Employer Ordered To Turn Over Audio Tapes of Plaintiff's Prior Testimony

An employer being sued for sexual harassment refused to turn over audio tapes of the plaintiff's testimony in prior workers' compensation and domestic proceedings. The employer contended that because it intended to use the tapes for impeachment purposes only, the tapes were not discoverable. Magistrate Judge Day (acting as the trial judge)ruled to the contrary. Because the tapes had a substantive purposes, i.e., to prove that the employer was not the cause the employee's emotional distress, the Court ordered the employer to produce the tapes to the plaintiff.