Stabilus v. Haynsworth, Baldwin, Johnson & Greaves

144 F.R.D. 258, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16189, 1992 WL 276842
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedOctober 1, 1992
DocketCiv. A. No. 91-6184
StatusPublished
Cited by28 cases

This text of 144 F.R.D. 258 (Stabilus v. Haynsworth, Baldwin, Johnson & Greaves) 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
Stabilus v. Haynsworth, Baldwin, Johnson & Greaves, 144 F.R.D. 258, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16189, 1992 WL 276842 (E.D. Pa. 1992).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

NAYTHONS, United States Magistrate Judge.

Presently before the Court is the Motion of Defendant, Haynsworth, Baldwin, Johnson and Greaves, P.A., to compel complete responses to interrogatories and request for production of documents, the response and memorandum of Plaintiff, Stabilus, in opposition to Defendant’s motion, and Defendant’s reply to Plaintiff’s memorandum in opposition.

The action brought by plaintiff is a claim of legal malpractice, in which defendant is accused of giving defective legal advice to plaintiff in connection with certain union contract negotiations and subsequent labor disputes held in 1986.

The Defendant seeks to compel answers to their interrogatory nos. 17, 20, 21, 26-29, 30-33, and 36-42, and all non-privileged documents responsive to request nos. 2, 12, 14-17, 21, and 22. Defendant claims that plaintiff filed blanket objections to almost every discovery request on the grounds that the information sought was irrelevant, unduly burdensome, not likely to lead to discoverable evidence and protected by the attorney-client privilege and work-product doctrine. See Defendant’s Motion to Compel Complete Responses to Interrogatories and Request for Production of Documents, 11 5. In defendant’s memorandum, defendant states that plaintiff’s objections are “so completely without basis that defendant should be awarded its costs for preparing, filing and arguing the contents of this Motion.” See Defendant’s Memorandum of Law in Support of Motion to Compel, p. 1.

Plaintiff responds that the motion should be denied for two reasons. First, the plaintiff argues that the defendant has received all discovery materials with respect to the subject matter of the complaint. Second, the plaintiff points out that many of the discovery requests that are the subject of this motion were narrowed by the defendant at a conference held pursuant to Local Rule 24(f),1 and plaintiff has fully responded to the discovery requests as narrowed. See Plaintiff’s Memorandum in Opposition to Defendant’s Motion to Compel, p. 1.

In defendant’s reply to plaintiff’s memorandum, defendant agrees that the parties were able to resolve a number of issues at the conference, but insists that the instant Motion is restricted to those interrogatories and requests for production which the parties could reach no agreement and in response to which plaintiff refused to provide any information. See Defendant’s Reply to Plaintiff’s Memorandum in Opposition to Defendant’s Motion, p. 2.

DISCUSSION

After careful consideration, this Court finds that defendant’s Motion shall be granted in part and denied in part. The defendant’s Motion is addressed as follows: INTERROGATORY NUMBERS 17, 30-33

Several of Plaintiff’s objections to interrogatories claim that the interrogatories are premature. See Plaintiff’s Response to Defendant’s Interrogatories Nos. 17, 30-33, (a copy of which is attached to Defendant’s Motion as “Exhibit D”). Further, plaintiff states in its Memorandum that it appears senseless, as well as, not required by the [262]*262Federal Rules for the plaintiff to supplement its response. See Plaintiffs Memorandum in Opposition, p. 9, 10. This is a very broad reading of the Federal Rules. Although under Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(e), a party has a limited duty to supplement responses to interrogatories,2 the Eastern District of Pennsylvania has recognized that a duty exists on the part of the interrogated party to supply additional information received after the initial answers were supplied “in those circumstances where the very nature of the interrogatory should require continuing answers, or where the information obtainable at pretrial would not afford the party sufficient time and opportunity to prepare his case.” Novick v. Pennsylvania Railroad Co., 18 F.R.D. 296, 298 (W.D.Pa.1955); see also Wolf v. Dickinson, 16 F.R.D. 250, 252 (E.D.Pa.1952) (duty to supplement answers gives effect to full disclosure before trial of all relevant facts). In addition, under Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(e), section (3) specifically states that:

A duty to supplement responses may be imposed by order of the court, agreement of the parties, or ... through new requests for supplementation of prior responses.

Defendant is, in effect, asking this Court to impose upon plaintiff a duty to supplement its responses. Requiring a party to supplement responses in order to make them current is an approved feature of our civil procedure, and if additional responsive information exists, this Court orders that it be produced. See FTC v. Jim Walter Corp., 651 F.2d 251, 258 (C.A. 5th 1981).

Specifically, interrogatory no. 17 requests the amount of wages plaintiff contends defendant is obligated to pay as damages and the specifics as to the method of calculations.3 Plaintiff has demanded damages in the amount sufficient to cover the back pay award plaintiff must pay the 1986 Strikers. This amount is to be determined by proceedings conducted by the NLRB which are still ongoing. Plaintiff claims that since a final determination has not been reached, an answer to this interrogatory is premature. In addition, it claims that all documents submitted to the NLRB have also been submitted to the defendant. See Plaintiffs Memorandum in Opposition, p. 8.

Defendant claims that it is in no better position to assess the amount or the method of calculation of plaintiffs alleged damages than it was at the initiation of this case in December, 1991. However, neither does it appear that the plaintiff is any better position to assess those damages as well. It is premature to require the plaintiff to ascertain the exact amount in back wages that the NLRB will require Stabilus to pay, since the amount is based on the NLRB’s determination. Plaintiff states that it has supplied all documentation available to determine the amount to defendant. The plaintiff can do no better at this point; however, it must supplement its response as soon as a determination is made by the NLRB.

Interrogatory nos. 30-31 deal with “direct quotations” from the Opinion of the Administrative Law Judge (“AU”) based on the testimony given by Stabilus at the trial on Unfair Labor Practice Charges. Defendant asked plaintiff if it ever told defendant that the statements made during [263]*263the trial' were true. Plaintiff objects that the interrogatories are vague, overly broad and unduly burdensome, and premature contentions. The relevancy of this line of questioning is rather obscure. However, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure allow for liberal discovery. Relevancy is broadly construed for discovery purposes and is not limited to the precise issues set out in the pleadings or to the merits of the case. Oppenheimer Fund, Inc. v. Sanders, 437 U.S. 340, 98 S.Ct. 2380, 57 L.Ed.2d 253 (1978).

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Bluebook (online)
144 F.R.D. 258, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16189, 1992 WL 276842, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/stabilus-v-haynsworth-baldwin-johnson-greaves-paed-1992.