Donicha McCann-Cross v. Coras Wellness and Behavioral Health

Summary

The United States District Court for the District of Delaware grants Defendant Coras Wellness and Behavioral Health’s motion to compel discovery in an employment discrimination action. The court orders Plaintiff Donicha McCann-Cross to produce all text messages with Brittany Washington from all of her devices in response to specified requests for production. The order also explains the parties’ discovery obligations under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and permits objections under Rule 72(a).

Holdings

1. A party may obtain discovery of nonprivileged information that is relevant to a claim or defense and proportional to the needs of the case, and a responding party must formally respond or specifically object to a discovery request. Because Plaintiff did not establish that she had produced all responsive text messages or deny that responsive messages existed on other devices, the court granted the motion to compel.
2. Plaintiff's argument that the parties failed to comply with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(f) did not preclude discovery because the court had already determined that the case fell within the applicable exception after issuing a scheduling order.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Defendant was entitled to an order compelling Plaintiff to produce responsive text messages between Plaintiff and Brittany Washington from all of Plaintiff's devices.
2. Whether Plaintiff's objections and arguments concerning compliance with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(f) defeated Defendant's motion to compel.

Disposition

other