Baptiste v. The City University of New York
- Jesse Furman
- 1:22-cv-02785
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Baptiste v. The City University of New York, Judge Furman granted the application as to Topic 8 and otherwise denied it.
The ruling affected Michele Baptiste’s requests for additional discovery from the defendants in her case against The City University of New York and the other defendants. It allowed discovery concerning Topic 8 and the related requests but denied the remaining discovery requests.
What happened
In Baptiste v. The City University of New York, Michele Baptiste asked the court to require the defendants to identify a witness for a deposition and provide additional information and documents in response to her discovery requests.
The court allowed discovery about the search for and hiring of Baptiste’s replacement, identified as Topic 8 in the deposition notice, along with the related discovery requests. The court rejected the remaining requests because they had little or no relevance, were disproportionate, or could be pursued through other witnesses.
Judge Furman granted Baptiste’s application as to Topic 8 and the related discovery requests, but otherwise denied it. He also directed the Clerk of Court to terminate ECF No. 47.
The detailed version
- Baptiste v. The City University of New York · No. 1:22-cv-02785
- Jesse Furman
- Jan. 31, 2024
Background
Michele Baptiste sought an order compelling the defendants to comply with discovery. Her requests included designation of a witness under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 30(b)(6), which permits a party to depose an organization through a representative prepared to testify about specified topics. She also sought answers to Interrogatory No. 5, documents responsive to several document requests, and amended responses identifying which requests matched documents already produced.
The application concerned several proposed deposition topics and discovery requests relating to CUNY personnel decisions, including the removal and replacement of CUNY officials, alleged discriminatory or retaliatory practices, lawsuits involving alleged discrimination or retaliation, payroll records, sworn testimony, and anti-discrimination and anti-retaliation policies. The opinion states that the defendants objected to several topics and that the court considered the defendants’ response at ECF No. 48.
Ruling
The court granted Baptiste’s application as to Topic 8 in the Rule 30(b)(6) notice and the corresponding discovery requests. Topic 8 concerned the search for and hiring of Baptiste’s replacement. The court found that this subject was relevant to her remaining claims under the broad standard used for discovery.
The court otherwise denied Baptiste’s application. It stated that the other topics and requests had minimal or no relevance to her remaining claims. The court further stated that, to the extent they had some relevance, the requests were not proportional to the needs of the case and/or Baptiste could obtain the information through other means, including depositions of witnesses with personal knowledge. The Clerk of Court was directed to terminate ECF No. 47.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.