Kahsai v. Dejoy

Background

Bereket Kahsai’s amended complaint asserted three groups of claims: race and national-origin claims that he had raised in a 2016 formal complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; disability discrimination and failure to promote under the Americans with Disabilities Act; and race- and disability-discrimination claims under the Minnesota Human Rights Act.

The court had previously granted in part and denied in part the defendant’s motion to dismiss, dismissing all claims except the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claims. The court said it could not determine at that stage whether those remaining claims were untimely.

The court then established two discovery phases. Phase One addressed whether the remaining claims were timely, while Phase Two addressed the merits. Phase One ended on March 7, 2023, and Phase Two had not yet begun when the motions described in this order were filed.

Motions and analysis

The defendant asked to amend the scheduling order to permit an early motion for summary judgment—a motion asking the court to decide claims without a trial when there is no genuine dispute over the material facts—on the issue of timeliness. The defendant also asked the court to stay, or pause, Phase Two discovery.

Kahsai asked the court to compel responses to discovery requests he had served in December 2022. The court reviewed those requests and found that they concerned the merits rather than timeliness. Because merits discovery was scheduled for Phase Two, the court found Kahsai’s request premature and denied the motion to compel.

The court found no prejudice to Kahsai from allowing an early summary judgment motion. It concluded that the motion could avoid a significant and costly discovery process and therefore promote efficient resolution of the case. Because the motion could resolve all pending claims, the court also found that pausing Phase Two discovery was appropriate.

Disposition

The court granted Louis DeJoy’s motion to amend the scheduling order and stay discovery. It granted DeJoy leave to file, by April 14, 2023, a dispositive motion addressing only whether Kahsai’s claims were untimely. The court stayed all discovery and interim deadlines until further order.

The court denied Kahsai’s motion to compel without prejudice. If DeJoy’s summary judgment motion is denied and DeJoy does not respond to the December 2022 discovery requests within 30 days after the stay is lifted, Kahsai may file another motion to compel.