Opinion ID: 440417
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Propriety of the Discovery Order

Text: 4 The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure permit a party to obtain discovery of any matter which is relevant and not privileged. Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(b)(1). Rule 26 also states that discovery shall be limited if the court determines that the discovery is unduly burdensome or expensive, taking into account the needs of the case [and other factors]. The INS argues that it costs too much to comply with the discovery order and that Munoz does not really need the material anyway. We consider these arguments in turn. 5 1. Cost of compliance. The INS knows that the Helena, Montana District Director acted on 84 I-212 applications during the period covered by the discovery order, but the agency's computer system is not indexed in a way that permits the retrieval of those files. Therefore the files must be searched by hand, a process which the INS contends is prohibitively expensive. The discovery order also required that all I-212 appeals decided by the Northern Regional Commissioner during the relevant period be produced. The INS produced only a few of them and indicated to the trial court without full explanation that it was too difficult or expensive to obtain the rest. On appeal, the INS discussed more fully the expense and difficulty involved. We do not condone its failure to do so at the trial level but we cannot, under the circumstances, deem that fatal to its argument. 6 The cost of complying with this discovery order, either by hand search or by improving the computer filing system, is substantial. The INS states at page 17 of its brief that 266 man-hours were spent searching files at a cost of $15,996. This cost represents only the expense of partial compliance with the discovery order. Full compliance would have been more costly. Since the need for the records was not especially great, the imposition of such a heavy burden on the agency was an abuse of discretion. 7 2. Munoz's need for the records. In Nicholas v. INS, 590 F.2d 802 (9th Cir.1979), Nicholas challenged the INS District Director's decision not to grant him non-priority status. He relied on a law review article to demonstrate that his case had been handled differently from similar cases. We held that this evidence was not sufficient to establish a pattern of agency conduct. Munoz, heeding the lesson of Nicholas, sought to show that he had been treated arbitrarily by comparing his case with all I-212 dispositions from the same INS offices during the past two years. 8 The INS contends Munoz did not need the requested documents to make out his case. First, the agency argues that the criteria set out in Matter of Tin, 14 I. & N. Dec. 371, 373-74 (Reg.Comm.1973), provide a sufficient basis for Munoz to challenge the decision in his case. These criteria 9 include but are not limited to the basis for deportation, recency of deportation, length of residence in the United States, the moral character of the applicant, his respect for law and order, evidence of reformation and rehabilitation, his family responsibilities, any inadmissibility to the United States under other sections of law, hardship involved to himself and others, and the need for his services in the United States. 10 We agree. Munoz failed to make any showing that these published criteria were not an adequate substitute for the documents requested. 11 The INS also claims that published decisions and records supplied in partial compliance with the discovery order sufficed for Munoz to establish a pattern of agency conduct. Munoz had access to the following materials: five published decisions from the years 1973 to 1978 (and thus prior to the time period covered by the discovery order) and 31 decisions supplied by the INS in partial response to the discovery order (12 denials and 13 approvals by the District Director and six denials by the Regional Commissioner). By comparison, the documents requested by Munoz were: 84 decisions by the District Director (58 approved and 26 denied) and an indeterminate number of appeals to the Northern Regional Commissioner. The INS does not argue that the documents supplied are representative of those requested, but neither does Munoz give any reason why the 31 decisions at his disposal do not suffice to establish a pattern of agency conduct. Nor is there any suggestion that the INS's partial compliance was not in good faith. 12 After considering the burdensomeness of the discovery order and the adequacy of materials available to Munoz, we find that the district court abused its discretion in the grant of the discovery order.