The Defendant filed a Motion to Quash Subpoenas or Issue Protective Order pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 26 and 45. While the Defendant presented the motion as one for a protective order, the principal objection raised to the requested bank records was a purported lack of relevancy to the claims and defenses in the adversary proceeding. Therefore, the Court separately treated the Defendant’s objection based on relevance as a motion to limit discovery under Rule 26(b)(2)(C) and considered it after first evaluating the Defendant’s request for a protective order under Rule 26(c).
On the Defendant’s motion for a protective order, the Court first noted the movant’s burden of showing good cause by a particular and specific demonstration of fact. The Court found the Defendant had not met her burden of showing good cause for entry of a protective order. Specifically, the Court found the Defendant failed to provide a basis or explanation for her objections that the subpoenas were overly broad, burdensome, or oppressive. Moreover, the Defendant provided no legal basis for her general claim of a right to privacy over the subpoenaed bank records. 
The Court next considered the Defendant’s objection based on relevancy. The scope of discovery under Rule 26 is broadly construed to encompass any possibility that information sought may be relevant to the claim or defense of any party and the Court has wide discretion in determining relevance for discovery purposes.  The Court observed that the Plaintiff was required to prove both the direct elements of a nondischargeability cause of action under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a) as well as the underlying debt under state law. After considering the pleadings and the controlling substantive law, the Court found the entirety of the requested bank records to be relevant to the claims and defenses at issue and within the broad scope of relevance described under Rule 26(b)(1). Therefore, the Court denied the Defendant’s motion to the extent it sought to limit discovery under Rule 26(b)(2)(C).