IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS

DALLAS DIVISION

LLOYD THOMAS SCOTT §

§

Plaintiff, §

§

VS. § NO. 3-04-CV-2723-H

§

RENT-WAY, TTIG, L.P., ET AL. §

§

Defendants. §

MEMORANDUM ORDER

Defendants have filed a motion to compel discovery in this race and age discrimination and

retaliation case brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended ("Title VII"),

42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq., and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 ("ADEA"), 29

U.S.C. § 621, et seq. At issue is the following interrogatory served on plaintiff:

Interrogatory No. 13:

For any employment sought and/or obtained at any employer after

Plaintiff was separated from Defendant's employ, state the following:

(a) the full name and business address of each of the employers

to whom such applications were made;

(b) the dates you made each application;

(c) if you were hired, the name of your new employer(s);

(d) the date and circumstances under which said employment

terminated (if applicable), including whether you were asked to

leave; and

(e) identify all documents relating to the foregoing answers.

 

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1

 In an effort to avoid another discovery dispute should defendant subpoena documents from plaintiff's current

employer, the court likely would limit such discovery to documents that are directly related to the issue of mitigation,

such as plaintiff's salary, benefits, and other earnings. The court is not inclined to allow defendant to rummage through

plaintiff's entire personnel file in hopes of finding information to impeach his credibility. See Reynolds v. York, 2004

WL 1490040 at *1 (N.D. Tex. Jul. 2, 2004) (Kaplan, J.) (holding that third-party subpoena served on former employer

seeking personnel file and other documents that might impeach plaintiff's credibility "amounts to nothing more than a

fishing expedition").

Plaintiff timely objected to this interrogatory as overly broad, unduly burdensome, and not

reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence. More particularly, plaintiff

alleged that the interrogatory violated his right to privacy and might lead to retaliation by his current

employer. Subject these objections, plaintiff answered that he has sought work from employers "too

numerous to list here." Although plaintiff refused to identify his current employer, he disclosed that

he found a full-time job in June 2004 and currently earns $41,999.88 per year. Dissatisfied with this

response, defendant seeks an order compelling plaintiff to fully answer the interrogatory. The

parties have briefed their respective positions in a joint status report filed on June 14, 2005, and the

motion is ripe for determination.

Interrogatory No. 13 seeks only: (1) the identity of employers from whom plaintiff sought

and/or obtained employment following his termination by defendant; (2) the dates of any

applications for employment; (3) the dates and circumstances under which any subsequent

employment was terminated; and (4) the identity of documents relating to these matters. Clearly,

this information is relevant to plaintiff's efforts to mitigate his damages. Plaintiff has not shown how

providing this information to defendant in a verified interrogatory answer is unduly burdensome,

will invade his right to privacy, or will subject him to retaliation. Rather, plaintiff's real objection

is to any attempt by defendant to obtain documents, such as his personnel file, from his current

employer. This objection is premature and can be addressed if and when defendant subpoenas

documents.1

 

 

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For these reasons, defendant's motion to compel is granted. Plaintiff's objections to

Interrogatory No. 13 are overruled. Plaintiff shall fully answer this interrogatory, in writing and

under oath, not later than June 27, 2005.

SO ORDERED.

DATED: June 16, 2005.

 

 

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