Jones v. Iowa State Highway Commission

• Decision Date: 05 March 1968
• Docket Number: No. 52694,52694
• Citation: 157 N.W.2d 86,261 Iowa 1064
• Parties: Frank D. JONES and Adora Jones, Appellants, v. IOWA STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION, Acting for and in Behalf of the State of Iowa, Appellee.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

Page 86

157 N.W.2d 86

261 Iowa 1064

Frank D. JONES and Adora Jones, Appellants, v. IOWA STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION, Acting for and in Behalf of the State of Iowa, Appellee.

No. 52694.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

March 5, 1968.

John D. Randall, Cedar Rapids, for appellants.

Richard C. Turner, Atty. Gen., Robert N. Merillat, Sp. Asst. Atty. Gen. for Iowa State Highway Commission, Ames, and Fisher & Pickens, Cedar Rapids, for appellee.

RAWLINGS, Justice.

Interlocutory appeal by plaintiffs from adverse rulings by trial court, prior to second trial of land condemnation case, relative to request for admissions and application for production of books or documents.

First trial resulted in judgment for plaintiffs. On defendant's appeal we reversed, holding challenged presentation of evidence as to price paid by condemnor or value determined by its appraisers for other land in the same project constituted prejudicial error. Jones v. Iowa State Highway Commission, 259 Iowa 616, 144 N.W.2d 277.

Subsequently, plaintiffs filed application for production of files and records in possession of defendant regarding entire condemnation program embracing plaintiffs' land, with request for admissions directed primarily to all other property purchases and transactions by condemnor in the same undertaking, with names and entire work product of professional appraisers and engineers employed or engaged by defendant on the whole condemnation project.

Trial court overruled both demands. With leave granted, plaintiffs appeal. Rule 332(a), R.C.P. We affirm.

I. Theoretically a party seeks to examine records in possession of an adversary in order to prepare for trial, while admissions are sought as a means of eliminating time consuming proof of pertinent facts or establishment of foundation for introduction of relevant documentary material. See 27 C.J.S. Discovery § 69, page 203, and § 97, page 278.

Of course, both stand in the field of discovery, are more or less interrelated, and will be here dealt with accordingly.

II. This court has repeatedly held rules relative to discovery are to be interpreted liberally. Cave v. Fountain, 258 Iowa 1232, 1235, 142 N.W.2d 436.

III. However, trial courts are vested with discretion measurably to control, limit and even prevent discovery in any form where, for good cause shown or evident, it will not in the opinion of the court promote the administration of justice in a particular case. See Cook v. Cook, 259 Iowa 825, 146 N.W.2d 273, 279; Kaltenheuser v. Sesker, 255 Iowa 110, 115, 121 N.W.2d 672; Hot Spot Detector, Inc. v. Rolfes Electronics Corp., 251 Iowa 647, 656, 102 N.W.2d 354; and 23 Am.Jur.2d, Depositions and Discovery, section 149, page 482.

As disclosed in Cook v. Cook, supra, this discretion is not unlimited. We have said it is a power to be utilized fairly and impartially by the application of relevant, legal and equitable principles to all the known or readily available facts of a given issue or cause, to the end justice may more nearly be effectuated. English v. Seberg, Iowa, 150 N.W.2d 295, 300--301; and Cogley v. Hy Vee Food Stores, Inc., 257 Iowa 1381, 1385--1386, 137 N.W.2d 310. See also Smith v. Smith, 17 N.J.Super. 128, 85 A.2d 523, 524.

So the basic problem to be resolved is whether there was abuse of discretion on the part of trial court in overruling plaintiffs' discovery demands.

IV. In connection with denial of plaintiffs' application for production of documents (rule 129, R.C.P.), they contend trial court erred since no objections were filed by defendant, the matters involved being both relevant and within the scope of discovery. We shall deal with these claims in the order presented.

Plaintiffs cite no authority and none have been found requiring objections be asserted in response to a document production demand.

While presentment of written resistance may usually be deemed preferable in such instances, to aid the court if for no other reason, the rule contains no such requirement, either specifically or by inference.

Touching on this subject we held in Roberts v. DeKalb Agricultural Association, Inc., 259 Iowa 131, 143 N.W.2d 338, 342, the necessity for answers to interrogatories (rule 121, R.C.P.), may appear from the petition, answer, and questions propounded, in which event showing by affidavit or evidence (rules 80 and 116, R.C.P.), is not a prerequisite to an order directing answers be given.

Conversely, the same documents, in fact the entire record before the court, may well disclose there exists no cause to compel discovery by answer to interrogatories, admissions or production of books and papers.

The challenge by plaintiffs based on absence of objection to request for production of documents is without merit.

V. Turning now to plaintiffs' claimed right of inspection, the record reveals, prior to first trial, they filed interrogatories seeking substantially the same information now sought by their application to produce records. Objections by defendant were overruled and answers given in detail.

Furthermore, during first trial counsel for plaintiffs, on cross-examination, elicited from defendant's witnesses, more particularly appraisers, engineers and other experts, most if not all the information here solicited.

As stated in 27 C.J.S. Discovery § 30(3), page 89: 'The purpose of pretrial examination is to discover evidential matter which is not known to the one seeking the examination; but merely because the party seeking examination has knowledge of the matters sought to be elicited, or can obtain from other sources the information sought, does not necessarily deprive him of the right to an examination as to those matters. However, an examination may be refused as to facts which are, or should be known to applicant, or which, by reasonable diligence, are easily capable as ascertainment; and a pretrial examination may properly be denied with respect to matters as to which the applicant would have more knowledge than the party sought to be interrogated.'

Although knowledge as to factual information sought may not always afford sufficient basis upon which to deny right of inspection, it does, under conditions peculiar to the case at bar, lend more than a modicum of support to the order overruling plaintiffs' application for production of books and records. In other words, there existed a reasonable basis upon which trial court could logically conclude plaintiffs were adequately informed relative to material matters sought to be disclosed.

VI. It is also apparent plaintiffs, for the most part, are here seeking to obtain not facts alone, but also unavoidably interwoven conclusions of experts employed or engaged by defendant.

Rule 140, R.C.P., provides, inter alia: 'Subject to the restrictions in rule 141, a party may take the testimony of any person, including a party, by deposition upon oral examination or written interrogatories for the purpose of discovery or for use as evidence in the action, or for both purposes.'

And, rule 141(a), provides in material part: 'The deponent shall not be required and the court shall not order a deponent or party to produce or submit for inspection any writing obtained or prepared by the adverse party, his attorney, surety, indemnitor or agent, in anticipation of litigation or preparation for trial unless satisfied that the denial of production or inspection will result in an injustice or undue hardship; Nor shall the deponent be required or the court order a deponent or party to produce or submit for inspection any part of a writing which reflects * * * the conclusions of an expert.' (Emphasis supplied.)

T. M. Ingersoll, attorney and chairman of Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Rules, in explaining the purpose and intent of that portion of rule 141(a), quoted supra, stated: 'There was a great debate in the federal courts whether or not if you had employed an expert, the expert had made an investigation, and you had the expert ready for the witness stand, the adverse party could avoid expense by simply deposing your expert. It wasn't the intention of the committee in recommending these rules that they were intended to be an aid in the encouragement of indolence on the part of the bar, but rather they were to aid the vigilant. So an absolute protection was thrown around the testimony of a witness who is an expert. If you have prepared an expert witness to aid you in your case or consulted an expert witness, his opinion is absolutely protected except in the case of the doctor.' 7 Drake L.Rev. 3, 13.

United States v. 900.57 Acres of Land, Etc., 30 F.R.D. 512, involved a factual situation comparable to that presented in the case at bar, with no rule existing which barred discovery of an expert's conclusions. There the court held a property owner Not entitled to obtain in advance of trial opinions of condemnor's expert appraisers. In so holding the court said, loc. cit., 30 F.R.D. 519:

'* * * the mere fact that interrogatories are submitted for answer and a motion for production of documents is served and filed does not determine whether the interrogatories should be answered or the documents should be presented for inspection and copying. It depends upon the information sought to be discovered. In the instant case the landowners are seeking to obtain in most instances information which is available to them, and they are not entitled to obtain in advance of a trial the opinion of the condemnor's expert appraisers, nor are they entitled to see and copy the appraisal reports. In fact, there is nothing to distinguish these cases from the ordinary condemnation case. The burden of proof is upon the defendant landowners to establish the market value of the land on the date it was acquired by the condemnor. Many factors enter into what may be considered and are admissible in evidence to establish just compensation, not only for the estate taken but for severance damage if any has occurred by reason of the taking.

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