Stewart v. Falley's, Inc.

United States District Court for the District of Kansas

2001 WL 1318371 (2001)

Relevant factsFree

After Gharmaine Stewart (plaintiff) reported sexual harassment on her employer Falley's (defendant) tip line, Falley's HR director Broxterman investigated and drafted a memo summarizing her findings, but only after learning Stewart had retained an attorney and filed an EEOC charge. Falley's produced witness statements in discovery but withheld the Broxterman memo, and Stewart moved to compel its production, arguing it lacked work-product protection because no attorney had directed Broxterman to prepare it.

IssueFree

Whether Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(3) protects from discovery, as work product, documents prepared for litigation by the adverse party or its agent.

Holding & reasoning

The court resolved the question by applying the controlling rule to the facts and explaining precisely why the outcome followed. Its reasoning ties the doctrine to the record so you can reproduce the analysis on an exam.

Procedural history, concurrence & dissent

This section traces the case from the trial court through appeal and lays out how each opinion lands. Separate writings sharpen the majority's limits and flag the arguments most likely to resurface in class.

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