Opinion ID: 1959174
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Document Requests to Plaintiffs

Text: With most of its deposition notices, Seaman also served requests for documents. In addition to the document requests filed with its deposition notices, Seaman served several stand alone document requests. Seaman's counsel was unsuccessful in informal efforts to obtain document production from the Clevelands and Head, so Seaman filed a motion to compel production. The Clevelands and Head filed nothing in opposition. The trial court granted this motion on July 19, 1999, and the Clevelands and Head were ordered to comply with the request for production within 21 days of the order, that is, by August 9, 1999. The Clevelands and Head did not comply with this court order; they did not produce any documents despite Seaman's reminder that the court-ordered production was overdue. The Clevelands and Head did not respond until after Seaman had filed its discovery motion on August 13, 1999. As already noted, Seaman's Rule 37 motion to dismiss for failure to comply with the court's order was filed by Seaman on August 13, 1999, and heard by the trial court on September 2, 1999. After that hearing, and as part of the court's September 9, 1999, discovery order, the Clevelands were again ordered to produce documents. Documents were finally produced by M.O. Cleveland after the September 2, 1999, court hearing and also late on the day before his deposition in October 1999. M.O. Cleveland provided documents after Seaman filed several discovery motions and the trial court issued two discovery orders. Belle Cleveland and Sarah Head never produced any documents. On July 3, 2000, Seaman filed its fourth Rule 37 motion to dismiss. This motion was based primarily on the Clevelands and Head's failure to answer Seaman's second interrogatories or to respond to Seaman's second document requests, as well as the Clevelands and Head's general refusal to submit to discovery. In the motion Seaman reminded the trial judge that no order had been entered after the April 10, 2000, hearing on its earlier discovery motions. Seaman specifically requested dismissal of the entire action pursuant to the Iverson v. Xpert Tune, Inc., 553 So.2d 82 (Ala.1989), spoliation doctrine regarding destruction or nonpreservation of evidence. No ruling or hearing on this motion occurred in the year 2000.