Law Firm Facing High-Heels Injury Suit Is Now Gearing Up for E-Mail Discovery Dispute
A woman who sued claiming she was injured when the high heels she was required to wear at Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn got caught in the law firm’s carpet is now launching a new attack on the discovery front.
A lawyer for Denise Fitzhenry, who formerly worked as an executive assistant to vice chair Alan Schwartz, says the firm “is taking a really strange position on discovery responses,” contending that it does not have to produce, because it does not ordinarily retain, e-mail that is more than 90 days old, reports the Am Law Daily.
“To think that this major law firm does not have e-mails that go past 90 days—are they kidding? I’ve done a lot of litigation, but have never been in a situation, especially with a law firm, where somebody takes this position that they can’t produce anything beyond 90 days,” says attorney Deborah Gordon.
The article includes a link to the 15-page motion for discovery relief she filed in federal court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Honigman hasn’t yet filed a response, but partner Elizabeth Hardy of Kienbaum Opperwall Hardy & Pelton says in a written statement that “Honigman has complied in full with all of its discovery obligations and believes the evidence that will be presented to the court will firmly establish that fact.”
A previous ABAJournal.com post provides more details about Fitzhenry’s hostile work environment suit:
Law Firm Accused of Being ‘Mad Men’ Throwback - Requiring Heels, Then Discriminating After Injury
