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Evidence keyed to Fisher
Williams v. District of Columbia
Citation:
806 F. Supp. 2d 44 (D.D.C. 2011)Facts
On June 27, 2008, the District of Columbia responded to Williams’s first set of document requests in her whistleblower retaliation lawsuit by producing a “recommendation to terminate packet” consisting of approximately 104 pages. Within the first ten pages of this packet was a two-page email communication from the Deputy General Counsel discussing Williams’s proposed termination. The District subsequently realized it had inadvertently produced this privileged communication. On November 22, 2008, the District sent Williams a letter pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B) requesting immediate return of the document. Williams never responded to this notice, and the District never followed up despite numerous opportunities during discovery, summary judgment motions, and motions in limine over the next two years and eight months. The matter resurfaced in July 2011 when Williams identified the communication as “Exhibit 9A” on her trial exhibit list, prompting the District to file a motion to exclude.
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