MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
I. Preliminary Statement
Plaintiff Susan Gordon (“Plaintiff’ or “Gordon”) brings the instant action against Defendant Target Corporation (“Defendant” or “Target”) seeking damages for personal injuries she sustained while shopping at Defendant’s store located in Hicksville, New York. See generally Complaint [DE l].
II. Relevant Background
The Court held a Status Conference with the parties on January 12, 2015. See DE 28. During that conference, Plaintiff indicated that she would be seeking the surveillance footage from the Target store in which Plain
III. Discussion
A. Defendants’ Motion to Stay Disclosure of Surveillance Video
Defendant asserts that “Target has disclosed the existence of th[e] video to plaintiffs counsel in its Initial Disclosure. It is Target’s intention to use the video for impeachment of the plaintiff at the time of trial.” DE 30 at 1. As such, Defendant takes the position that it be permitted to “withhold disclosure of the surveillance video [ ] of the plaintiff on the date of the accident out of concern that plaintiff may tailor her testimony based on what it will reveal.” Id. In support of its argument, Defendant cites case law within this Circuit which Defendant maintains stands for the proposition that “surveillance materials do not have to be disclosed until after the deposition of the affected party.” Id. at 2. In sum, Defendant theorizes that “in balancing the competing interests of the parties with respect to disclosure of surveillance films it is appropriate to delay discovery until after the plaintiff testifies at a deposition.” Id.
In response, Plaintiff states that the cases upon which Defendant relies, although relevant, “did not make the necessary preliminary determination of ‘good cause’ in issuing protective orders, as required by Rule 26.” DE 31 at 1. Further, Plaintiff asserts that Defendant’s “contentions are merely conclu-sory allegations, unsupported by any particular and specific demonstration of fact” and that, as such, “Target should produce the video “[i]n light of the fact that the defendant’s only reason for requesting that plaintiff be deposed prior to the completion of discovery is the risk that plaintiff will tailor [her] testimony, absent any facts to justify this suspicion.” Id. (quoting Bofail v. United States,
1. Applicable Law
“A trial court enjoys wide discretion in its handling of pre-trial discovery.” Cruden v. Bank of New York,
Where a party seeks to delay discovery pending the completion of a deposition, Rule 26(c) prescribes that the party seeking relief “may move for a protective order in the court where the action is pending....” Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c)(1); see Costa,
Generally, the Court may issue a protective order where “good cause” has been established. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c)(1); Rofail,
2. Application to the Facts
In the instant case, Defendant ostensibly seeks a protective order pursuant to Rule 26(c) staying the discovery of the surveillance video until after Plaintiff has been deposed because of the possibility that “plaintiff may tailor her testimony based on what it will reveal.” DE 30 at 1 (emphasis added). However, Defendant does not point to any specific facts or circumstances that have arisen thus far in the litigation which support this position. Rule 26(c) is clear that a court may issue a protective order upon a showing of good cause. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c)(1). However, “mere conclusory statements] that a party might tailor its testimony to the statement does not establish good cause.” Rofail,
In support of its position that the stay of disclosure is warranted, Defendant primarily relies on cases that adopted, without discussion of the “good cause” standard set forth in Rule 26, the “common practice ... for courts to grant stays of production of the statements of parties (and other investigative materials) until after the party has been deposed.” Rofail,
Defendant has provided this Court with no independent factual basis to determine whether a stay is warranted other than the spectre that Plaintiff “may taüor her testimony.” DE 30 at 1. Without any such showing, as the court in Rofail astutely noted, “if courts routinely grant stays because parties cite the possibüity of taüoring in a request for a stay, making the request [itself] creates good cause ... [which constitutes] a change in the rules to which [the court] will not contribute.” Indeed, even in the case of Lang v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.—upon which Defendant relies—the stay of production was upheld by the district court because “[t]he defendant asserts that the account of events in plaintiffs complaint is already at odds with the video footage of the incident ... Accordingly the Court is mindful of the defendant’s very real concern that plaintiffs testimony may be affected if she views the footage before her testimony. Thus the defendant has shown good cause for sequencing discovery.” Lang, No. CV 15-2528, Slip Op. at 2. Facts sufficient to establish good cause, however, distinguish Lang from the instant case. Defendant’s reliance on Lang is therefore misplaced. See Costa,
Although the Court acknowledges the cases cited by Defendant which authorized a stay of discovery of surveillance video until after a party’s deposition, the Court finds the reasoning set forth in those decisions unpersuasive. Specifically, the touchstone for determining whether to issue a protective order under Rule 26(c) lies, in the first instance, on a party’s ability to establish good cause. That essential condition precedent is lacking here. Conelusory assertions and the “whiff’ of possible improprieties on the part of Plaintiff are insufficient to establish good cause. Those assertions, consequently, cannot serve as the necessary factual predicate for a protective order. As the Court in Rofail recognized:
the appropriate case may exist where a stay is warranted. The appropriate case may be where the party in possession of a statement demonstrates good cause for a protective order under Rule 26(c)(2) staying production of a the statement until after the party’s deposition. If a balance of the interests favors the party in possession of the statement, the court can exercise discretion to grant the order. But a mere conelusory statement that a party might tailor its testimony to the statement does not establish good cause. This is because the party making the statement has an absolute right to it, and because no discovery of a party, deposition or otherwise, should operate to delay another party’s discovery.
Rofail,
“Discovery is not a matter of gamesmanship nor conducted like a game of chess.” Phelan v. Cambell, No. 9:10-CV-540,
IV. Conclusion
Based upon the foregoing analysis, Defendant’s motion to stay disclosure of the surveillance footage is DENIED.
The Court will separately enter an Amended Case Management and Scheduling Order based on the entry of this Order.
SO ORDERED.
Notes
. This action was initially tiled in the Supreme Court of the State of New York on March 11, 2014. See DE 1. On April 24, 2016, Defendant removed the state court action to this Court based upon diversity grounds. Id.
. Following the parties’ submissions, the Court received further unsolicited correspondence from the parties concerning this pending motion. See DE 32 (Plaintiff's letter requesting status of the motion); DE 36 (letter from Defendant's counsel advising the Court of relevant case law regarding the instant motion) and DE 37 (Plaintiff's further letter requesting status).