Many, if not all discrimination cases, require that the employee compare him/herself to other employees. It is simply the nature of employment lawsuits that a victim alleges s/he was treated differently than others. To make that allegation, the employee must seek documents and records concerning his/her fellow employees. So, it is no surprise that Coach Bev Kearney was successful in her efforts to obtain records concerning other coaches and employees at the University of Texas. See San Antonio Express News report. Those records will include those of Coach Major Applewhite. I previously wrote about Coach Kearney’s lawsuit here. 

UT opposed the motion. But, they surely knew they would lose. Yes, records from other employees might include sensitive information. But, both sides usually agree to a "protective order" which makes it clear that such records can only be used for purposes of the lawsuit. In perhaps all of my discrimination lawsuits, we ask for records of other employees who are accused of the same offense as my client. Often, the employer will agree to produce those records without the necessity of a court order, because they know most, if not all courts will order the production of such records. That UT might oppose a motion they would surely lose suggests this is 1) a high profile case, and 2) this is a very high profile case. 

I guess the only real surprise in Coach Kearney’s case is that the Express News seems a bit surprised UT was ordered to produce these records…..