Floyd v. Saber Fitness Hegenberger

Background

Michael Devin Floyd, proceeding without a lawyer, brought civil-rights and contract claims against Saber Fitness Hegenberger, LLC, alleging that Saber improperly terminated his gym membership. Five claims were scheduled to proceed to trial. Floyd filed 14 motions in limine, which are pretrial requests to limit testimony or evidence. The court considered the motions at the parties’ pretrial conference.

The order states that the case was expected to be tried without a jury, but notes that Floyd had demanded a jury trial and that the parties had not yet stipulated to a bench trial. The court directed the parties to file such a stipulation if they wanted to proceed with a bench trial. Because the parties appeared to be proceeding on that assumption, the court did not address Floyd’s objections under Federal Rule of Evidence 403, which concerns unfair prejudice and related concerns.

Rulings on the Motions

1. Motion 1 — testimony of Cecilia Newman: Denied. Newman’s proposed testimony about her and her franchise’s experiences with Floyd was conditionally relevant, meaning its use depended on Saber showing that it knew this information before terminating Floyd’s membership. The court said the evidence could help show Saber’s reasons for the termination and could bear on Floyd’s claimed damages. The court did not decide whether the evidence had an adequate foundation for all purposes before trial.

2. Motion 2 — communications regarding Newman: Denied as to the September 9, 2021 Newman email, identified as Saber’s Trial Exhibit A. The email was conditionally relevant if Saber could show that it knew about the email before terminating Floyd’s membership. The court did not decide at this stage whether the email could be admitted for its truth, stating that it would wait to see what foundation was established at trial.

3. Motion 3 — testimony of Majenta Maldonado: Denied. The court held that the missing-witness rule did not apply because Saber listed Maldonado as a trial witness. The court also declined to exclude her testimony based on Floyd’s arguments about discovery, memory, truthfulness, or bias. It stated that those issues could be addressed through cross-examination.

4. Motion 4 — evidence or witnesses not disclosed during discovery: Denied without prejudice. The court found nothing to address at that time because Saber said it was not aware of undisclosed evidence it intended to use at trial. Floyd could renew the objection as to a specific item of evidence or witness during trial.

5. Motion 5 — claims in other lawsuits and other gym memberships: Granted in part. Saber could introduce evidence that Floyd’s memberships at other gyms were terminated as it related to Floyd’s damages. But Saber could not use alleged misconduct at other gyms or Floyd’s lawsuits against other gyms to suggest that Floyd had a tendency to engage in improper conduct at Saber’s gym.

6. Motion 6 — Jax Three gym account notes: Denied. The notes were conditionally relevant and could be used for a non-hearsay purpose if Saber showed that it knew about them before terminating Floyd’s membership. The court reasoned that knowledge of repeated complaints about Floyd’s conduct at prior gyms could bear on whether race discrimination was the actual reason for the termination.

7. Motion 7 — disputes during earlier gym memberships: Denied. Evidence of policy violations at earlier gyms was conditionally relevant and could be used for a non-hearsay purpose if Saber knew about those incidents when it terminated Floyd’s membership. Evidence that other gym memberships were terminated was also relevant to damages.

8. Motion 8 — disputes after Floyd’s Saber membership: Denied with guidance. The court allowed evidence that later gym memberships were terminated because that fact could be relevant to damages. However, the reasons for those later terminations were not relevant because Saber did not know about them when it terminated Floyd’s membership. The court noted that Floyd’s testimony about emotional distress could potentially open the door to additional evidence about his experiences at other gyms.

9. Motion 9 — testimony of Sabrina Fernandez: Denied. The missing-witness rule did not apply because Saber planned to call Fernandez at trial. The court also found that Floyd had not shown discovery misconduct that would justify excluding her testimony as a sanction.

10. Motion 10 — testimony of Brian Boucher: Denied. The court observed that the dispute appeared moot because Saber did not list Boucher as a trial witness.

11. Motion 11 — communications regarding Boucher: Denied as to the Boucher email, identified as Saber’s Trial Exhibit A. Saber acknowledged that it would not call Boucher as a trial witness but argued that a records custodian could establish a foundation for the email. The court expressed no view on that argument and deferred the foundation issue until trial.

12. Motion 12 — Saber account notes: Denied. The notes were conditionally relevant and non-hearsay if Saber could show that it knew about them before terminating Floyd’s membership. The court also found that Floyd had not shown discovery misconduct warranting exclusion.

13. Motion 13 — references to Saber account notes: Denied for the same reasons given for Motion 12. The court rejected Floyd’s argument that the notes were altered or manipulated.

14. Motion 14 — correspondence and cancellation requests concerning other gym memberships: Denied. The court held that cancellations occurring after the termination at issue could be relevant to damages, but that conduct leading to those later cancellations was not relevant if Saber was unaware of it when it terminated Floyd’s membership.

Disposition and Effect

The court’s conclusion states that it GRANTS IN PART and DENIES IN PART Floyd’s motions in limine. The order governs the preliminary treatment of evidence at trial; it does not decide the ultimate merits of Floyd’s claims. The court emphasized that in-limine rulings may be changed during trial when testimony and other facts provide additional context.