery outweighs its likely benefit.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(2). An order compelling discovery is rendered after consideration of the arguments of the parties, and such order may be tailored to the circumstances of the case. Gile v. United Airlines, Inc., 95 F.3d 492, 496 (7th Cir.1996).

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Security Insurance v. Trustmark Insurance, 218 F.R.D. 24, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18247, 2003 WL 22350777 (D. Conn. 2003).

218 F.R.D. 24 (Security Insurance v. Trustmark Insurance) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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