A. KATHLEEN TOMLINSON, Magistrate Judge.
Plaintiff Ralph Giugliano ("Giugliano" or "Plaintiff") brings this age discrimination and retaliation action against his former employer, Defendant FS
Plaintiff was formerly employed by FS
Not long after his employment with FS
See id. The Subpoena further directs Dividend's corporate representative to bring to the deposition all documents and materials from December 1, 2013 to the present which concern: (1) Dividend's recruitment and hiring of Plaintiff; (2) Plaintiff's compensation while employed by Dividend; (3) the termination of Plaintiff's employment with Dividend; (4) communications between Dividend and Plaintiff concerning FS
Before FS
Under Rule 45 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, any party may serve a subpoena commanding a non-party to, as relevant here, "attend and testify[, and/or] produce designated documents, electronically stored information, or tangible things in that person's possession, custody, or control[.]" Fed. R. Civ. P. 45(a)(1)(A)(iii)). Rule 45 further provides that "[o]n timely motion, the issuing court must quash or modify a subpoena that . . . requires disclosure of privileged or other protected matter, if no exception or waiver applies; or subjects a person to undue burden." Id. (c)(3)(A)(iii)-(iv). "The decision whether to quash or modify a subpoena is committed to the sound direction of the trial court." Libaire v. Kaplan, 760 F.Supp.2d 288, 291 (E.D.N.Y. 2011) (citations omitted); see In re Subpoena Issued to Dennis Friedman, 350 F.3d 65, 68 (2d Cir. 2003); John Wiley & Sons, Inc. v. Doe Nos. 1-30, 284 F.R.D. 185, 189 (S.D.N.Y. 2012) ("A determination to grant or deny . . . a motion to quash a subpoena is discretionary."); Solomon v. Nassau Cnty., 274 F.R.D. 455, 460 (E.D.N.Y. 2011) ("Motions to quash subpoenas under the Rules are `entrusted to the sound discretion of the district court.'") (quoting In re Fitch, Inc., 330 F.3d 104, 108 (2d Cir. 2003)).
"A subpoena issued to a non-party pursuant to Rule 45 is subject to Rule 26(b)(1)'s overriding relevance requirement." Warnke v. CVS Corp., 265 F.R.D. 64, 66 (E.D.N.Y. 2010) (internal quotation marks omitted); see, e.g., In re Refco Sec. Litig., 759 F.Supp.2d 342, 345 (S.D.N.Y. 2011) ("Subpoenas issued under Rule 45 are subject to the relevance requirement of Rule 26(b)(1)"); Ford Motor Credit Co. v. Meehan, No. CV 05-4807, 2008 WL 2746373, at *4 (E.D.N.Y. July 11, 2008). "In response to a motion to quash a subpoena, the party issuing the subpoena must demonstrate that the information sought is relevant and material to the allegations and claims at issue in the proceedings." Libaire, 760 F. Supp. 2d at 291 (quoting Kingsway Fin. Servs., Inc. v. Pricewaterhouse-Coopers LLP, No. 03-CV-5560, 2008 WL 4452134, at *4 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 2, 2008)); see, e.g., AP Links, LLC v. Russ, 299 F.R.D. 7, 11 (E.D.N.Y. 2014) (quoting Night Hawk Ltd. v. Briarpatch Ltd., 03-CV-1382, 2003 WL 23018833, at *8 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 23, 2003)); Crosby v. City of New York, 269 F.R.D. 267, 282 (S.D.N.Y. 2010). Relevance in this context "`has been construed broadly to encompass any matter that bears on, or that reasonably could lead to other matter that could bear on any issue that is or may be in the case.'" AP Links, 299 F.R.D. at 11 (quoting Oppenheimer Fund, Inc. v. Sanders, 437 U.S. 340, 351 (1978)) (citing Maresco v. Evans Chemetics, Div. of W.R. Grace & Co., 964 F.2d 106, 114 (2d Cir. 1992) (noting that the scope of discovery under Rule 26(b) is "very broad")); see, e.g., Warnke, 265 F.R.D. at 66; see also Barrett v. City of New York, 237 F.R.D. 39, 40 (E.D.N.Y. 2006) (recognizing that the information sought pursuant to Rule 26 "need not be admissible at trial to be discoverable").
"Once the party issuing the subpoena has demonstrated the relevance of the requested [information], the party seeking to quash the subpoena bears the burden of demonstrating that the subpoena is over-broad, duplicative, or unduly burdensome." AP Links, 299 F.R.D. at 11 (quoting Kingsway Fin. Servs., 2008 WL 4452134, at *4) (internal quotation marks omitted); see Libaire, 760 F. Supp. 2d at 291 (quoting Corbett v. eHome Credit Corp., No. 10-CV-26, 2010 WL 3023870, at *3 (E.D.N.Y. Aug. 2, 2010)); accord John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 284 F.R.D. at 189 (burden on motion to quash is borne by the moving party); Ford Motor Credit Co., 2008 WL 2746373, at *5 (same). "Whether a subpoena imposes an `undue burden depends on such factors as relevance, the need of the party for the documents, the breadth of the document request, the time period covered by it, the particularity with which the documents are described and the burden imposed.'" Libaire, 760 F. Supp. 2d at 293-94 (quoting Ebbert v. Nassau Cty., No. 05-CV-5445, 2007 WL 674725, at *4 (E.D.N.Y. Mar. 5, 2007)); accord Crespo v. Beauton, No. 15-CV-412, 2016 WL 259637, at *2 (D. Conn. Jan. 21, 2016) (quoting Travelers Indemnity Co. v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co., 228 F.R.D. 111, 113 (D. Conn. 2005)).
Moreover, under Rule 26(c), the "court may, for good cause, issue an order to protect a party or person from annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, or undue burden or expense, including . . . forbidding the disclosure or discovery." Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c)(1)(A). "The burden of showing good cause for the issuance of a protective order falls on the party seeking the order." Torcasio v. New Canaan Bd. of Ed., No. 15-CV-53, 2016 WL 312102, at *2 (D. Conn. Jan. 26, 2016) (citing Brown v. Astoria Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass'n, 444 F. App'x 504, 505 (2d Cir. 2011) (summary order)). To meet the good-cause standard under Rule 26(c), "the moving party must establish `particular and specific facts' rather than `conclusory assertions,' that justify the imposition of a protective order." Coggins v. Cty. of Nassau, No. 07-CV-3624, 2014 WL 495646, at *2 (E.D.N.Y. Feb. 6, 2014) (quoting Rofail v. United States, 227 F.R.D. 53, 54-55 (E.D.N.Y. 2005)); see, e.g., Torcasio, 2016 WL 312102, at *2 ("To establish good cause under Rule 26(c), courts require a particular and specific demonstration of fact, as distinguished from stereotyped and conclusory statements.") (internal quotation marks omitted). Ultimately, the trial court has "broad discretion" in determining whether to enter a protective order pursuant to Rule 26(c). See, e.g., Seattle Times Co. v. Rhinehart, 467 U.S. 20, 26 (1984) ("The unique character of the discovery process requires that the trial court have substantial latitude to fashion protective orders."); Penthouse Int'l, Ltd. v. Playboy Enters., Inc., 663 F.2d 371, 391 (2d Cir. 1981) (stating that a district court has "broad discretion to determine whether an order should be entered protecting a party from disclosure of information claimed to be privileged or confidential").
Plaintiff seeks a complete nullification of the Subpoena on the grounds that the testimony and documents FS
In response, FS
As a threshold matter, it is undisputed that, as Plaintiff states in his motion, he has standing to move to quash the Subpoena directed to Dividend. "Generally, standing to quash a non-party subpoena exists where the plaintiff asserts a legitimate privacy interest in the information sought." Warnke, 265 F.R.D. at 66 (citing Ireh v. Nassau Univ. Med. Center, No. 06-CV-09, 2008 WL 4283344, at *3 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 17, 2008); Mirkin v. Winston Res., LLC, No. 07-CV-02734, 2008 WL 4861840, at *1 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 10, 2008)). "Here, Plaintiff has a legitimate privacy interest in information regarding his subsequent employment and therefore has standing to bring the instant motion." Warnke, 265 F.R.D. at 66.
Turning to the merits of the motion, as noted above, the party seeking enforcement of the Subpoena carries the initial burden to establish both relevance and materiality as to the allegations and claims at issue. See, e.g., id.; Night Hawk Ltd., 2003 WL 23018833, at *8. Here, FS
In light of these considerations, the Court concludes that FS
However, FS
Having addressed relevance, the Court now considers whether Plaintiff has met his burden of demonstrating that the Subpoena should be quashed because it "is over-broad, duplicative, or unduly burdensome." AP Links, 299 F.R.D. at 11; see During v. City Univ. of New York, No. 05-CV-6992, 2006 WL 2192843, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 1, 2006) ("Only if a matter is relevant and potentially discoverable must a court then consider whether additional Rule 26 limitations on discovery apply.").
Plaintiff first argues that the timeframe of December 1, 2013 to the present for FS
The motion to quash is also GRANTED, in part, with respect to Deposition Topic No. 2, which the Court finds is overbroad as written. The Court is limiting this topic solely to two issues:
(1) Plaintiff's' compensation at Dividend, and (2) whether Plaintiff ever brought any internal or external complaints of age discrimination while employed by Dividend. As to Deposition Topic No. 5, the questioning is limited to the documents produced in response to the Court's directives. The Subpoena is therefore modified to this extent as well.
Plaintiff also generally argues that the Subpoena directed to his former employer is unduly burdensome because it "intrudes upon his privacy interest" and could potentially injure his professional reputation. Pl.'s Mot. at 3. Citing Warnke, Plaintiff notes that courts in the Second Circuit have recognized "the direct negative effect that disclosures of disputes with past employers can have on present employment" and have therefore required defendants to "obtain the information from less intrusive means where possible," such as through documents in the plaintiff's possession or through the plaintiff's deposition. Id. (quoting Warnke, 265 F.R.D. at 69).
Plaintiff is correct that issues of privacy and the potential impact on a plaintiff's employment prospects are factors which courts consider in deciding whether to quash a subpoena directed to a former employer. See, e.g., Warnke, 265 F.R.D. at 66 (stating that "Plaintiff has a legitimate privacy interest in information regarding his subsequent employment"); Gambale v. Deutsche Bank AG, No. 02-CV-4791, 2003 WL 115221, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 10, 2003) (granting motion to quash because the Rule 45 subpoenas served on executive search firms with which plaintiff worked before and after her termination because such discovery "would subject plaintiff to necessary annoyance and embarrassment within the meaning of Rule 26(c)"). However, having considered Plaintiff's privacy concerns in light of the circumstances here, the Court finds that "the burden imposed on Plaintiff by Defendant's subpoena is slight and do[e]s not outweigh Defendant's right to obtain the information sought." Mirkin, 2008 WL 4861840, at *1. Notably, the fact that Plaintiff (1) has raised a constructive termination claim in this litigation, and (2) started working for Dividend so soon after he left FS
This case is also distinguishable from Warnke in other key respects. First, unlike Warnke, where the plaintiff was "currently employed by two companies the defendant sought to subpoena," Plaintiff no longer works for Dividend. 265 F.R.D. at 69; see Mirkin, 2008 WL 4861840, at *1 (denying motion to quash and noting that the plaintiff "s no longer employed" by the employer subpoenaed by the defendant). Second, the universe of documents and information at issue here is not as broad as in Warnke, and, as discussed above, FS
In sum, the progress of discovery so far demonstrates to the Court that, unlike in Warnke, it is not reasonably possible for FS
The Court also briefly addresses here Defendant's statements regarding the itemization of damages it has sought unsuccessfully from Plaintiff. See Def.'s Opp'n at 1. The Court has reviewed Plaintiff's response to Interrogatory No. 3 and finds the response to be deficient and in contravention of the Federal Rules. The Court first points out that Plaintiff had an obligation to set forth the categories of damages sought and the estimated calculation of each of those categories in his Rule 26(a) Initial Disclosures. All litigants are aware that damages estimates and calculations are often fluid at the outset of litigation and are subject to adjustment as information becomes known during the discovery phase of the case. However, that does not relieve a plaintiff from providing the best estimate of the client's damages based on information vetted with the client at intake and throughout the course of the litigation. The Court has no way of knowing what information Plaintiff provided in his Rule 26(a) Initial Disclosures because no one has provided a copy of those disclosures to the Court. However, as to the chart provided in response to Defendant's Interrogatory No. 3, the response of "To be determined at trial" is unacceptable. There is no reasonable basis why Plaintiff cannot provide his best estimate of the backpay he seeks as damages, nor his best estimate of the compensatory damages/emotional damages he seeks, nor the estimated amount of unpaid commissions, as well as eligible accrued vacation and sick time that was not used. As to front pay, Plaintiff is certainly in a position to give an estimate of what he will ask the Court to award going forward for a specific period of time calculated on annual wages. As to attorney's fees and expenses, the Court will not require further information
Plaintiff also asks the Court to impose a protective order which precludes FS
For the reasons set forth in this Memorandum and Order, Plaintiff's motion is GRANTED, in part, and DENIED, in part. Specifically, the motion to quash the Subpoena is GRANTED, to the extent that the Subpoena is hereby modified as discussed above, and is otherwise DENIED. Further, Plaintiff's motion for a protective order is DENIED AS MOOT.
FS