Opinion ID: 1747844
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Subpoenas

Text: Ballard's third point, which Cain does not join, relates to the subpoenas for financial documents issued five days before the fairness hearing on June 1, 2001. Ballard sought full disclosure of the Westark appellees' financial information in order to determine their ability to pay more than the settlement. At the hearing, the businesses, acting through CEO Forsey, only produced a portion of the financial documents sought. Nevertheless, the trial court ruled that this partial production, in addition to the personal appearance and testimony of Forsey, was sufficient in light of the short period of time that the companies had to respond. Ballard argues that this ruling was an abuse of the trial court's discretion. She points out that it was the short notice to the classroughly two weeks before the fairness hearingthat prevented her from intervening sooner and from issuing subpoenas in a more timely manner. It is boilerplate law that a trial court has broad discretion in matters pertaining to discovery, and the exercise of that discretion will not be reversed by this court absent an abuse of discretion that is prejudicial to the appealing party. Loghry v. Rogers Group, Inc., 348 Ark. 369, 72 S.W.3d 499 (2002) (citing Alexander v. Flake, 322 Ark. 239, 910 S.W.2d 190 (1995); Rankin v. Farmers Tractor & Equipment Co., Inc., 319 Ark. 26, 888 S.W.2d 657, (1994); Jenkins v. Int'l Paper Co., 318 Ark. 663, 887 S.W.2d 300 (1994)). In the instant case, Ballard does not illuminate how she was prejudiced by the lack of additional financial information. Nor does she assert how her challenge to the settlement would have been different if she had obtained full compliance with the subpoenas. We note that Ballard did argue both to the trial court and to this court that total liability to the 18,500 class members was $27 million and that the Westark appellees would bring in more than $605,000 in revenue during the ninety-day period following the settlement date. Certainly, the financial information that she had on hand enabled her to fully mount her arguments against the settlement. In light of the fact that the subpoenas came less than a week before the fairness hearing, it was within the trial court's discretion to deem partial compliance sufficient. The trial court's ruling on this issue is affirmed.