Genova v. The City of Glen Cove
2:13-cv-04088
E.D.N.YOct 19, 2015Background
- Plaintiff Scott Genova sued the City of Glen Cove and several police supervisors alleging discrimination, retaliation, denial of medical leave, and related economic damages, including $70,000 in credit card debt claimed to result from defendants’ conduct.
- Defendants served requests for documents (including credit card statements) in December 2014; Plaintiff initially refused, then produced a sampling on June 19, 2015 (the written discovery deadline), and later produced additional statements on August 14, 2015 obtained by subpoena.
- The court previously ordered Plaintiff to produce a sampling of credit card statements and allowed defendants leave to seek more if the sampling was probative; discovery deadlines were extended to June 19, 2015 for written discovery and July 19, 2015 for depositions.
- Plaintiff retained an economic expert, Dr. Steven Shapiro, whose damages opinion assumed Plaintiff would have worked to retirement; at his August 10, 2015 deposition he acknowledged he had not reviewed the Social Security Disability (SSD) award basis and that the SSD basis could affect lost-earnings calculations.
- Defendants sought to reopen discovery to obtain: (1) fuller credit card statement discovery and a limited continued deposition of Plaintiff on credit-card damages; and (2) Plaintiff’s SSA/SSD file and a brief additional deposition of Dr. Shapiro to assess impact of the SSD award on damages.
- Magistrate Judge Locke granted defendants’ motion in part, finding good cause to reopen discovery limited to the two topics, ordered Plaintiff to execute an SSA release within seven days, limited Plaintiff’s additional deposition to three hours on credit-card damages, and allowed up to two extra hours for Dr. Shapiro’s deposition. A status conference was scheduled.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reopen discovery for additional credit-card statements and continued deposition of Plaintiff | Genova: Discovery request is untimely; no good cause shown to reopen schedule | Defs: Plaintiff produced additional statements at close of discovery; defendants lacked time to probe them earlier; evidence is relevant to economic damages | Reopened limited discovery on credit-card damages; Plaintiff subject to a 3-hour deposition limited to that topic |
| Reopen discovery to obtain SSA/SSD records | Genova: Discovery deadline passed; defendants offer no good cause | Defs: Dr. Shapiro’s opinion may be affected by SSD basis; his deposition was postponed and occurred after deadline; SSD records are relevant to damages | Ordered Plaintiff to execute SSA authorization; defendants may obtain SSD records and depose Dr. Shapiro up to 2 additional hours about SSD’s impact on damages |
| Additional deposition time beyond standard Rule 30 limits | Genova: Opposed as untimely and unnecessary | Defs: Additional time is needed for fair examination given newly produced materials and expert uncertainty | Court allowed limited additional time (3 hours for Plaintiff on credit-card issue; 2 hours for Dr. Shapiro on SSD issue) as consistent with Rule 30 and Rule 26(b)(2) principles |
Key Cases Cited
- Durakovic v. Bldg. Serv. 32B-J Pension Fund, 642 F. Supp. 2d 146 (E.D.N.Y. 2009) (scheduling orders may be modified only for good cause and with the judge’s consent)
- Grochowski v. Phoenix Constr., 318 F.3d 80 (2d Cir. 2003) (good-cause inquiry focuses on diligence of the movant)
- Bakalar v. Vavra, 851 F. Supp. 2d 489 (S.D.N.Y. 2011) (additional discovery justified where party lacked adequate opportunity earlier)