Opinion ID: 2514220
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: DiscoveryThe Wife's Past Records and Deposition of Her Oldest Son

Text: [¶ 39] The husband requested the production of the wife's medical, counseling, psychiatric, and psychological records from prior to the marriage. He also expresses the desire to depose the wife's oldest son. The wife argues that the husband had access to volumes of information and he was not entitled to go on a fishing expedition into records dated before the marriage. She opposes our consideration of the issue of the deposition of her son because the husband did not bring this issue to the trial court's attention. She insists that, if the case is remanded and the husband wants to conduct a deposition of her son, issues associated therewith can be addressed by the trial court then. [¶ 40] We agree with the wife that the trial court can address the issue of the requested deposition of her oldest son on remand. Regarding the past records issue, however, we side with the husband. Requests for depositions and for the production of documents are controlled by W.R.C.P. 26, which provides in pertinent part: (b) Discovery Scope and Limits. Unless otherwise limited by order of the court in accordance with these rules, the scope of discovery is as follows: (1)(A) In General. Parties may obtain discovery regarding any matter, not privileged, which is relevant to the subject matter involved in the pending action, whether it relates to the claim or defense of the party seeking discovery or to the claim or defense of any other party, including the existence, description, nature, custody, condition and location of any books, documents, or other tangible things and the identity and location of persons having knowledge of any discoverable matter. It is not ground for objection that the information sought will be inadmissible at the trial if the information sought appears reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence. (B) Limitations. The frequency or extent of use of the discovery methods set forth in subdivision (a) may be limited by the court if it determines that: (i) the discovery sought is unreasonably cumulative or duplicative, or is obtainable from some other source that is more convenient, less burdensome, or less expensive; (ii) the party seeking discovery has had ample opportunity by discovery in the action to obtain the information sought; or (iii) the discovery is unduly burdensome or expensive, taking into account the needs of the case, the amount in controversy, limitations on the parties' resources, and the importance of the issues at stake in the litigation. The court may act upon its own initiative after reasonable notice or pursuant to a motion under subdivision (c). [¶ 41] Some of the issues in this case raise questions about the wife's mental health. The evidence at trial demonstrated that she had endured some emotionally stressful events prior to her marriage, and the husband's expert requested the complete file of her mental health records. The wife argues that to allow the husband access to counseling records dated ten to fifteen years earlier would result in an impermissible fishing expedition. [¶ 42] The child custody dispute in this case involved allegations by the husband that the wife has been emotionally erratic and explosive in front of their child, and he presented evidence to that effect. In the wife's tort issues, she asserted that she suffered severe emotional distress as a result of the husband's outrageous behavior. We conclude that a mental health expert should be given a complete record of relevant facts to be able to adequately evaluate the issues and make an intelligent decision. We, therefore, reverse the trial court's denial of the husband's request to discover a complete version of the wife's mental health records. [¶ 43] Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded in accordance with this opinion.