Kozlowski v. Sears, Roebuck & Co.
United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
73 F.R.D. 73 (D. Mass. 1976)
Kozlowski (plaintiff) sued Sears (defendant) for products liability after being severely burned when Sears pajamas he was wearing ignited. Kozlowski moved to compel discovery of records of other complaints or discussions about personal injuries caused by Sears's pajamas, and a federal magistrate ordered Sears to produce them, but Sears didn't comply. The court granted Kozlowski's motion for a default judgment, and Sears moved to remove that default, arguing production of all such records was impractical and nearly impossible given how its records were kept.
Whether the fact that complying with an order compelling discovery would be costly or time-consuming is generally sufficient to avoid the discovery.