Devries V. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC

Devries v. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC

United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida

March 2, 2015, Decided; March 2, 2015, Entered on Docket

Case No. 12-81223-CIV-MARRA/MATTHEWMAN

Reporter

2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 27293

Prior History: Devries v. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 89714 (S.D. Fla., June 26, 2013)

Counsel: [*1] For Fred Devries, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Ruby Teich Plaintiffs: Fran L. Rudich, Michael John Palitz, Rachel Aghassi, Seth R. Lesser, LEAD ATTORNEYS, PRO HAC VICE, Klafter, Olsen & Lesser, LLP, Rye Brook, NY; Gregg I. Shavitz, LEAD ATTORNEY, Shavitz Law Group, Boca Raton, FL; Susan Hilary Stern, LEAD ATTORNEY, Paolo Chagas Meireles, Shavitz Law Group, P.A., Boca Raton, FL.

For Michael Aversano, Scott Belshaw, Plaintiffs: Fran L. Rudich, Michael John Palitz, Rachel Aghassi, Seth R. Lesser, LEAD ATTORNEYS, PRO HAC VICE, Klafter, Olsen & Lesser, LLP, Rye Brook, NY; Gregg I. Shavitz, LEAD ATTORNEY, Shavitz Law Group, Boca Raton, FL.

For Kimberly Munsell, Plaintiff: Fran L. Rudich, Michael John Palitz, Rachel Aghassi, Seth R. Lesser, LEAD ATTORNEYS, PRO HAC VICE, Klafter, Olsen & Lesser, LLP, Rye Brook, NY; Gregg I. Shavitz, LEAD ATTORNEY, Shavitz Law Group, Boca Raton, FL; Susan Hilary Stern, LEAD ATTORNEY, Shavitz Law Group, P.A., Boca Raton, FL.

For Craig Segelke, Plaintiff: Gregg I. Shavitz, LEAD ATTORNEY, Shavitz Law Group, Boca Raton, FL; Rachel Aghassi, LEAD ATTORNEYS, PRO HAC VICE, Klafter,

Olsen & Lesser, LLP, Rye Brook, NY; Susan Hilary Stern, [*2] LEAD ATTORNEY, Shavitz Law Group, P.A., Boca Raton, FL.

For Kent Jasperse, Plaintiff: Gregg I. Shavitz, LEAD ATTORNEY, Shavitz Law Group, Boca Raton, FL; Rachel Aghassi, LEAD ATTORNEYS, PRO HAC VICE, Klafter, Olsen & Lesser, LLP, Rye Brook, NY; Susan Hilary Stern, Shavitz Law Group, P.A., Boca Raton, FL.

For Andrew Keller, Luis Lara, Bernard Dzata, Peter Hannah, Anthony Petruzzi, Ali Rahman, George D. Peterson, Steven M. Sorkin, Jessica Mireya Amparo, Peter John Babbles, Peter Baldeo, Michael Banjany, James Michael Barrons,

Jesse Adventure Bean, Peter John Beattie, Trevor Sloan Campbell, Michael Thomas Casey, Morgan Carter, Jeffrey Alan Chase, Travis W Conlon, Shaun Michael Dalton, Alah Daoudi, Ryan K Dix, Michael A Duke, David W Edwards, Eric Daniel Eisenberg, Amil Esmailpour, Adam M Foldes, April Elizabeth Acuna, Daniel Lee Adams-Arman, Tunc Akin, Scott David Allore, Kristin Altimari, Vladimir Babiuc, Scott Robert Belshaw, Diana Michelle Bowar, Michael Burns, Mark Allen Cady, Ken Calhoun, Kathleen Anne Canape-Fatta, George Nicholas Carranza, Colin D Cissne, Andrea Elizabeth Coladarci, John Eric Dewey, Karine El Boustany, Cynthia Gardner, Robert Boris Geller, Catherine

Marie Greenspan, [*3] Paul Robert Gross, Aaron William Hollister, William Kendric Jenne II, Ashley Nicole Knight, Jason Kramer, Timothy Lewis Lambour, Christopher C Lamela, Emilio Joseph LaPietra, Ronald Raymond Litton, Lewis Joseph Lucarine, Phillip Keven Maloncon, William John McFadden, Jim Murtaza, Frank C Napolitano, Matthew Patrick Palumbo, Kelvin John Pettaway, Gerard Martin Renk, Robert Scott Schwartzberg, Steven Schwendiman, James Ryan Selvius, Robert Scott Stone III, Jaimie Lynn Thor, Jacob Tometich, Vincent Vollono Jr, Hai Xai Wang, Heather Laurel Wendell, David J Whitlach, Gabriel Dean Winter, Robert Russell Word, Larry Wayne Zimmerman, Richard L Goldner, Daniel Hunt, Jeffrey John Gray, Kenneth Charles Gantman, John P Gibson, Andrey Ilyasov, Shannon Blake Harris, Nicole Marie Gill, Michael Hugh Greene, JonPaul Holland, John Andrew Lange, Scott Masson, Joseph Walter Lasota, Andrew S Jacobson, Thomas Jenks, Barbara A Maurer, Richard Woodrow Joseph, Trae James Lewis, Natalya Andreyevna Marusich, Matthew Allen Melver, Ian Matthew Owens, Benjamin J Meyers, James Doyle May Jr., Evan Patrick McIntosh, Rachel Lynn Owens, James Vincent Muscarnera, James Robert Mellendick, Sara Motiey, Brendan

John Osweiler, [*4] William Edward Roe, Vincent Thomas Polce, Richard Gerald Paolino II, Todd Alan Richardson, Alan Laurin Pershing, Trusha Patel, David Cordell Rollins, Samir Ahmed Qureshi, Lauren Kate Perry, Daniel Colgan Riley, Shavkat Safaev, Timothy Donald Rose, Scott Schneidman, George Howard Rumberger III, Keith L Rowe, Derrek Schwartz, Faiza Said, Jorge Ruiz, Roy Andrew Schoenfeld, Barbara Woodford Stapleton, Jake Shuman, Leslee Schwartz, Dustin Corey Smith, Martha Virginia

2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 27293, *5

Shelton, Richard Edward Scott, Lauren Elizabeth Taney, Apoorve Singhal, Andrew Charles Scott, Alan Lane Speck, Jason Zajonc, Jason R Wilburn, Monica S Tew, Samuel Kane Wilson, Vincent Matthew White, Jamie Lee Vernhes, Gordon John Zobel, DeMarcus Williams, Anthony Wentzell, David Jon Wilson, Amanda Celia Rhee, Kevin Lawe, Daniela Apostol, Richard Wolinsky, Rosemarie Young, Paul Andrew Noceti, Mitchell Jay Gaylord, Carrie Marie Fleetwood, Nicolas Samuel Baytler, Eric Christopher Wright, Steven Marc Stillwater, Christopher Michael Kneale, Dallas Hutchinson, James Patrick McGuinness, Maximillion Booker, Mitchell D Orapello, George Jarrett, Brian Charles Fahey, Terry David Bright, Jonathan Daniel Sesso, Abigail

Soto, Daniel E Green, [*5] Richard Tillies II, Lisa M Dieter, William Charamut, Alexander Solonin, Warren F Myers, Carson Weinand, Kathleen Mary Wehrfritz, Christine Buschmann Fulton, Thomas Francis Craig, John Walter Indermaur, Geoffrey Allen Hellman, Phaethon Bolton, Thomas Wayne Stein, Cortino Rito Garcia, Muhammad Ali Chaudry, Samuel Peter Paolini, Jason Richard Ebel, Dimitre C Andonov, Brady Harker Ririe, Luke Anderson, Penny Ozella Andrews, Aaron Christophe Augustis, Lawrence David Berberian Jr., Carl B Bible III, Joseph Bruno, Adamo Stephen Calistri, Kathleen Michelle Cunningham, Amir A Dadabhoy, Joseph Richard Devery, Sarah Drilling, Matthew A Feehan, Joseph Felice, Plaintiffs: Susan Hilary Stern, Shavitz Law Group, P.A., Boca Raton, FL.

For Gregory Ryan Glomb, Deborah Lee Goodale, Jacob Daniel Greenberg, Kyle Happe, Adam Andrew King, John Robert Kinkead, Valerie Ann Lee, Linda Jean Lee, Gabriel Elias Lemons, Michael Lewchuk, Kevin Damian Losch, Karen Elaine Lupton, Alexander D Malo, Delon Thomas Mansour, Jeffrey Alan Marsick, Mark Harrison Masters, Douglas George Meyerhoff, Thomas Whitmire Miller III, Brian Michael Murphy, Shannon Leigh Murphy, Ryan

William Peters, Christopher Escott Petralli, Frank [*6] Anthony Pintozzi IV, Cole Jesse Proehl, Ronald Edward Rabinovitz, Sturgis Grew Robinson, Christian Edward Schonlau, Alan Mark Segall, Tiffany Jean Shrier, Maria Solanet, Stephen B Stafutti, Craig Carl Stevens, Robert Allen Strickland, Deborah H Sullivan, John Mark Sydnor, John Robert Tait, Bora Unal, Julia L Wollheim Tensfeldt, Athena Elizabeth Yock-Davis, Harris Alan Zatuchney, Dixin Zheng, Amir Haji Abbasi, Tareq Hani Anabtawi, Daniel William Barnes, Josef Gerhard Behrens, Cameron Spencer Browning, Ian January Butler, Cristobal Caballero, Chad Preston Canfield, Jana A Carlson, Mark Shaffer Casada, Craig Robert Cavicchia, Dean Colvin, Craig Allen Davis, Rachel Laura Eck, Aric David Goodman, Krishan Gupta, Ryan V Hetzer, Ashish Suresh Mardhekar, John Claude Mason, Keith Edward Maurer, Robert Norman Olson, Scott

Edward O'Malley, Timothy A Rioux, Zachary Harris Salamon, Wendy J Shannon, Russell Bernal Sheid, Howard Craig Silfen, Joel William Thorp, Randen Lee Traughber, Douglas Vargas, Darryl Franklin White, Shivani Chadha, Timothy Conley, Lynne Murphy, Patrick Edward Patterson, Konstantin Rusin, Aaron Schmit, Desirae Vickers, Joe

Dominick, LeeAnn Sandberg, Plaintiffs: Susan Hilary Stern, [*7] Shavitz Law Group, P.A., Boca Raton, FL.

For Rafael Santiago, Mark Malter, Adam Schwartz, Janine Natoli, Plaintiffs: Fran L. Rudich, Seth R. Lesser, LEAD ATTORNEYS, PRO HAC VICE, Klafter, Olsen & Lesser, LLP, Rye Brook, NY; Gregg I. Shavitz, LEAD ATTORNEY, Shavitz Law Group, Boca Raton, FL; Paolo Chagas Meireles, Susan Hilary Stern, Shavitz Law Group, P.A., Boca Raton, FL.

For Luke Alfred Carter, Michael Gerard Dietrich, David Harry Elster, Marcia Garren, Zaq Harrison, Melika Jahangiri, Katelyn Margaret Kriesel, Alexander S Rowe, Steven Scott Smith, Virgil Lee Dortch III, Andrew Lerner, Kevin Dean McLenithan, Blair Neller Jr., Christopher Anthony Paganelli, Tiffany C Saunders, Daniel Seghi, Vanessa Sergeon, Timothy John Shannon, Garrett Pierce Smith, Shaan Wadhwani, Gregory Whitehead, Alexander Kane Assaf, Alexander Steven Carter, Dennis Daniel Crowley, Alexander Love Hinson Jr, Kent Earl Kopen, Nathan Robert Logan, Gary Joseph Cwik, Agnes Yadira Aponte, Charles Cole III, Kine A Corder, Luke Dowd, Mary Ly Gilbert, Zachary Hurd, James Michael Kahn, Rawad Yasser Kassem, Alejandro Alex Pulido, Michael Paul Rutledge, Lance C Schmidt, Raymond Sosa, Bruce Andrew Van Meter, Stuart Martin

Wilson, [*8] Brynn Hugh Dietz, Nicholas Stephen Jewczyn, Irma Yolanda Kallay, Robert Todd Lincoln, Ritika Malik, Jeremy Pursch, Richard Nelson Valle, Jonathon C Leib, Bernard Morris Aller, Gregory DePaul Whelan, Stephen Edward Dilanian, Adam Pierce Kelly, John B Wilson, Jessica Hawkins, Robert Leonard, Richard Albert Graney, Bradley Frank Karp, Kevin Kelly, Desi Pena, Ronni Y Reiburn, Patrick Kilts, Roberto Caudillo, Alison Nicole Wiener, Michael Gomez, Steven Dwight Baker, Eric Bardo, Amie Lorraine Cherry, Michael Chong, Alan Theodore Dehesa, Daniel Gordon Edmondson, Justin Thomas Ghiglia, Scott Bradley Janzen, Denise Shafer, Steven Douglas Woodlock, Thomas Zubrycki, Bethany E Bristow, Julie Anne Davis, Joseph James Smick, Robert Thomas Kennedy, Jeffrey Michael Whitt, Fauzia Kurjee, Gregory Wayne Beverly, Jeffrey SC Butler, Gian Frederick Giusti, Torrance Christian Holton, Gordon Stuart Rhoads, Colleen Anika Rhodd, Tawnya Christine Schwartz, David V Sokolovsky, Joanne Wagner, Rachel Louise Carlsen, James Henderson, David E Do, Shuvam Bhaumik, Phillip Womack Davis,

2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 27293, *5

2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 27293, *8

Denise Marinacci, Ricardo C Vinagre, Raymond K. Jew, Colin Peter Figueroa, Robert Chase Lee, Mauricio Aimo,

Manuel A. Quinones, Francisco [*9] Edward Acevedo, Caren Yvonne Bryant, Kevin J. Flynn, Gregg Winter, John Vandenberg, Jeryne Peterson, Lynda G. Schultz, Kate Becker, Cameron Blair, David Robbins Mack, Chance Kenneth Vogel, David Dexter Oxley, George Kritis, Robert Formisano, Robert Joseph Duffy III, Louay Antoine Elhadj, Corey David Loxen, Landon J. Weeks, Dina R Floyd, Tamara Stein, William Thomas Harper, Camilo Ramirez, Amy Gac, Kyle Kenji Yoneshige, Jeffrey Jordan Bouchard, Melissa Beth Thacker, Philip Alan Wilson, Denanne Michelle Heil, Sarah Leners, William Chung Liu Jr., Marc Ciccarelli, Hung Tran, Thaddeus Malcolm Brown, Marc Frank, Andrew Joseph Iadeluca, Travis Brandon Lancaster, Diane Renee Turnbull, Jeffrey Kenneth Corey, Whan Soo Rim, Barbara Langford Davis, Douglas Clifton Stewart, Mark Sterling Howe, Margaret Kathryn Acosta, Anthony Nicholas Picozzi, Jason Ellis, Keisha Diane Johnson, Rafik Daniel Fouad, Lori Ann Shizuko Hamano, Joshua J Caltrider, Roland C Salmi, David Bernard Reed, Emanuele Umberto Buonamici, Dino Mazzarelli, Patrick John Wymes, Robert Q Buckles, Andrea Tony Guarascio, Vera Lui, Abbe Frances Rice, Paul Hoshko, Steven James Freed, Teresa A Hill, Dustin LeRoy,

Brian Jon Wiest, Gayle Goodwin, [*10] Daniel Conner, David Cummins, Jonathan Bach, Dominique Richards, Riley Clark, Plaintiffs: Paolo Chagas Meireles, Shavitz Law Group, P.A., Boca Raton, FL.

For Stephan Michael Bernarsky, Plaintiff: Gregg I. Shavitz, Shavitz Law Group, Boca Raton, FL; Paolo Chagas Meireles, Susan Hilary Stern, Shavitz Law Group, P.A., Boca Raton, FL.

For Jason L. Kitchen, Plaintiff Paolo Chagas Meireles, LEAD ATTORNEY, Shavitz Law Group, P.A., Boca Raton, FL.

For Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, formerly known as Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, Morgan Stanley, Defendants: Thomas Anton Linthorst, LEAD ATTORNEY, PRO HAC VICE, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP, Princeton, NJ; Mark Edward Zelek, Morgan Lewis & Bockius, Miami, FL; Voula EllenAlexopoulo Liroff, Miami, FL.

Judges: WILLIAM MATTHEWMAN, UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE.

Opinion by: WILLIAM MATTHEWMAN

Opinion

ORDER

THIS CAUSE is before the Court upon the following:

1. Plaintiffs' Motion to Compel Defendants to Produce a Corporate Representative to Testify on Topic 12 and Topic 17 of Plaintiff's Notice of Deposition Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 30(b)(6) [DE 179], and Defendants' Response [DE 190];

2. Plaintiffs' and Discovery Opt-ins' Motion to

Compel Responses to Their Respective First [*11] Requests for Production [DE 182], and Defendants' Response [DE 189];

3. Defendants' Motion to Compel [DE 183], and Plaintiffs' Response [DE 193]; and

4. Defendants' Motion to Compel Rule 23 Class Plaintiffs to Supplement Responses and Produce Responsive Documents [DE 196], and Plaintiffs' Response [DE 209].

These matters were referred to the undersigned by United States District Judge Kenneth A. Marra [DE 43]. The Court held a hearing on all four of these motions on January 29, 2015, and took the matters under advisement. They are now ripe for review.

This is an FLSA action for unpaid overtime wages. Plaintiffs are current and former pre-production Financial Analyst Assistants ("FAAs"), who assert that Defendants failed to pay them for all of their hours worked, including overtime hours.

I. General Discovery Principles

"It is well established that the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 'strongly favor full discovery whenever possible.'" Adelman v. Boy Scouts of Am., 276 F.R.D. 681, 688 (S.D. Fla. 2011) (quoting Farnsworth v. Procter & Gamble Co., 758 F.2d 1545, 1547 (11th Cir. 1985)). "Rule 26(b) therefore permits a party to obtain discovery of 'any matter, not privileged, that is relevant to the claim or defense of any party.'" Id. (quoting Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)). "The Courts have long held that relevance for discovery purposes is much

broader than relevance for [*12] trial purposes." Dunkin' Donuts, Inc. v. Mary's Donuts, Inc., No. 01-0393, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25204, 2001 WL 34079319, at *2 (S.D. Fla. Nov. 1, 2001). "Discovery should ordinarily be allowed under the concept of relevancy unless it is clear that the

2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 27293, *8

2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 27293, *12

information sought has no possible bearing on the subject matter of the action." Id.

II. Plaintiff's Motion to Compel Defendants to Produce a Corporate Representative to Testify on Topic 12 and Topic 17 of Plaintiff's Notice of Deposition Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 30(b)(6) [DE 179]

Plaintiffs seek an order compelling Defendants to offer a corporate representative to submit to a deposition, so that Plaintiffs may ask about two of Defendants' affirmative defenses: (1) the good faith defense and (2) Defendants' claim that Plaintiffs' case cannot properly proceed as a class action. In opposition, Defendants maintain that a corporate representative has already offered factual testimony on these two topics, and that Plaintiffs have already deposed two corporate representatives in this case. Furthermore, Defendants maintain that, if a corporate representative were to testify on these matters, it would require the deponent to divulge information subject to the attomey-client and work product privileges.

"There is a heightened risk of indirect disclosure of

information protected by the attorney work [*13] product doctrine when inquiring into affirmative defenses." Palma v. Metro PCS Wireless, Inc., 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 68034, 2014 WL 1900102, * 2 (M.D. Fla. 2014). In Palma, an FLSA case, the Court held that Plaintiffs could depose Defendant's corporate representative about the facts relied upon by Defendant in asserting its affirmative defenses, with the caveat that Plaintiff could not inquire into the legal theories behind those affirmative defenses. Id.