Judge orders pager records in Tamara Greene lawsuit
City lawyers scolded for not providing text message lists for use in a lawsuit brought by the slain exotic dancer’s family.
A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the city of Detroit to produce the city’s contracts with pager provider SkyTel Corp. — documents that could determine whether text messages sent and received by the mayor and city employees can be subpoenaed in a lawsuit brought by the family of a slain exotic dancer.
U.S. District Judge Gerald E. Rosen also scolded lawyers for the city and former mayoral chief of staff Christine Beatty for possibly trying to impede the gathering of documents relevant to the Tamara “Strawberry” Greene lawsuit.
“The court discerns a troubling trend in this case, where a city attorney has stated on the record that at least some of the pertinent documents … have been shredded, and where defendant Beatty has now interposed a dubious challenge to plaintiff’s court-authorized effort to obtain this information through other means,” Rosen said in a court order.
He warned of the possibility of sanctions if the “troubling trend” continues.
Greene’s name was linked to a long-rumored party at the Manoogian Mansion in the fall of 2002. She was killed in a drive-by shooting in Detroit on April 30, 2003.
The lawsuit, brought on behalf of Greene’s 15-year-old son, alleges Detroit police failed to properly investigate the killing for political reasons.
The defendants, who include the city, Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, Beatty, and police officials, deny the allegations.
Norman Yatooma, the Birmingham lawyer representing Greene’s family, subpoenaed text messages sent and received by the mayor and more than two dozen other current and former city and police officials.
SkyTel indicated it would comply but said it needed the employee PINs (personal identification numbers). A city attorney told Rosen the PIN records were shredded, and Mayer Morganroth, Beatty’s attorney, cited a federal law in an effort to quash a subpoena seeking similar information from SkyTel.
Rosen described Morganroth’s position as “utterly lacking in merit.”
The judge gave the city 14 days to provide him copies of its SkyTel contracts. They may identify “the subscriber” to the SkyTel service, and help determine whether text messages are subject to subpoena.
“You’re going to get that from time to time — the court disagrees,” Morganroth said.
