Thompson v. Department of Housing and Urban Devel.
United States District Court for the District of Maryland
199 F.R.D. 168 (D. Md. 2001)
African American residents of Baltimore public housing (plaintiffs) sued HUD, its secretary, and city and local housing officials (defendants), alleging segregation of housing developments dating back to 1933 in violation of the Constitution and civil rights statutes; after many claims settled, the plaintiffs sought discovery under Rules 33 and 34 reaching back to 1933, which the local defendants argued was overbroad, burdensome, and beyond discovery's proper scope. The plaintiffs moved to compel production.
Whether a federal court considering a discovery request may employ a cost-benefits analysis weighing the burden and expense of production, the likely benefit to the requesting party, the needs of the case, amount at stake, parties' resources, importance of the litigation, and the likelihood that discovery will resolve issues.