Peralta v. PCS USA LLC

Background

Plaintiff Yafreici Peralta and Defendants PCS USA LLC and Louis Van Leeuwen submitted a joint letter about a discovery dispute. Peralta asked the court to compel Defendants to produce documents responsive to Requests for Production 3, 5, and 14. Discovery is the pretrial exchange of information and documents relevant to the claims and defenses.

The requested materials included communications about Peralta; emails between Van Leeuwen and other employees concerning Peralta; documents concerning allegations in the complaint; documents about Brandon Hoffman’s experience, performance, compensation, and departure; and documents concerning PCS’s asserted pay system. Peralta stated that these materials were relevant to her claims involving termination, retaliation, hostile work environment, unequal pay, and discrimination. She also requested that Defendants confirm in writing if responsive documents no longer existed and explain why.

Parties’ Positions

Peralta argued that Defendants had not conducted a reasonable search and had failed to preserve or produce relevant documents. She pointed to Defendants’ statements that Van Leeuwen’s emails were no longer available after PCS dissolved and its email system was transferred to entities associated with PITT Cooking. She also stated that Defendants had produced only 33 paystubs relating to Hoffman and had not produced documents about PCS’s pay system.

Defendants argued that they had searched their files, computers, servers, and backups, with assistance from an outside information-technology professional. They said they no longer had possession, custody, or control of the requested emails because the email domain and mailboxes had been transferred to PITT entities. Defendants also said their search found no emails concerning Peralta and that they had produced all responsive documents in their possession, custody, or control, including Hoffman’s payroll records.

Order

Judge Jessica G. L. Clarke did not rule on whether Defendants must produce the requested documents. The order states that all parties must appear for a conference with the court on January 30, 2024, at 10:00 a.m., remotely through Microsoft Teams. The text provided does not state a ruling granting or denying Peralta’s motion to compel.