In filings made Wednesday night to the Western District of North Carolina, Chris Gabehart has asked that Joe Gibbs Racing’s request for expedited discovery be denied because it is “unnecessary, premature and seeks to circumvent” the process.
Gabehart contends that Joe Gibbs Racing already has the information it’s claiming to need from the forensic investigation of his electronic devices. Additionally, he claims that they have since learned that Gabehart was deleting things “involving files” that Gibbs cannot identify but were known to its forensic examiner three months ago.
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If the Court rules for the expedited discovery, Gabehart has asked that it be made reciprocal. Gabehart will then seek internal communications from Joe Gibbs Racing regarding his right to exercise his contractual rights, the wages they withheld, and the decision to terminate him for cause after the forensic examination was completed.
In its brief filed in opposition to the request for expedited discovery, Spire Motorsport said that Joe Gibbs Racing does not show the harm that would come if discovery were done during the normal course of litigation. Spire Motorsports then also asked for reciprocal discovery and that it would seek non-privileged documents regarding the noncompete provision in Gabehart’s contract and whether it was applicable at the time he was hired by their organization.
Also included in Wednesday night filings were multiple declarations on behalf of Gabehart and Spire Motorsports. Included were team owners Jeff Dickerson and Dan Towriss, as well as team president Bill Anthony. Towriss and Anthony were short declarations, refuting previous statements made from the Gibbs side.