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Scruggses Response to Motion to Compel Depositions

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Scruggses Response to Motion to Compel Depositions IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF MISSISSIPPI SOUTHERN DIVISION THOMAS C. and PAMELA McINTOSH PLAINTIFFS V. NO. 1:06cv1080-LTS-RHW STATE FARM FIRE & CASUALTY COMPANY, FORENSIC ANALYSIS & ENGINEERING CORPORATION, and E. A. RENFROE & COMPANY, INC. and DOES 1 THROUGH 10 DEFENDANTS RESPONSE OF NON-PARTIES RICHARD F. SCRUGGS AND D. ZACHARY SCRUGGS TO STATE FARM’S MOTIONS TO COMPEL This is a lawsuit filed against State Farm Fire & Casualty Company (“State Farm”) and E.A. Renfroe & Co. (“Renfroe”) by the McIntoshes related to hurricane damage to their home. State Farm subpoenaed documents from non-Parties Richard and Zach Scruggs (“the Scruggses”), former attorneys of the McIntoshes, and sought to depose them regarding topics State Farm and this Court deemed necessary to the defense of the McIntoshes’ claims. However, among the questions asked of the McIntoshes’ former counsel at their depositions on July 21 and 22, 2008 were the following: Q. Have you had an affair with Kerri Rigsby? [R. Scruggs, at 81] Q. Has it been your custom and habit in prosecuting litigation to have Senator Lott contact and encourage witnesses to give false information? [Z. Scruggs, at 107] Q. Is it your custom and habit to report false information to newspaper and television reporters contrary to the information given to you by your own clients? [Z. Scruggs, 110:13-17] Q. You had a strategy to find an insider to steal documents, a strategy to use the legislature, a strategy to use the judicial officers of Mississippi, and a strategy to use the press in order to put State Farm into an extremely uncomfortable position and pay you money; isn’t that a fact? [R. Scruggs, at 32] These questions show the hypocrisy of State Farm’s assertion that the Scruggses made “a mockery of the deposition process.” Knowing the Scruggses would assert their constitutional privileges, State Farm spent two days harassing the Scruggses with inflammatory questions, then used their invocation of privileges as fodder for a media campaign to imply that the Scruggses and others associated with or related to them had engaged in myriad unlawful or unethical acts. Even if the answers to State Farm’s questions were relevant to any claim or defense in this case, the Court should uphold the Scruggses’ question-by-question invocation of various privileges. State Farm refused to comply with good faith requirements of the Uniform Local Rules before filing its Motions, misconstrued the Court’s prior orders with respect to the production of certain documents, and tried to rescind its prior abandonment of most of the requests in its original subpoenas to the Scruggses. State Farm’s position that the Court should compel the Scruggses to respond to each of its questions in a “blanket” fashion, no matter how harassing, accusatory, or inflammatory, is unsupported by fact, law, or this Court’s prior orders. The Court should deny State Farm’s Motions to Compel in their entirety. BACKGROUND In August 2007, when the Scruggses were still Plaintiff’s attorneys, State Farm noticed the depositions of the Scruggses, including broad document requests. State Farm later served subpoenas to compel the Scruggses’ testimony, but did not include document requests in the subpoenas. Plaintiffs moved to quash the subpoenas. The Court denied the Motion to Quash, and State Farm re-noticed the Scruggses’ depositions and included a set of document requests with the notices. Plaintiffs and the Scruggses objected to the Court’s Order. Judge Senter did not quash the deposition subpoenas, but specifically recognized that “[w]hether substantive 2 information is obtained is largely up to the deponents, who are represented by their own counsel on different fronts.” [Document 988, at 2] (emphasis added). After this Court found State Farm’s document requests to be improper [Docket No. 989], State Farm issued subpoenas duces tecum to compel production of documents on January 14, 2008. The Scruggses timely objected to the subpoenas, asserting that the documents were available elsewhere, the requests were not reasonably calculated to lead to discoverable evidence, the requests constituted an undue burden, and the requests infringed upon multiple privileges, including the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. State Farm filed a Motion to Compel the Scruggses to produce documents, which the Scruggses opposed [Document 1107]. On April 4, Judge Senter disqualified the Rigsbys as witnesses and disqualified all attorneys of the Scruggs Katrina Group and the Katrina Litigation Group, and any other attorneys associated by SKG and/or KLG attorneys [Document 1172]. The Court also excluded “any documents supplied by the Risgby sisters to the SKG or the KLG or its associates”. After the April 4 disqualification, the Court asked the parties to articulate more accurately that discovery that was necessary to their claims. State Farm wrote the Court on May 9, 2008 [Document 1201-4], stating that only nine of its original twenty-five requests were necessary to State Farm’s defense. In State Farm’s words, it voluntarily “withdrew two-thirds of its document requests” [Document 1202, at 2]. Nevertheless, these “withdrawn” requests underlay many of State Farm’s questions at the Scruggses’ depositions. More specifically, in May 2008, State Farm informed the Court that it did not require production of documents responsive to the following requests: 3 REQUEST NO. 3: For the period from October 12, 2005 through Febnlary 28,2006, please produce all documents concerning Kerri Rigsby, Cori Rigsby, Patricia Lobrano, or William Lobrano, including without limitation any telephone bills, records, or messages showing any communication or attempted communication between “you” and Kerri Rigsby, Cori Rigsby, Patricia Lobrano, or William Lobrano. (Documents confined specifically and exclusively to the insurance claims made by Patricia Lobrano or William Lobrano arising out of hurricane Katrina are excepted from this request.) REQUEST NQ. 4: Please produce all documents concerning the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, including without limitation Jim Hood, Courtney Schloemer, and Mike Moore while he was working with or for the Mississippi Attorney General's Office, pertaining to or arising out of Hurricane Katrina. REQUEST NO. 6: Please produce all documents concerning the United States Attorney’s Office pertaining to State Farm and Hurricane Katrina. REQUEST NO. 7: Please produce all documents concerning the Federal Bureau of Investigation pertaining to State Farm and Hurricane Katrina. REQUEST NO. 8: Please produce all documents concerning Trent Lott pertaining to State Farm and Hurricane Katrina. (Documents confined specifically and exclusively to the insurance claims made by Trent Lott arising out of Hurricane Katrina are excepted from this request.) REQUEST NQ. 12: Please produce all documents concerning Carron Rockco, Heidi Fisher, or Michelle Lee, including without limitation any payments, reimbursements, or other monetary disbursements. REQUEST NQ. 13: For the period from October 12, 2005 through February 28,2006, please produce all State Farm documents received by “you” from Kerri Rigsby, Cori Rigsby, Patricia Lobrano, or William Lobrano. (Documents confined specifically and exclusively to the insurance claims made by Patricia Lobrano or William Lobrano arising out of Hurricane Katrina are excepted from this request.) REQUEST NQ. 14: For the period from October 12, 2005 through February 28, 2006, please produce all State Farm documents provided by “you” to Kerri Rigsby, Cori Rigsby, Patricia Lobrano, or William Lobrano. (Documents confined specifically and exclusively to the insurance claims made by Patricia Lobrano or William Lobrano arising out of Hurricane Katrina are excepted from this request.) REQUEST NQ. 15: Please produce all State Farm documents provided by “you” to the anyone with the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, including without limitation Jim Hood, 4 Courtney Scholemer, or Mike Moore while he working with the Attorney General's Office, pertaining to or arising out of Hurricane Katrina. REQUEST NQ. 16: Please produce all State Farm documents received by “you” from anyone with the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, including without limitation Jim Hood, Courtney Scholemer, or Mike Moore while he working with the Attorney General's Office, pertaining to or arising out of Hurricane Katrina. REQUEST NQ. 18: Please produce all documents concerning the terms of the proposed or actual employment, reimbursement, indemnity, or compensation of Kerri Rigsby and Cori Rigsby, including without limitation any confidentiality or indemnity agreements. REQUEST NO. 19: Please produce all State Farm documents that “you” obtained from any other source other than State Farm, pertaining to or arising out of Hurricane Katrina. REQUEST NO. 20: For the period from October 12, 2005 through June 5, 2006, please produce all documents provided to or used by Kerri Rigsby or Cori Rigsby to direct or otherwise assist them in their collection of State Farm documents, pertaining to or arising out of Hurricane Katrina. REQUEST NO. 21: For the period from Febrnary 28, 2006 forward, please produce all documents obtained or taken from State Farm and provided to “you” by Kerri Rigsby or Cori Rigsby. REQUEST NO. 22: For the period from October 12, 2005 through June 5, 2006, please produce all emails between or among at least “you” and Kerri Rigsby or Cori Rigsby concerning or forwarding State Farm documents or information.
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