Document MGw86d85bELkVNZkxqx6Np7ox

MERLYN W. ALLRED, ET AL Plaintiffs, vs. OWENS-CORNING FIBERGLAS CORPORATION, ET AL. Defendants. NO. 95-11267-K IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF DALLAS COUNTY, TEXAS 192ND JUDICIAL DISTRICT DEFENDANT MISSOURI PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANY d/b/a UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANY'S FOURTH SUPPLEMENTAL OBIECTIONS AND RESPONSES TO PLAINTIFF'S INTERROGATORIES TO: Martin L. Frierson, Jr., Plaintiff, by and through his attorneys of record, Baron & Budd, The Centrum, 3102 Oak Lawn Avenue, Suite 1100, Dallas, Texas 75219-4281. Pursuant to Rules 166b and 168 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, Defendant Missouri Pacific Railroad Company d/b/a Union Pacific Railroad Company (named as successor to Texas and Pacific Railway), Defendant'herein, hereby submits its Fourth Supplemental Objections and Responses to Plaintiff's Interrogatories. General Objections 1. Defendant objects to the Interrogatories to the extent that they request information protected from disclosure by the attorney-client privilege and/or the attorney work-product doctrine. Any information subject to any such privilege inadvertently provided by Defendant in response to the Interrogatories shall not constitute or be deemed to constitute a waiver of any such privilege. 2. Defendant objects to the Interrogatories to the extent that they request information that is neither relevant nor likely to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence. 3. Defendant objects to the Interrogatories to the extent that they exceed the scope of permissible discovery under the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. 4. Defendant objects to the interrogatories to the extent that they purport to require Defendant to provide information that is available to Plaintiff where the burden of deriving or ascertaining such information is substantially the same as for Plaintiff as for Defendant. ?D5:97054.1 5. Defendant objects to the Interrogatories to the extent that they purport to require Defendant to provide information pertaining to any time period other than the relevant time period which Plaintiff was allegedly employed by Defendant. 6. Defendant objects to the Interrogatories to the extent that they purport to allege Plaintiff was employed by Missouri Pacific Railroad Company as opposed to Union Pacific Railroad Company. 7. Defendant objects to the Interrogatories to the extent that they require in excess of thirty (30) responses. 8. Defendant reserves the right to supplement or amend its responses as appropriate. INTERROGATORIES INTERROGATORY NO. 33.: Please state whether written warnings were placed at any locations adjacent to or near asbestos in place on railroads, railway car(s) and/or engine(s) and/or locomotives owned or operated by Defendant at anytime from 1965 to the present. If so, please describe with specificity such signs, including size, color, wording, etc. Additionally, please state the number of such signs that were installed and indicate the specific location of each such sign and the dates such sign was at that location. ANSWER: Objection. This Interrogatory is overly broad, unduly burdensome and seeks information which is neither relevant nor likely to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence because it asks for information outside of the time frame during which plaintiff claims employment with Defendant. INTERROGATORY NO, 39.: Please describe each and every occasion during the past thirty years when any regulatory agency or other governing body inspected Defendant's railroad, railway car(s) and/or engine(s) and/or locomotives in question for the purpose of ascertaining whether health and safety regulations were being followed or adhered to, including the date of such inspection and/or meeting, the results, and whether a written report was produced. ANSWER: Objection. This Interrogatory is overly broad, unduly burdensome and seeks information which is neither relevant nor likely to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence because it is not limited to the time period during which Plaintiff was allegedly employed by Defendant nor is it limited to the job site or facilities on which Plaintiff was allegedly employed by Defendant. Defendant has acted to fulfill the requirements, rules, and guidelines established by the United States government to regulate railroads and locomotives. Those same requirements, rules and regulations are a matter of public record and are equally available to Plaintiff. INTERROGATORY NO. 43.: Please describe all actions taken by Defendant to comply with the Boiler Inspection Act, previously 45 U.S.C. 23 during the past thirty-five (35) years, now designated at 49 U.S.C. 20701 et seq. ANSWER: Objection. This Interrogatory is overly broad, unduly burdensome and seeks information which is neither relevant nor likely to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence because it is not limited to the time period during which Plaintiff was allegedly employed by Defendant nor is it limited to the job site or facilities on which Plaintiff was allegedly employed by Defendant. Moreover, this Interrogatory seeks information, if any exists, which is protected by the attorney-client privilege and the work product doctrine. Finally, this Interrogatory requires Defendant to make a legal conclusion in order to respond. Subject to but without PDS:37054.1 2 waiver of these objections. Defendant has located no documents responsive to this Interrogatory for the years of Plaintiff's alleged employment or for Plaintiff's alleged work site. Defendant has acted to fulfill the requirements, rules, and guidelines established by the United States government to regulate railroads and locomotives. Those same requirements, rules and regulations are a matter of public record and are equally available to Plaintiff. Respectfully submitted, PHELPS DUNBAR By ^ Deborah Newman Texas State Bar No. 01237257 Mark Schaffer Texas State Bar No. 00792199 3040 Post Oak Boulevard Suite 900 Houston, TX 77056 (713) 626-1386 (713) 626-1388 FAX Attorneys for Defendant Missouri Pacific Railroad Company d/b/a Union Pacific Railroad Company CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE The undersigned hereby certifies that a true and correct copy of the foregoing Defendant Missouri Pacific Railroad Company d/b/a Union Pacific Railroad Company's Fourth Supplemental Objections and Responses to Plaintiff's Interrogatories has been sent via First Class Mail to other parties of record on attached service list and via Facsimile and Certified Mail to Plaintiff's counsel of record, Baron & Budd, 3102 Oak Lawn Avenue, Suite 1100, Dallas, Texas 75219-4281, this day of '^Vv~*/L.1998. (A Mark B. Schaffer PD5:370S 3