The Estate of Elizabeth Peters, deceased, by and through its duly appointed special administrator, Frank Peters, and Frank Peters, individually and on behalf of the heirs of Elizabeth Peters v. Federal Express Corporation

District Court, D. Kansas·Decided July 17, 2026·No. 2:25-cv-02440·Unknown

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF KANSAS

THE ESTATE OF ELIZABETH PETERS, deceased, by and through its duly appointed special administrator, Frank Peters,

and

FRANK PETERS, individually and on behalf of the heirs of Elizabeth Peters, Case No. 25-cv-2440-DDC-JBW Plaintiffs,

v.

FEDERAL EXPRESS CORPORATION,

Defendant.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER This matter is before the Court on Defendant Federal Express Corporation’s Motion for Protective Order (Dkt. 60). Defendant requests the Court enter a protective order, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c), prohibiting discovery of its financial statements and documents sought by nine of Plaintiffs’ requests for production (“RFPs”). Plaintiffs argue these RFPs are relevant and appropriately tailored to their non-spurious claim for punitive damages and request that Defendant be ordered to produce documents responsive to these RFPs. As explained below, Defendant’s motion is granted in part and denied in part. I. Background This case arises from a motor vehicle collision between Elizabeth Peters and a van driven by Defendant’s employee, Alexander Bullock (“FedEx Driver”), at a rural intersection in Gray County, Kansas. Plaintiffs are the Estate of Elizabeth Peters, by and through Frank Peters as its duly appointed special administrator, and Frank Peters, individually and on behalf of the heirs of Elizabeth Peters. Plaintiffs’ Amended Complaint (Dkt. 9) asserts the following claims against Defendant: Vicarious Liability/Respondeat Superior (Count I), Negligence (Count II), and Punitive Damages (Count III). The Estate seeks recovery of all damages and remedies available as a result of the decedent’s conscious physical and emotional pain and suffering, funeral expenses, past medical expenses, past and future economic damages, and past and future noneconomic

damages. Frank Peters, individually and on behalf of the heirs of Elizabeth Peters, seeks all damages allowed under the Kansas Wrongful Death Act. Plaintiffs’ Amended Complaint asserts a claim for punitive damages against Defendant based on the alleged reckless driving of the FedEx Driver before the accident. On December 23, 2025, Plaintiffs served their second set of RFPs on Defendant. RFPs 77 through 84 ask Defendant to produce financial statements and information from Federal Express Corporation, FedEx Express,1 and the Garden City station.2 Specifically, RFPs 77 to 84 seek production of the following: RFP 77: A high-level balance sheet from Federal Express Corporation for fiscal years 2025 and 2026. The balance sheet should include, but not be limited to, total revenues, total expenses, and profits. Preferably, expenses should be divided between variable and fixed costs. RFP 78: If FedEx Express maintains a separate high-level balance sheet from Federal Express Corporation, a high-level balance sheet from FedEx Express for fiscal years 2025 and 2026. The balance sheet should include, but not be limited to, total revenues, total expenses, and profits. Preferably, expenses should be divided between variable and fixed costs.

1 Plaintiffs clarify that “FedEx Express” is not a typo and “Express” is a subgroup or subdivision of “FedEx” generally. Sur-Reply (Dkt. 76) at 5 n.16. 2 Plaintiffs state that the FedEx Driver worked at the FedEx Express location in Garden City, Kansas. Id.

2 RFP 79: A high level balance sheet for the Garden City station for fiscal years 2025 and 2026. The balance sheet should include, but not be limited to, total revenues, total expenses, and profits. Preferably, expenses should be divided between variable and fixed costs. RFP 80: Documents sufficient to show the profits for FedEx Express for each fiscal year from 2019 through 2025. RFP 81: Documents sufficient to show the profits for the Garden City, Kansas station for each fiscal year from 2019 through 2025. RFP 82: Documents sufficient to show how FedEx Express determines its net profits. RFP 83: Documents sufficient to show how Federal Express determines its net profits. RFP 84 : Documents sufficient to show the vertical integration from the Garden City, Kansas station to the top of Federal Express Corporation.3 On January 15, 2026, Plaintiffs served their third set of RFPs on Defendant. It consisted of RFP 89, which asks Defendant to produce: For each year from 2019 through 2025, provide the three financial documents or statements identified below for the Garden City Federal Express location or hub: a. a detailed balance sheet; b. a detailed income statement with variable and fixed expenses that should be clearly identified in the income statement. If a particular expense is a semi-variable (or semi-fixed) expense, please provide the fixed portion of the expense along with the variable rate identified on a per-unit basis or by some other unit identified as the measurement; and c. a statement of cash flows. To be clear, all three types of documents requested above are for the Garden City Federal Express location where [FedEx Driver] was employed, and the requests are

3 Def.’s Resps. & Objs. to Second Set of RFPs (Dkt. 62-2) at 3–8.

3 for documents from 2019 through 2025.4 Defendant served its responses and objections to Plaintiffs’ second set of RFPs on February 9, 20265 and the third set of RFPs on February 16, 2026.6 It objected to all the disputed RFPs as premature because they seek financial information relevant only to a punitive damages claim and Plaintiffs have failed to prove that their claim for punitive damages is not spurious. Defendant

further objected that Plaintiffs have not established malicious intent or reckless indifference required to assert punitive damages and Plaintiffs’ punitive damages claims lack merit and are not supported by requisite evidence. For RFPs 80 and 81 seeking financial information for “each fiscal year from 2019 through 2025” and RFPs 82 and 83 seeking documents showing how net profits are determined, Defendant also objected to those RFPs as overly broad and unduly burdensome, not relevant in time or scope, and not relevant to any claim or defense. On March 6, 2026, the Court entered an order (Dkt. 51) extending Defendant’s deadline to supplement some of its discovery responses. In that Order, the Court reminded Defendant that “there is a viable punitive damages claim in this case and, unless there is a legitimate basis for withholding any relevant discovery, Defendant should review the discovery requests again and

truly determine the basis for any objection. Also, Defendant shall review and supplement their responses to Plaintiffs’ Requests for Production no later than 3/20/2026. The parties are strongly

4 Def.’s Resps. & Objs. to Third Set of RFPs (Dkt. 62-2) at 12–14. 5 Def.’s Resps. & Objs. to Second Set of RFPs (Dkt. 62-2) at 3–11. 6 Def.’s Resps. & Objs. to Third Set of RFPs (Dkt. 62-2) at 12–14.

4 encouraged to continue to confer.”7 The Court also set a discovery conference in the event an impasse still remains. On March 31, 2026, the Court held a pre-motion discovery conference on three discovery disputes raised by the parties, including Defendant’s objections to Plaintiffs’ requests for discovery relevant to the issue of punitive damages.8 After hearing the parties’ arguments on whether

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The Estate of Elizabeth Peters, deceased, by and through its duly appointed special administrator, Frank Peters, and Frank Peters, individually and on behalf of the heirs of Elizabeth Peters v. Federal Express Corporation, (D. Kan. 2026).

The Estate of Elizabeth Peters, deceased, by and through its duly appointed special administrator, Frank Peters, and Frank Peters, individually and on behalf of the heirs of Elizabeth Peters v. Federal Express Corporation (The Estate of Elizabeth Peters, deceased, by and through its duly appointed special administrator, Frank Peters, and Frank Peters, individually and on behalf of the heirs of Elizabeth Peters v. Federal Express Corporation) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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