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Lee v. Max International, LLC

United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit · 2011 · Civil Procedure

Civil ProcedureDiscovery sanctionsRule 37DismissalRule 37(b)discovery sanctionsdismissalabuse of discretion

Facts

Markyl Lee and PTK sued Max International for breach of contract. During discovery, Max requested documents, but plaintiffs did not fully produce them, leading to an October 2009 order compelling production and then a January 2010 order giving plaintiffs one final chance and warning that continued noncompliance would result in the harshest sanctions. Plaintiffs filed a sworn declaration stating they had produced all requested documents, but at least some tax records had not been produced, and those records were produced only after Max identified the omission and renewed its sanctions motion. The requested materials were relevant, reasonably tailored, and within plaintiffs' control throughout.

Issue

Did the district court abuse its discretion by dismissing the action under Rule 37(b) after plaintiffs failed to comply with discovery requests and violated two orders compelling production? Did reversal become necessary because the district court did not provide a detailed on-the-record analysis of the Ehrenhaus factors?

Rule

Under Rule 37(b), a district court's broad discretion includes dismissal or default judgment when a litigant disobeys two orders compelling production of the same discovery materials within the party's possession, custody, or control. Repeated failure to produce such materials is strong evidence of willfulness and bad faith, and in any event is sufficient fault to warrant dismissal or default. The Ehrenhaus factors are non-exclusive guideposts, not a rigid test, and a district court's failure to discuss them in detail does not require reversal so long as the appellate record independently shows no abuse of discretion.

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One of 10 multiple-choice questions for this case. Pick an answer to see why.

In a contract suit in Denver federal court, Sierra Ridge Foods asked plaintiff Nolan Pierce to produce his sales ledgers. Nolan gave an incomplete production, then ignored a magistrate judge's order compelling the ledgers, and later ignored a second order giving him a final deadline and warning that further noncompliance could lead to severe sanctions. The ledgers were in Nolan's office the entire time.

If the district court dismisses Nolan's action under Rule 37(b), which is the strongest argument for affirmance on appeal?

Explanation. The majority held that a district court may dismiss under Rule 37(b) when a litigant fails to produce requested materials and then disobeys two orders compelling production of the same materials within the party's possession, custody, or control. The court emphasized broad district-court discretion and said three chances are more than enough in that setting.