United States District Court, D. Colorado
ORDER
Kristen L. Mix United States Magistrate Judge.
This
matter is before the Court on Plaintiff's
Unopposed Motion for Issuance of Letters of Request
to AFP [#83][1] (the “Motion”).[2] In the Motion
[#83], Plaintiff seeks the issuance of letters of request to
the appropriate English Court to obtain documents and oral
evidence regarding AFP Consulting Engineers Ltd.
(“AFP”), a company located in the United Kingdom.
See generally Motion [#83]. Plaintiff attaches
Exhibit A [#83-1] to the Motion [#83] which lists the
documents to be produced and the topics to be discussed
during the oral examination of John Howlett, a former
employee of AFP. Although not entirely clear, the Court
presumes that Plaintiff intends to attach Exhibit A [#83-1]
to the letters of request submitted to the appropriate
English Court if the Motion is granted.
The
factual background relevant to the present Motion [#83] is as
follows. This case concerns a 25, 000 gallon, custom-made
marine aquarium (the “Aquarium”) that collapsed
in Plaintiff's home located in Scotland on November 30,
2015. See Order [#54] at 1-2. Plaintiff entered into
a written agreement with Intervenor-Defendant Acrylic Tank
Manufacturing, Inc. (“ATM”) on September 6, 2007,
whereby ATM agreed to design, build, and install the
Aquarium. Id. at 1. ATM subsequently contracted with
Defendant Reynolds Polymer Technology, Inc.
(“Reynolds”) to manufacture the Aquarium to
ATM's specifications. Id. Reynolds manufactured
the Aquarium at its factory in Colorado and shipped the
Aquarium to Scotland, where it was installed by ATM in 2010
while Plaintiff's home was being constructed.
Id. at 1-2; see Motion [#83] at 1-2.
According to the instant Motion, AFP was initially retained
by GR3[3] to perform a structural and engineering
analysis of the roof-light that was to be installed over the
Aquarium. Motion [#83] at 3. Evidence obtained
through discovery indicates that AFP closely worked with
architects, engineers, and other contractors regarding the
Aquarium's roof-light and continued its involvement in
the project even after GR3 was replaced by a different
contractor, High Level Glazing. Id. at 3-4.
Given
AFP's work regarding the Aquarium's roof-light,
Plaintiff seeks an order from the Court that requests
assistance from the appropriate English Court to obtain
documents and oral evidence from AFP which, according to
Plaintiff, are required for this litigation and will be used
for trial purposes. Id. at 6-7.[4] In sum, Plaintiff
seeks to obtain the following documents which it believes AFP
has in its possession:
(1) Drawings and calculations addressing the stresses or
loads on the acrylic tank due to the roof-light;
(2) Drawings and calculations addressing the stresses or
loads on the acrylic tank due to the glazing surrounding the
top of the Aquarium;
(3) Drawings and calculations showing the structural
analyses, assessments or determinations or engineering
computations (including calculations) addressing the stresses
on the acrylic imposed by the Schuco mullion surrounding the
top of the Aquarium;
(4) Drawings and calculations showing the structural
analyses, assessments or determinations or engineering
computations (including calculations) addressing the stresses
or loads on the acrylic due to the movement of the brackets
over the top of the Aquarium which connected to the Schuco
m[u]llion;
(5) Drawings and calculations showing the structural
analyses, assessments or determinations or engineering
computations (including calculations) addressing the stresses
or loads on the acrylic due to the cover placed over the
Aquarium;
(6) Email communications between GR3 employees and AFP
employees regarding the engineering work by AFP specific to
the roof-light of the Aquarium;
(7) Email communications between GR3 employees and AFP
employees regarding the engineering work by AFP specific to
the bracket/steel ring configuration connected to the Schuco
mullion surrounding the top of the Aquarium;
(8) Email communications between GR3 employees and AFP
employees regarding the engineering work by AFP specific to
the cover over the Aquarium;
(9) Email communications between AFP employees and architect
Julian Hunter regarding the engineering work by AFP specific
to the bracket/steel ring configuration connected to the
Schuco mullion surrounding the top of the Aquarium;
(10) Email communications between AFP employees and Julian
Hunter regarding the engineering work by AFP specific to the
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