Liguria Foods, Inc. v. Griffith Laboratories, Inc.

Case information

Court: United States District Court, N.D. Iowa, Central Division
Docket Number: No. C 14-3041-MWB
Decided: March 13, 2017
Judge: Mark W. Bennett, District Judge

Majority opinion

Memorandum Opinion and Order Regarding the Court's Order to Show Cause Why Counsel for Both Parties Should Not Be Sanctioned for Discovery Abuses

"Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made."

—Otto von Bismarck

This litigation is about who is responsible for tons and millions of dollars' worth of sausage, of the peperoni variety, some of which turned rancid. It's also about lawyers who were not concerned about how the federal discovery rules were made, but how and why they flaunted them. This ruling involves one of the least favorite tasks of federal trial and appellate judges—determining whether counsel and/or the parties should be sanctioned for discovery abuses. This case squarely presents the issue of why excellent, thoughtful, highly professional, and exceptionally civil and courteous lawyers are addicted to "boilerplate" discovery objections.¹ More importantly, why does this widespread addiction continue to plague the litigation industry when counsel were unable to cite a single reported or non-reported judicial decision or rule of civil procedure from any jurisdiction in the United States, state or federal, that authorizes, condones, or approves of this practice? What should judges and lawyers do to substantially reduce or, more hopefully and optimistically, eliminate this menacing scourge on the legal profession? Perhaps surprisingly to some, I place more blame for the addiction, and more promise for a cure, on the judiciary than on the bar.² What follows is my ruling after a hearing on March 7, 2017, pursuant to my January 27, 2017, Order To Show Cause Why Counsel For Both Parties Should Not Be Sanctioned For Discovery Abuses And Directions For Further Briefing.

Rule 1 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure states that the Rules "should be construed, administered, and employed by the court and the parties to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action and proceeding." Nevertheless, modern "litigation" practice all too often disregards that admonition and seems to favor wars of discovery attrition. "[A]lthough the rule is `more aspirational than descriptive,'" it can, nevertheless, inform the courts' authority to sanction discovery misconduct.³ Furthermore, the specific Rules devoted to discovery attempt to facilitate the disclosure of relevant information and to avoid conflicts by setting out the when, what, and how of discovery, as well as how to raise objections, in ways that should lead to the narrowing of issues and the resolution of disputes without the involvement of the court. Even so, discovery all too often becomes a needlessly time-consuming, and often needlessly expensive, game of obstruction and non-disclosure. Indeed, obstructionist discovery practice is a firmly entrenched "culture" in some parts of the country, notwithstanding that it involves practices that are contrary to the rulings of every federal and state court to address them. As I remarked at an earlier hearing in this matter, "So what is it going to take to get . . . law firms to change and practice according to the rules and the cases interpreting the rules? What's it going to take?"⁴ While one of the attorneys gave the hopeful answer that admonitions from the courts had made clear what practices are unacceptable, it is clear to me that admonitions from the courts have not been enough to prevent such conduct and that, perhaps, only sanctions will stop this nonsense.

I know that I am not alone in my goal of eliminating "boilerplate" responses and other discovery abuses, because the goal is a worthy one.⁵ As one commentator observed:

Though boilerplate objections are relatively common in modern civil litigation, the legal community can take steps to curb their use. Attorneys and judges alike must recognize the costs these objections impose on the efficient administration of justice and on the legal profession. Only with such an understanding, and an attendant willingness to effectively penalize those who issue boilerplate objections, can their use be reduced. Hopefully, with an increased focus on preventing abusive discovery practices, including boilerplate objections, the legal profession can move toward fairer, more effective discovery practices.⁶

Thus, while I find the task distasteful, I embark on my consideration of whether the conduct of the parties in this case warrants sanctions for discovery abuses.

I. INTRODUCTION

A. Factual Background

1. The nature of the litigation

Plaintiff Liguria Foods, Inc., (Liguria) is a pepperoni and dried sausage manufacturer with its principal place of business in Humboldt, Iowa. Liguria's most popular product is a finished pepperoni product called "Liguria Pepperoni," although Liguria makes other kinds of pepperoni, as well. Defendant Griffith Laboratories, Inc., (Griffith) is a manufacturer of food seasonings and spice blends with its principal place of business in Alsip, Illinois. Beginning in approximately 1994, Griffith sold mixes of custom spices to Liguria or its predecessor company, Humboldt Sausage. In late 2012 and early 2013, Liguria received complaints from customers that the Liguria Pepperoni, which contains Griffith's Optimized Pepperoni Seasoning, was prematurely turning green and grey, within 140 to 160 days after production, even though Liguria Pepperoni was supposed to have a shelf life of 270 days from slicing. After this problem arose, Liguria lost several of its longstanding customers.

Eventually, Liguria concluded that Griffith's Optimized Pepperoni Seasoning contributed to the premature spoliation of its Liguria Pepperoni. On July 3, 2014, Liguria filed a Complaint asserting claims for breach of implied warranty of fitness for a purpose and breach of implied warranty of merchantability. Griffith filed an Answer denying the substance of Liguria's claims. Throughout this litigation, Griffith has contended, inter alia, that either underlying problems in Liguria's raw meat supply or Liguria's "rework"⁷ policies were far more likely to be responsible for Liguria's rancidity problems than Griffith's spices.

2. Potentially obstructionist discovery responses

In my review of another discovery dispute between the parties, raised in Griffith's January 12, 2017, Emergency Motion To Address Possible Discovery Abuses, the issue now before me, which involves potentially obstructionist discovery responses by both parties, came to my attention. In preparing for a hearing on January 23, 2017, on Griffith's Motion, I reviewed some of Liguria's written responses to Griffith's discovery requests attached to the Motion. I noted discovery responses that I suspected or believed were abusive and/or not in compliance with the applicable rules, but mere "boilerplate" objections. At the hearing on January 23, 2017, after questioning Griffith's lead counsel and hearing his candid responses, I indicated my belief that it was likely that Griffith's written responses to Liguria's discovery requests were also abusive "boilerplate" responses. Consequently, I directed the parties to file, under seal, all their written responses to each other's discovery requests by the following day. I also notified counsel of my intention to impose sanctions on every attorney who signed the discovery responses, if I determined that the responses were, indeed, improper or abusive. The parties filed their written responses to discovery requests, as directed, the following day.

After reviewing those discovery responses, I entered an order advising the parties that I suspected that the discovery responses listed in the following table were improper: