DiMichel v. South Buffalo Railroad Co. – Case Brief
DiMichel v. South Buffalo Ry. Co., 590 N.Y.S.2d 1, 604 N.E.2d 63 (N.Y. 1992).
Case Summary
Facts: DiMichel (P) sued his employer, South Buffalo Railroad (D), for injuries he sustained from a fall while at work for the railroad. During pretrial discovery, DiMichel requested surveillance films from D that may have been taken of him and D refused. D claimed that the films were considered work product and therefore D did not have to provide them to P. P moved to compel discovery of the films. The court granted P’s motion and on appeal, the appellate division modified the order and ruled that D must give P any films that it intended to use at trial.
Issue: Are surveillance films considered material prepared for litigation and therefore discoverable only upon a showing of substantial need and undue hardship?
Holding and Rule: Yes. The court stated that P would be harmed by the potential for surprise and abuse arising from D’s use of the films at trial. The court also stated that D would be disadvantaged by releasing the films to P because it would allow P to give testimony after viewing the film evidence; however withholding them from P would run counter to the policy of open pretrial disclosure. To minimize the harm to both parties, the court held that P should be provided access to the films after P had been deposed. The court held that P had established that they could not without undue hardship obtain the substantial equivalent of surveillance materials by other means.
Disposition: Affirmed.
Notes: As a matter of public policy courts tend to dislike any type of privilege that protects evidence from disclosure because privileges tend to hinder the truth seeking process.