City of Apopka: Document request for lawsuit is ‘fishing expedition’ for another one

2482

In response to a deposition subpoena of one of its employees, the city of Apopka has requested that a court limit the scope of documents that the employee must bring to the deposition.

Stewart Bronson sued the city in March 2016 after a reclaimed water pipe burst in front of his property on Ocoee-Apopka Road, washing away several citrus trees, creating a gully, and leaving a pond of standing reclaimed water on Bronson’s property.

In the subpoena, Bronson’s attorney, David A. Spain, wants Kevin Burgess, the city’s assistant public services director, to bring six sets of documents to his deposition that is scheduled for Wednesday, May 31. Five of the six sets, the city says in its filing, do “not bear a scintilla of relevancy” to the suit brought by Bronson. The city is represented by attorney Michele D. Morales in the lawsuit.

In the filing, Morales writes, “This type of deposition questioning should not be permitted of any of the city of Apopka employees in this case and is an improper fishing expedition.”

The five sets of documents under question from the city that Spain wants Burgess to bring include reports dealing with Apopka’s wastewater treatment plant since August 4, 2014, exactly a year prior to when the reclaimed water pipe burst, flooding a portion of Bronson’s property.

The only documents the city did not object to are ones “that would indicate the water volume that escaped onto plaintiff’s property from the water pipe at issue in this lawsuit.”

The full story is featured on page 1A of the Friday, May 26, edition, of The Apopka Chief