Opinion ID: 181039
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Motion to Compel and Request for Sanctions

Text: Upon granting a motion to compel, a court must require the party whose conduct necessitated the motion, the party or attorney advising that conduct, or both to pay the movant's reasonable expenses incurred in making the motion, including attorney's fees. Fed.R.Civ.P. 37(a)(5)(A). Such payment must be ordered unless (1) the movant filed the motion before attempting to in good faith to obtain the disclosure or discovery without court action, (2) the nondisclosure was substantially justified, or (3) other circumstances would make the award of expenses unjust. Id. Doran and Sullivant do not appeal from the district court's grant of ADT's motion to compel, but rather argue that ADT did not attempt to confer in good faith and that the district court failed to analyze whether their nondisclosure was substantially justified or whether the award was unjust. We review for abuse of discretion the district court's grant of discovery sanctions. Chrysler Corp. v. Carey, 186 F.3d 1016, 1019 (8th Cir.1999). We are especially reluctant to substitute our judgment for that of the district court in the matter of appropriate attorney's fees, because the district court is in the best position to determine whether hours were reasonably expended and whether an attorney's hourly rates are reasonable within the context of the relevant community. Collins v. Burg, 169 F.3d 563, 565 (8th Cir.1999) (citing Moore v. City of Des Moines, 766 F.2d 343, 346 (8th Cir.1985)). The district court found that ADT had attempted to confer with plaintiffs in good faith without court intervention. The record reflects that ADT repeatedly attempted to confer with Sullivant regarding the incomplete discovery responses. [6] ADT also notified plaintiffs of the discovery deficiencies by letter. When plaintiffs failed to submit complete responses, ADT sought court intervention and requested authorization to file a motion to compel, which was granted. After ADT filed its motion to compel, the district court reviewed the responses and specified their deficiencies. With respect to Doran, the district court found that she had failed to provide her damages computations, that she failed to provide any information about her employment after 1998, and that she failed to explain the alleged disparate treatment. Given the record before it, the district court properly granted the motion to compel and did not clearly err in finding that ADT had attempted to confer with Plaintiffs in good faith.... D. Ct. Order of Mar. 31, 2009, at 4. Doran and Sullivant argue that the district court overlooked significant facts and failed to analyze whether plaintiffs were substantially justified in their nondisclosure or whether the award was unjust. The district court found unpersuasive plaintiffs' argument that they had provided all information within their control. Plaintiffs' supplemental responses did not address the deficiencies described by the district court, and plaintiffs had missed the December 2008 and January 2009 deadlines. The district court held that lesser sanctions than dismissal were appropriate, even though it had previously warned plaintiffs of the possibility of dismissal for continued failure to comply with its discovery order deadlines. Id. at 8. The district court limited the attorneys' fee sanction to the 45.7 hours ADT spent preparing the motion to compel and request for sanctions. The district court did not abuse its discretion in holding Doran and Sullivant jointly and severally liable for ADT's reasonable attorneys' fees in preparing the motion to compel. [7] See Fed. R.Civ.P. 37(a)(5).