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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN
SOUTHERN DIVISION

MONIQUE GRIMES, as Personal

Representative of the Estate of
DAMON GRIMES, Deceased,

Plaintiff,
Case No. 17-cv-12860
v. Hon. Gershwin A. Drain

TROOPER MARK BESSNER, et al.,

Defendants.
____________________________/

ORDER DENYING MOTION TO QUASH AND GRANTING IN PART

MOTION TO STAY [#19] AND STAYING ACTION UNTIL DECEMBER
31, 2017

I. INTRODUCTION
Presently before the Court is Non-Party State of Michigan and the Michigan

State Polices (MSP) Motion to Quash the Plaintiffs October 4, 2017 Subpoena

and Stay this Action, filed on October 18, 2017. 1 Plaintiff filed a Response in

Opposition on November 6, 2017, and the MSP filed a Reply on October 9, 2017.

A hearing was held on November 14, 2017. For the reasons that follow, the Court

1
The MSP should have filed two separate motions-one motion seeking to quash the
October 4, 2017 subpoena and a second motion seeking to stay these proceedings-
rather than request both forms of relief in a single motion.
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will deny MSPs Motion to Quash and will grant in part the MSPs request to stay

the instant proceedings.

II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiffs son was killed during an encounter with former MSP Trooper,

Defendant Mark Bessner, on August 26, 2017. Bessner deployed his Taser directly

at Plaintiffs son, who was riding an ATV at the time. The Taser caused Plaintiffs

son to lose control of the ATV and he was propelled into the rear end of another

vehicle.

Bessner, as well as reportedly two other officers, have resigned from the

MSP as a result of this incident. Investigations by the Detroit Police Department,

the Michigan State Police and the Wayne County Prosecutors Office are

purportedly ongoing.

Plaintiff initiated the instant lawsuit on August 30, 2017 asserting Fourth

Amendment claims against Bessner. Also, on August 30, 2017, Plaintiff sent

FOIA letters to the City of Detroit and the MSP requesting that all evidence be

preserved and requesting that all records relating to the case be produced to

Plaintiffs counsel.

On September 27, 2017, the MSP responded to Plaintiffs FOIA letter and

indicated that the request was granted as to existing, non-exempt records in the

possession of the Michigan State Police that fall within the scope of your request.

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The MSP further advised that a processing fee of $5,331.20 to search, retrieve,

review, examine and exempt material and upon payment of half of this amount, the

MSP would begin processing the request. The MSP estimated that it would take

90 days to produce the documents that were subject to the FOIA request.

Plaintiff also sought the name of the MSP Trooper who was in the car with

Bessner during the incident on August 27, 2017. The MSP, however, failed to

provide this information to Plaintiffs counsel, which resulted in Plaintiffs counsel

having to prepare and file a Motion to Perpetuate Testimony of MSP Lietenant

Neil Donahue for the limited purpose of identifying the MSP Trooper who was in

the car with Bessner. The MSP has since provided the name to Plaintiffs counsel

and Plaintiff has withdrawn the Motion to Perpetuate Testimony. 2

Due to the astronomical fee amount requested by the MSP to process

Plaintiffs FOIA request, Plaintiff served Rule 45 Subpoenas on the MSP and the

State of Michigan seeking the same information and documents sought in the

FOIA letter. The MSP moved to quash the subpoenas on October 18, 2017.

2
Plaintiff has filed another Motion to Perpetuate the testimony of Lieutenant Neil
Donahue regarding purported destruction of evidence at the scene of the incident.
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III. LAW & ANALYSIS

A. Motion to Quash

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45(d)(3) governs quashing or modifying a

subpoena and obligates the district court to quash or modify a subpoena that:

(i) fails to allow a reasonable time to comply;

(ii) requires a person to comply beyond the geographical limits
specified in Rule 45(c);
(iii) requires disclosure of privileged or other protected matter, if no
exception or waiver applies; or
(iv) subjects a person to undue burden.

Fed. R. Civ. P. 45(d)(3)(A). The MSP asserts that the subpoena violates three of

the four grounds set forth in Rule 45(d)(3). First, the MSP argues that it provided

inadequate timefourteen daysto produce the documents and items requested.

Additionally, the MSP argues that the subpoena seeks items that are subject

to the qualified law enforcement privilege. Lastly, the MSP asserts that the

voluminous scope of the requests create an undue burden.

The qualified law enforcement privilege is designed to prevent disclosure

of information that would be contrary to the public interest in the effective

functioning of law enforcement. In re Packaged Ice Antitrust Litigation, No. 08-

md-01952, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2011 WL 1790189, *6 (E.D. Mich. May 10,

2011) (citations and internal quotations marks omitted). The Sixth Circuit has held

that the privilege protects only suggestions, advice, recommendations and

opinions, rather than factual and investigatory reports, data and surveys in

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government files. United States v. Leggett & Platt, 542 F.2d 655, 658 n.4 (6th

Cir. 1976). The individual seeking to quash a subpoena has a heavy burden of

proof to show why the subpoena must be quashed. United States v. Wells, No. 06-

10589, 2006 WL 3203905, *2 (E.D. Mich. Nov. 3, 2016).

To determine whether the qualified law enforcement privilege applies,

courts balance the following factors:

(1) the extent to which disclosure will thwart governmental processes

by discouraging citizens from giving the government information; (2)
the impact upon persons who have given information of having their
identities disclosed; (3) the degree to which governmental self-
evaluation and consequent program improvement will be chilled by
disclosure; (4) whether the information sought is factual data or an
evaluative summary; (5) whether the party seeking the discovery is
an actual or potential defendant in any criminal proceedings either
pending or reasonably likely to follow from the incident in question;
(6) whether the police investigation has been completed; (7) whether
any interdepartmental disciplinary proceedings have arisen or may
arise from the investigation; (8) whether the plaintiffs suit is non-
frivolous and brought in good faith; (9) whether the information
sought is available through other discovery or from other sources; and
(10) the importance of the information sought to the plaintiffs case.

Flagg v. City of Detroit, No. 05-74253, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21923, *7 (E.D.

Mich. Mar. 20, 2008)(quoting Frankenhauser v. Rizzo, 59 F.R.D. 339, 344 (E.D.

Pa. 1973)).

In Flagg v. City of Detroit, the defendants sought to quash subpoenas served

by the plaintiff on four separate entities or individuals. Flagg, 2008 U.S. Dist.

LEXIS 21923, *1. The subpoena served upon the Wayne County Prosecutor and

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her office is the only relevant subpoena for purposes of the motion presently before

this Court. The Wayne County Prosecutor objected to the subpoena on the ground

that it sought materials that were part of an ongoing criminal investigation. 2008

U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21923, *6.

The Flagg court ultimately concluded that a review of the ten

Frankenhauser factors was unnecessary because the parties had not briefed the

matter and the materials were not available for in camera review. 2008 U.S. Dist.

LEXIS 21923, *7. The Flagg court determined that the plaintiffs subpoena was

premature because discovery had recently begun and the plaintiff had yet to

explore other avenues of party discovery that may produce the items sought by the

subpoena served on the Wayne County Prosecutor and her office. 2008 U.S. Dist.

LEXIS 21923, *7. The Flagg court therefore quashed the subpoena without

prejudice so that Plaintiff could renew efforts to obtain materials from the Wayne

County Prosecutors Office. 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21923, *7.

The MSP argues that the circumstances herein are similar to the

circumstances in Flagg, thus this Court should quash the October 4, 2017

subpoena. In support of its present motion, the MSP includes an affidavit from

Matthew H. Penny, an attorney employed with the Wayne County Prosecutors

office. See Mot., Ex. 3 at Pg ID 258. Mr. Penny states that he has been assigned to

assist the MSP and the Detroit Police Department in the investigation of Damon

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Grimes death on August 26, 2017. Id. Mr. Penny opines that the release of

statements and reports of the civilian and police witnesses to the public would

be harmful to the ongoing investigation and any subsequent prosecution or

prosecutions. Id.

Plaintiff opposes the MSPs request to quash the subpoena, arguing that the

MSP has failed to meet its heavy burden to show that quashing the subject

subpoena is warranted. Plaintiff complains that the MSP fails to address all ten of

the Frankenhauser factors. Rather, the MSP relies on the fact that the Flagg court

only considered four factors when it concluded that it would quash the subpoena

served on the Wayne County Prosecutors office.

Looking to the Frankenhauser factors, the Court finds the following:

(1) The extent to which disclosure will thwart governmental

processes by discouraging citizens from giving the government

information. The MSP does not address this factor, nor is there any

evidence before the Court suggesting that disclosure of the sought

material will discourage citizens to provide information to the

Government. This factor weighs in favor of Plaintiff.

(2) The impact upon persons who have given information of

having their identities disclosed. The MSP likewise has not

addressed this factor and there is no evidence before the Court that

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persons who have given information to the Government will be

adversely affected by disclosure of the information sought by

Plaintiffs subpoena.

(3) The degree to which governmental self-evaluation and

consequent program improvement will be chilled by disclosure.

Again the MSP fails to address this factor and there is nothing before

the Court to suggest that government self-evaluation will be chilled by

disclosure.

(4) Whether the information sought is factual data or an

evaluative summary. The MSP also fails to address this factor. It

appears that the information sought by the October 4, 2017 subpoena

is factual in nature and not evaluative. Moreover, the privilege

protects only suggestions, advice, recommendations and opinions,

rather than factual and investigatory reports, data and surveys in

government files. Leggett & Platt, 542 F.2d at 658 n.4. This factor

favors the Plaintiffs position.

(5) Whether the party seeking the discovery is an actual or

potential defendant in any criminal proceedings either pending or

reasonably likely to follow from the incident in question. The

MSP likewise fails to address the fifth factor. Here, the party seeking

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discovery from the MSP is not a potential defendant. This factor also

favors the Plaintiffs position.

(6) Whether the police investigation has been completed. The

MSP claims that an investigation into the incident on August 26, 2017

is ongoing and that release of any information related to this

investigation will be harmful. While this factor appears to favor the

MSPs position, the Court notes that the MSP has failed to offer any

particularized explanation as to why release of this information will

harm the ongoing investigation. Additionally, the MSP originally

agreed to produce the subject information, albeit with an astronomical

price tag, thus its reliance on the ongoing investigation seems suspect.

(7) Whether any interdepartmental disciplinary proceedings have

arisen or may arise from the investigation. While the MSP fails to

address this factor, there is some evidence in the record to suggest that

at least two officers involved in the August 26, 2017 incident have

been suspended.

(8) Whether the plaintiffs suit is non-frivolous and brought in

good faith. Plaintiffs suit is not frivolous and it has been brought in

good faith.

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(9) Whether the information sought is available through other

discovery or from other sources. The MSP suggests that Plaintiff

has other avenues for obtaining the information sought by the

subpoena. However, this is inaccurate because the only defendant

herein is Bessner, and he will not have access to any of the requested

materials. This factor favors the Plaintiff.

(10) The importance of the information sought to the plaintiffs

case. There can be no question that the requested materials are

relevant here. In fact, Penny has opined that video evidence from the

scene is highly relevant.

Lastly, Plaintiff further argues that it is not seeking documents from the

Wayne County Prosecutors office, thus there will be no interference with the

prosecutions decision making. Based on the foregoing considerations, the Court

will deny the MSPs request to quash the subpoena as to items numbered 1-10, and

12-14 on Schedule A to the subject subpoena. Item number 11, which seeks the

personnel files, disciplinary and employment files for Bessner and any other

officer who has been suspended as a result of the August 26, 2017 incident, should

be produced for in camera review by this Court.

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B. Stay of Proceedings

Additionally, the MSP requests that the instant proceedings be stayed

pending the outcome of the criminal investigation and any related criminal charges

and proceedings. This request will be granted in part. The Court will stay the

instant proceedings until December 31, 2017.

The Court has the discretion to stay civil proceedings pending the outcome

of parallel criminal proceedings. Landis v. No. Am. Co., 299 U.S. 248, 254-55

(1936). In determining whether to grant a stay, courts typically consider the

following factors: (1) the extent to which the issues in the civil and criminal

proceedings overlap; (2) the status of the criminal proceedings; (3) the plaintiffs

interests in expeditious civil proceedings weighed against the prejudice to the

plaintiff caused by the delay; (4) the hardship on the defendant; (5) the

convenience of both the civil and criminal courts; and (6) the interests of the public

and third parties. In re Scrap Metal Litigation, No. 02-0844, 2002 WL 31988168,

at *2 (N.D. Ohio Nov. 7, 2002).

As to the first factor, whether there is overlap in issues between the civil and

criminal proceedings, Bessner has not been charged with any offense. Thus, there

is no overlap at this juncture. However, if Bessner is indicted, there may be issues

that overlap between the civil and criminal proceedings.

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The second factor weighs in favor of denying a stay. In general, courts

recognize that the case for a stay is strongest where the defendant has already been

indicted, whereas pre-indictment requests for a stay as in this case, are usually

denied. Chao v. Fleming, 498 F. Supp.2d 1034, 1037 (W.D. Mich. Jul. 6, 2007).

Here, there is no certainty that charges will be brought against Bessner. The MSP

argues that a stay may be appropriate even before charges are filed and that

numerous issues are sure to arise if this matter is permitted to proceed while the

investigations are ongoing. The MSP relies on the Federal Rules of Criminal

Procedure and Michigans Rules of Criminal Procedure to suggest that allowing

this matter to proceed will somehow run afoul of these rules. None of the cited

rules are applicable however because there are no ongoing criminal proceedings.

As to the prejudice factor, absent a showing of undue prejudice upon

defendant or interference with his constitutional rights, there is no reason why

plaintiff should be delayed in her efforts to diligently proceed to sustain her claim.

Birge v. Dollar Gen. Corp., No. 04-2531, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 36835, * (W.D.

Tenn. Dec. 14, 2005)(quoting Hicks v. City of New York, 268 F. Supp.2d 238,

241(E.D.N.Y. 2003)). Because there have been no charges brought against

Bessner, and such charges are only a possibility, an indefinite stay is inappropriate

and prejudicial to the Plaintiffs claims. Moreover, this Court has an obligation to

move its docket, and not let cases languish before it. In re Scrap Metal Litigation,

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2002 WL 31988168, at *7. Based on the foregoing considerations, the Court will

grant the MSPs request for a stay in part and will stay the instant proceedings until

December 31, 2017.

IV. CONCLUSION

. Accordingly, Non-Party State of Michigans and the Michigan State Polices

Motion to Quash Plaintiffs October 4, 2017 Subpoena is DENIED and Non-Party

State of Michigans and the Michigan State Polices Motion to Stay this Action

[#19] is GRANTED IN PART.

This matter is STAYED until December 31, 2017.

SO ORDERED.

Dated: November 28, 2017 /s/Gershwin A. Drain

GERSHWIN A. DRAIN
United States District Judge

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

Copies of this Order were served upon attorneys of record on

November 28, 2017, by electronic and/or ordinary mail.
/s/ Tanya Bankston
Deputy Clerk

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