IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

DAMIEN STANSFIELD, a minor, by :

CHARLENE OBERLY, parent, et al. :

:

Plaintiffs, :

v. : No. 05-cv-00370

:

SUMMIT QUEST ACADEMY, :

VIAQUEST BEHAVIORAL HEALTH :

OF PENNSYLVANIA, LLC, VIAQUEST : 

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH, LLC, :

LAWRENCE DEMILIO, M.D., :

Individually and in his official capacity as :

Medical Director of Summit Quest :

Academy, COMMUNITY CARE BEHAVIORAL :

HEALTH ORGANIZATION, SERVICE : 

ACCESS MANAGEMENT, INC. and BERKS :

COUNTY MENTAL HEALTH AND :

MENTAL RETARDATION PROGRAM :

:

Defendants. :

 MEMORANDUM

Presently pending is Plaintiffs’ Motion for a Protective Order (Dkt # 95), and the

responses thereto. For the reasons articulated below, Plaintiff's motion will be granted in part

and denied in part. 

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Damien Stansfield (hereinafter "Stansfield"), a mentally retarded minor, and Charlene 

Oberly, his parent and natural guardian, (collectively referred to as "Plaintiffs"), brought this

action against Defendants Summit Quest Academy, ViaQuest Behavioral Health of

Pennsylvania, LLC, ViaQuest Behavioral Healh, LLC, Lawrence Demilio, M.D., Community

Care Behavioral Health Organization, Service Access and Management, Inc., and Berks County

Mental Health and Mental Retardation Program, individually, jointly, and/or severally for

damages pursuant to the Civil Rights Act of 1871, codified as 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and

Pennsylvania negligence law. Defendants consist of mental health providers, a government

Case 2:05-cv-00370-PBT Document 139 Filed 01/09/07 Page 1 of 4
1

It does not appear that counsel consulted each other in an attempt to reach a

reasonable accommodation prior to seeking intervention by the court. There is no excuse for

counsels’ failure to first attempt to resolve this matter before involving the court.

agency, a medical doctor, and a managed care organization that provided mental health

services to Stansfield.

While staying at Summit Quest Academy, a mental health facility, Stansfield was 

allegedly sexually abused by another resident due to the Defendants' "gross negligence and

deliberate indifference" to his rights. (See Pl.'s Compl.)

Defendants now seek to depose Stansfield. In response, Plaintiffs, after agreeing to

produce Stansfield, filed the present Motion seeking a protective order.1

II. DISCUSSION

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c) permits a court to enter an order to provide for the

protection of a party from embarrassment, oppression and undue burdens. Plaintiffs’ claim that

as a result of Stansfield’s mental retardation, ADHD, psychotic disorder and Borderline

Intellectual Functioning, that it is necessary to limit his deposition by requiring 1) that only one

attorney be appointed to be the sole questioner of Damien Stansfield; 2) that a closed circuit

television or a two way mirror be utilized for non-questioning counsel other than plaintiffs’

counsel; 3) that no experts be present for the deposition; 4) that questioning be limited to 3

hours, with no more than 30 minutes of uninterrupted questioning to be followed by 10 minutes

of break; and 5) that questions be limited to the time period of Damien Stansfield’s placement at

the Summit Quest Academy.

As Stansfield is the Plaintiff is this action, and as his testimony is central to the claims

and defenses of the parties, it would be unreasonable for the court to deny Defendants an

opportunity to depose him by limiting the number of counsel permitted to question him to a

single attorney, particularly in a case involving multiple defendants. Additionally, since the

scope of discovery is not limited to admissible evidence, but rather to any information which

Case 2:05-cv-00370-PBT Document 139 Filed 01/09/07 Page 2 of 4
might lead to the discovery of admissible evidence, it would be unreasonable to restrict the

scope of the questions to the period that Stansfield was at Defendant Summit Quest’s facility. 

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 30(d) generally restricts the length of a deposition to one day of

7 hours. Given the number of factual issues involved in this case, the court will not

preemptively restrict the deposition to a period of 3 hours. The court will, however, require that

questioning take place for periods of no longer than 30 minutes, followed by a 10 minute break. 

Finally, as Stansfield is essentially a fact witness, the court will exclude experts from the

deposition. An appropriate order follows. 

Case 2:05-cv-00370-PBT Document 139 Filed 01/09/07 Page 3 of 4
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

DAMIEN STANSFIELD, a minor, by :

CHARLENE OBERLY, parent, et al. :

:

Plaintiffs, :

v. : No. 05-cv-00370

:

SUMMIT QUEST ACADEMY, :

VIAQUEST BEHAVIORAL HEALTH :

OF PENNSYLVANIA, LLC, VIAQUEST : 

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH, LLC, :

LAWRENCE DEMILIO, M.D., :

Individually and in his official capacity as :

Medical Director of Summit Quest :

Academy, COMMUNITY CARE BEHAVIORAL :

HEALTH ORGANIZATION, SERVICE : 

ACCESS MANAGEMENT, INC. and BERKS :

COUNTY MENTAL HEALTH AND :

MENTAL RETARDATION PROGRAM :

:

Defendants. :

 ORDER

AND NOW, this 9th day of January, 2007, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiffs’

Motion for a Protective Order is GRANTED in part, and DENIED in part. IT IS FURTHER

ORDERED that,

1) Plaintiffs’ Motion to limit the questioning of Damien Stansfield to periods of 30

minutes of uninterrupted questioning followed by 10 minute breaks is

GRANTED;

2) Plaintiffs’ Motion is DENIED in all other respects.

BY THE COURT:

s/Clifford Scott Green 

CLIFFORD SCOTT GREEN, S.J.

Case 2:05-cv-00370-PBT Document 139 Filed 01/09/07 Page 4 of 4