U.S. v. Jefferson Cnty.
U.S. v. Jefferson Cnty.
2008 WL 11523169 (N.D. Ala. 2008)
August 1, 2008
Smith, C. Lynwood, United States District Judge
Summary
The court did not address any ESI. The court granted the motion for monetary sanctions and ordered the in-house attorneys from the Jefferson County Attorney's Office to show cause why the fees and expenses incurred by the Martin-Bryant parties should not be imposed upon them individually. The court also rescinded the order establishing a schedule to govern the motion by the Martin-Bryant parties and directed the parties to confer as to a revised schedule.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff,
v.
JEFFERSON COUNTY, ALABAMA, et al., Defendants.
JOHN W. MARTIN, et al., Plaintiffs,
v.
CITY OF BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA, et al., Defendants.
ENSLEY BRANCH OF THE N.A.A.C.P., et al., et al., Plaintiffs,
v.
GEORGE SEIBELS, et al., Defendants
v.
JEFFERSON COUNTY, ALABAMA, et al., Defendants.
JOHN W. MARTIN, et al., Plaintiffs,
v.
CITY OF BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA, et al., Defendants.
ENSLEY BRANCH OF THE N.A.A.C.P., et al., et al., Plaintiffs,
v.
GEORGE SEIBELS, et al., Defendants
Civil Action No. CV-75-S-666-S, Civil Action No. CV-74-S-17-S, Civil Action No. CV-74-S-12-S
United States District Court, N.D. Alabama, Southern Division
Filed August 01, 2008
Counsel
Hector Federico Ruiz, Jr., United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Washington, DC, Joseph John Sperber, IV, US Department of Justice Employment Litigation Section, Washington, DC, for Plaintiff United States of America in CV-75-S-666-S.Leslie Allen Coyne, Coyne Counsel & Consulting LLC, Birmingham, AL, Anne R. Yuengert, Sarah Elizabeth Merkle, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP, Birmingham, AL, for Defendant Jefferson County Personnel Board in CV-75-S-666-S.
Shawnna H. Smith, Theodore A. Lawson, II, Charles S. Wagner, Edwin A. Strickland, Jefferson County District Attorney's Office, Birmingham, AL, Byron R. Perkins, Perkins Law, Birmingham, AL, David M. Smith, Grace Robinson Murphy, Mitchell David Greggs, Stephanie H. Mays, Thomas J. Butler, Maynard Cooper & Gale PC, Birmingham, AL, for Defendant Jefferson County in CV-75-S-666-S.
Michael L. Jackson, Wallace Jordan Ratliff & Brandt, LLC, Birmingham, AL, for Defendant Citizens Supervisory Commission in CV-75-S-666-S.
Julian D. Butler, Sirote and Permutt PC, Huntsville, AL, Augusta Salem Dowd, White Arnold & Dowd, PC, Birmingham, AL, for Defendant Edwin A. Strickland in CV-75-S-666-S.
Raymond P. Fitzpatrick, Jr., Birmingham, AL, Augusta Salem Dowd, White Arnold & Dowd, PC, Birmingham, AL, for Defendant Charles S. Wagner in CV-75-S-666-S.
Augusta Salem Dowd, White Arnold & Dowd, PC, Birmingham, AL, for Defendant Theo Lawson in CV-75-S-666-S.
Smith, C. Lynwood, United States District Judge
ORDER
*1 This action is before the court on the motion by the Martin-Bryant parties to strike Jefferson County's proposed expert testimony, preclude the use by Jefferson County of evidence that was not previously produced to the Martin-Bryant parties, and impose monetary sanctions.[1] The motion is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.
To the extent the motion seeks the exclusion of expert testimony and other evidence, it is DENIED, but without prejudice to a motion for reconsideration should the egregious abuse of the discovery requirements of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure clearly and convincingly established by the exhibits appended to and referenced in the briefs of counsel for the Martin-Bryant parties persists into the future.
To the extent the motion seeks monetary sanctions, however, it is GRANTED. As a sanction for failure to comply with the Martin-Bryant parties' discovery requests, Jefferson County will be required to pay all reasonable fees and expenses incurred by counsel for the Martin-Bryant parties in pursuing discovery from Jefferson County, and in filing the motion to strike and for sanctions. Counsel for the Martin-Bryant parties are ORDERED to file a sworn statement of fees and expenses, together with supporting documentation, on or before August 15, 2008. Jefferson County may file a response to the statement of the Martin-Bryant parties on or before August 22, 2008. If Jefferson County objects to any of the fees or expenses requested by the Martin-Bryant parties, it must itemize those objections. The court will not accept generalized objections.
Further, the in-house attorneys from the Jefferson County Attorney's Office who represented Jefferson County during the period in which counsel repeatedly failed to comply with the Martin-Bryant parties' discovery requests — i.e., Charles S. Wagner, Theodore A. Lawson, II, and the aforesaid attorneys' ultimate supervisor, Jefferson County Attorney Edwin A. Strickland — each are ORDERED to show cause, in writing, on or before August 15, 2008, why the fees and expenses incurred by the Martin-Bryant parties in pursuing discovery from Jefferson County should not be imposed upon them individually, not to be satisfied out of County funds.
Finally, the order entered on March 25, 2008, establishing a schedule to govern the motion by the Martin-Bryant parties to hold Jefferson County in civil contempt for failure to comply with the requirements of its consent decree and for modification of the decree, is RESCINDED. The parties are directed to confer as to a revised schedule, and to present a proposed revised scheduling order to the court on or before August 15, 2008.
DONE this 1st day of August, 2008.