Scott v. City of Peoria

Scott v. City of Peoria

Opinion

 [*421]  ORDER

Now before the Court is the Plaintiff's Motion to Compel (#57). The motion is fully briefed, and I have carefully considered all of the submissions of the parties. For the following reasons, the Motion to Compel is GRANTED.

INTRODUCTION

In this case, Plaintiff alleges that the individual defendants were involved  [**2] in the use of excessive force during a traffic stop. In addition to the individual liability of the police officers, Plaintiff has asserted a Monell claim against the City of Peoria.

The underlying events resulted in an internal investigation conducted by the Peoria Police Department. Plaintiff has sought to obtain the documents relating to that investigation. Defendants initially asserted a blanket "self-critical analysis privilege." After months during which the parties attempted to resolve the dispute, Defendants produced a privilege log and asserted a second privilege, the "executive privilege." In addition, Defendants have challenged the relevance of some of these documents.

PRIVILEGE GENERALLY

] The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provide that parties "may obtain discovery regarding any nonprivileged matter that is relevant to any party's claim or defense." Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(b)(1). A party declining to produce discovery on the grounds that it is privileged has the burden of establishing the existence of the privilege as well as its applicability in the particular situation. Bank of America v. Veluchamy, 643 F.3d 185 (7th Cir. 2011); U.S. v. Tratner, 511 F.2d 248, 251-52  [*422]  (CA7 1975);  [**3] F.T.C. v. Shaffner, 626 F.2d 32, 37 (7th Cir.1980). Blanket claims of privilege are not acceptable. Holifield v. U.S., 909 F.2d 201, 204 (7th Cir. 1990); U.S. v. White, 970 F.2d 328, 334 (7th Cir. 1992); Shaffner, 626 F.2d at 37.

] Privileges are construed narrowly and the requirements for establishing privilege are strictly enforced, because privileges are viewed as being in derogation of the search for truth. , University of Pennsylvania v. EEOC, 493 U.S. 182, 189, 110 S. Ct. 577, 107 L. Ed. 2d 571 (1990); U.S. v. Nixon, 418 U.S. 683, 710, 94 S. Ct. 3090, 41 L. Ed. 2d 1039 (1974); Valero v. U.S., 569 F.3d 626, 630 (7th Cir. 2009); U.S. v. BDO Seidman, LLP, 492 F.3d 806, 815 (7th Cir. 2007). A privilege is therefore applied only where necessary to achieve its purpose, BDO Seidman, 492 F.3d at 815, and only where it "has a public good transcending the normally predominant principle of utilizing all rational means for ascertaining truth." Trammel v. U.S., 445 U.S. 40, 50, 100 S. Ct. 906, 63 L. Ed. 2d 186 (1980).

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