Workman v. United States Postal Service, No. 24-2033 (10th Cir. 2025)
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A fire destroyed the Chimayo post office in New Mexico, which was leased by Thomas Workman to the United States Postal Service (USPS). Workman filed a petition under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 27 in the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico to take five depositions before deciding whether to sue USPS. He claimed he needed these depositions to complete his investigation into the fire's cause, responsible parties, and USPS's operation of the facility. The petition was denied because Workman did not provide a valid reason why he could not already bring a lawsuit or explain why the testimony would be lost if not taken immediately.
The United States District Court for the District of New Mexico denied Workman's petition. The court found that Workman failed to show an inability to bring a lawsuit and a risk of losing testimony. Workman argued that he could not bring his claims due to an incomplete investigation and that the testimony might be lost over time. However, the court determined that these reasons did not meet the requirements of Rule 27.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reviewed the case. The court affirmed the district court's decision, agreeing that Workman did not demonstrate a true inability to bring a lawsuit or a sufficient risk of losing testimony. The court emphasized that Rule 27 is not intended for discovering facts to frame a complaint but to perpetuate known testimony that might be lost. The court found no abuse of discretion in the district court's denial of the petition.
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