Opinion ID: 675149
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Discovery Fraud

Text: 37 The District Court correctly noted that the failure to disclose information within the scope of proper discovery requests can, in certain circumstances, constitute grounds for a new trial. See, e.g., Rozier v. Ford Motor Co., 573 F.2d 1332 (5th Cir.1978). In order to obtain this dramatic relief, the movant must demonstrate both that misconduct occurred and that it prejudiced him. Wiedemann v. Galiano, 722 F.2d 335, 337 (7th Cir.1983) (In general, [t]he misconduct of counsel or a party justifies a new trial where that misconduct prejudiced the adverse party.); Hines v. Joy Mfg. Co., 850 F.2d 1146, 1153 (6th Cir.1988) (new trial based on discovery fraud only granted upon a showing of substantial prejudice). 38 In denying Brandt's motion for a new trial, the District Court--having presided over the five-year litigation--concluded that Brandt had failed to show any prejudice stemming from Vulcan's alleged discovery fraud. Order at 6. The court once again relied on the fact that Brandt had been aware of possible discovery fraud long before trial. As discussed above, Brandt did little with this information, failing to obtain an order compelling discovery compliance, to depose Vulcan employees, or even to seek a continuance in order to further explore unclear factual issues. 39 Brandt contends that his behavior stems directly from Vulcan's mendacious discovery responses. Had Vulcan not lied, Brandt argues, he would have conducted discovery differently. For example, Brandt claims that had Vulcan fully complied with document requests, he would have learned that other companies, such as Weirton Steel, had complained about the Titzel Tower. Armed with this information, Brandt asserts that he could have deposed Weirton employees and uncovered useful evidence. Additionally, Brandt complains that Vulcan's failure to turn over a copy of contract 2275 prevented him from providing the jury with the grating tabs' actual dimensions. 40 Brandt's claim of prejudice, however, is belied by the fact that he did virtually nothing to gain the information he now claims was vital to his case. If the exact dimensions of the grating tabs were critical to Brandt's suit, we are hard pressed to imagine that (1) he could not have obtained a copy of contract 2275 from another source (as Vulcan claims it did), or (2) he could not have gathered information on the tab dimensions from Granite City Steel employees. In the absence of any evidence that Brandt made a serious effort to obtain this vital information, his current assertions of prejudice ring hollow. 41 The same holds true for Brandt's lament that he was deprived of the opportunity to depose Weirton employees about their troubles with the Titzel Tower. Nothing prevented Brandt from pursuing this sort of information through UMEC. Moreover, there is no evidence on the record that Vulcan, Inc. possessed the Inquiry Record, which reveals Weirton's complaint, at the relevant time. Instead, the record reveals that this document was produced in 1990 by Vulcan Engineering and Titzel in a separate (and unrelated) action brought against Vulcan, Inc., Vulcan Engineering, Titzel, and other defendants. At that time, however, both Vulcan Engineering and Titzel were distinct entities from Vulcan, Inc. The fact that they turned over these documents, therefore, is not necessarily probative of any wrongdoing on Vulcan's part. In any event, Brandt presents nothing to suggest that Weirton's complaint regarding the Titzel Tower had any bearing on the case at hand. It would have taken Brandt only minimal effort to determine the general parameters of Weirton's complaint and learn whether it pertained to the instant suit. 42 In sum, we agree with the District Court that Brandt's claims of prejudice are unsupported by the evidence. Even assuming that the information would have been helpful to some degree, we are unpersuaded that Brandt was meaningfully prejudiced.