Free Motion to Compel - District Court of Delaware - Delaware

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF DELAWARE NINA SHAHIN, Plaintiff, v. STATE OF DELAWARE, and DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, Defendants. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

C.A. No. 07-452 GMS/LPS

STATE OF DELAWARE AND DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION'S MOTION TO COMPEL DISCOVERY, OVERRULE OBJECTIONS AND EXTEND DISCOVERY SCHEDULE NOW COME Defendants the State of Delaware and the Department of Transportation ("State Defendants"), by and through counsel, and under Fed. R. Civ. Pro. 37 respectfully request that this Honorable Court compel Plaintiff to produce discovery in response to State Defendants' discovery requests, without objection, at the Wilmington office of State Defendants' counsel. In support of the Motion to Compel, State Defendants state: 1. On or about July 20, 2007, Plaintiff filed her Complaint against the above State

Defendants, in which she alleges age discrimination concerning her application for a position of Assistant Director Financial Management with the Delaware Department of Transportation, in which Plaintiff alleges she was evaluated at 75% and not afforded an interview. (D.I. 2). 2. (D.I. 14). 3. On February 20, 2008, this Honorable Court entered a Scheduling Order (D.I. 15), On February 19, 2008, State Defendants filed their Answer to the Complaint.

which includes the following deadlines: a. April 21, 2008: All motions to join parties and amend pleadings to be filed;

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b. c.

August 21, 2008: All discovery to be completed; October 21, 2008: All motions for summary judgment to be filed.

No trial date was established in the Scheduling Order. 4. On May 20, 2008, Plaintiff filed a Motion to Join her five lawsuits she currently

has pending in this Court and one lawsuit in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, and to amend the pleadings. (D.I. 17). 5. On June 10, 2008, State Defendants filed its response opposing Plaintiff's Motion

to Join. (D.I. 18). 6. Also on June 10, 2008, State Defendants propounded its First Set of

Interrogatories and Requests for Production to Plaintiff. (D.I. 19, 20) (Exhibit 1). 7. After not receiving Plaintiff's responses to its first set of discovery requests, State

Defendants sent a letter to Plaintiff, dated July 22, 2008, requesting that she provide her responses to the discovery requests. (Exhibit 2). 8. By letter dated July 23, 2008 (D.I. 15) (Exhibit 3), Plaintiff answered that she

would not be responding to discovery because of her multiple lawsuits, her Motion to Join, and a personal matter. 9. By letter dated July 25, 2008 (Exhibit 4), State Defendants requested again that

Plaintiff provide her responses to the discovery requests. 10. The undersigned attorney submits that the two letters to Plaintiff are a reasonable

effort to reach an agreement on the outstanding discovery at issue. D. Del. L. R. 7.1.1. 11. As of the date of this filing, State Defendants have not received any further

correspondence from Plaintiff nor received Plaintiff's responses to their discovery requests. 12. State Defendants' discovery requests are plainly calculated to lead to discoverable

evidence and, therefore, are appropriate. (Exhibit 1).

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13.

Despite repeated efforts on the part of State Defendants' counsel to secure

responses to their discovery requests, State Defendants have been unable to acquire responses via amicable means. 14. Plaintiff's failure to respond to State Defendants' discovery leaves the State

Defendants at a distinct disadvantage given the current Scheduling Order's discovery deadline. 15. State Defendants have not previously requested an extension of the discovery

deadline set forth in the Scheduling Order. 16. Plaintiff has been recently occupied with filing various Motions for Sanctions

against several other attorneys in one of her other lawsuits, Shahin v. Darling, et al., No. 08-295 GMS, as evidenced by that case's attached docket. (Exhibit 5).

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WHEREFORE, Defendants State of Delaware and the Department of Transportation respectfully request that this Court enter an Order compelling Plaintiff to comply with State Defendants' discovery requests within ten (10) days without objection, and modify the Scheduling Order to extend the discovery deadline from August 21, 2008 to September 21, 2008, as set forth in the attached form of Order. Respectfully submitted, STATE OF DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE /s/ Frederick H. Schranck Frederick H. Schranck (DE I.D.# 925) Deputy Attorney General 800 Bay Rd., P.O. Box 778 Dover, DE 19903 (302) 760-2020 /s/ Laura L. Gerard Laura L. Gerard (DE I.D. #3202) Deputy Attorney General 820 North French Street, 6th Floor Wilmington, DE 19801 (302) 577-8400 Attorneys for State of Delaware and Delaware Dept. of Transportation Dated: August 19, 2008

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF DELAWARE NINA SHAHIN, Plaintiff, v. STATE OF DELAWARE, and DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, Defendants. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

C.A. No. 07-452 GMS/LPS

ORDER COMPELLING DISCOVERY, OVERRULING OBJECTIONS, AND MODIFYING SCHEDULING ORDER AND NOW, this _____ day of ________________, 2008, upon consideration of Defendants' Motion to Compel Discovery, Overrule Objections, and Extend Discovery Schedule, and any response thereto, it is hereby ORDERED that Defendant's Motion is GRANTED, and IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that: 1. Any discovery objections of Plaintiff to Defendant's First Set of Interrogatories

and Request for Production of Documents Directed to Plaintiff are OVERRULED; and 2. Plaintiff shall, without objection, within ten (10) days of the date of this ORDER,

produce and serve on Defendants' counsel any and all responses to Defendants' First Set of Interrogatories and Request for Production of Documents (D.I. No. 19, 20); and 3. The discovery deadline shall be extended thirty (30) days, until September 21,

2008, for State Defendants only; and 4. The Scheduling Order dates pertaining to dispositive motions shall remain at

October 21, 2008. ____________________________________ Honorable Gregory M. Sleet Chief Judge, United States District Court

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on August 19, 2008, I electronically filed the attached State of Delaware, Department of Transportation's Motion to Compel Discovery, Overruling Objections, and Modify Scheduling Order, with the Clerk of Court using CM/ECF and mailed by United States Postal Service, the document(s) to the following non-registered participant: By U.S. Mail, first class (2 copies): Ms. Nina Shahin 103 Shinnecock Rd. Dover, DE 19904 STATE OF DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE /s/ Laura L. Gerard Laura L. Gerard (DE I.D. #3202) Deputy Attorney General Carvel State Office Building 820 North French Street, 6th Floor Wilmington, DE 19801 (302) 577-8400 [email protected]

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