United States v. Ray B. Woodbury

The United States of America, defendant herein, has applied to this court for permission to appeal from an interlocutory order entered by the district court during the course of pretrial proceedings. The application is made under 28 U.S.C.A. § 1292 (b), enacted September 2, 1958, enlarging the jurisdiction of the courts of appeals to entertain appeals from interlocutory orders. The plaintiff, Ray B. Woodbury, opposes the application, arguing that several of the conditions specified in the statute have not been met.

The action was brought by Woodbury under the Tort Claims Act to recover $863,000 damages. The theory of the action is that the Housing and Home Finance Agency (HI-IFA) had breached a fiduciary duty owed to Woodbury in connection with the financing of a housing project in Kodiak, Alaska. The government answered, setting up certain defenses and counterclaiming to recover $400,000 damages for breach of a construction contract by a company controlled by Woodbury.

On September 10,1958, Woodbury filed a motion with the district court, under Rule 34, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, 28 U.S.C.A., for the production of documents for inspection, copying, or photographing. The…