Guillen v. Owens et al
Filing
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ORDER denying 133 Motion for Sanctions; denying 150 Motion to Strike. (See document for full details). Signed by Magistrate Judge Lawrence O Anderson on 11/23/11.(LAD)
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA
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Karl L. Guillen,
Plaintiff,
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vs.
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Quincy Owens, et al.,
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Defendants.
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No. CV-10-226-PHX-JWS (LOA)
ORDER
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This matter is before the Court on the following motions: (1) Plaintiff’s Motion to
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Compel, doc. 104; (2) Plaintiff’s Motion for Sanctions against Defendant Ryan, doc. 133; and
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(3) Plaintiff’s Motion to Strike Defendant Ryan’s Response to Plaintiff’s Motion for Sanctions,
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doc. 150. These motions are fully briefed and ripe for ruling. As set forth below, the Motion
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to Compel is granted in part and denied in part. And Plaintiff’s motions to strike and for
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sanctions are denied.
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I. Background
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Plaintiff, who is confined in the Arizona State Prison Complex-Eyman, Special
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Management Unit I (SMU I), in Florence, Arizona, filed a pro se civil rights complaint pursuant
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to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. (Doc. 9) The Court dismissed the complaint with leave to amend, doc. 14,
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and Plaintiff filed a First Amended Complaint (“FAC”) and a motion for injunctive relief, docs.
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17 & 18. After screening the FAC pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a), the Court denied the
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motion for injunctive relief and ordered, inter alia, Defendant Ryan to answer Counts I (in part),
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II (in part), III (in part), and V (in part). (Doc. 20) The Court found that Plaintiff adequately
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alleged violations of the Due Process Clause and the Eighth Amendment.
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Plaintiff served Defendant Ryan with requests for interrogatories, admissions, and
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production. (Doc. 104) On July 28, 2011, after Defendant Ryan responded to Plaintiff’s
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requests, Plaintiff filed a Motion to Compel Defendant Ryan to produce specific items and
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respond to discovery requests, stating generally that Defendant Ryan’s answers and objections
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to Plaintiff’s requests were inadequate. (Doc. 104) Defendant Ryan’s response stated generally
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that his objections were proper, and that Plaintiff’s requests were vague or irrelevant. (Doc. 118)
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Plaintiff’s reply basically reiterates the same points as his Motion to Compel.
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On August 26, 2011, Plaintiff filed a motion for sanctions against Defendant Ryan,
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claiming that Defendant Ryan committed perjury, was evasive, or misrepresented facts to the
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Court regarding (1) the reason Plaintiff was transferred to SMU; (2) whether Defendant Ryan
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was a defendant in an alleged related case; (3) the existence and creation of temperature logs;
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(4) whether the Arizona Department of Corrections tracks disciplinary actions of each inmate;
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(5) the feasibility of compiling records of specific complaints; (6) the feasibility of identifying
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parties who authorized transfers; and (7) whether Defendant Ryan knows the definition of the
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term “involved in.” (Doc. 133) Defendant Ryan opposes Plaintiff’s Motion for Sanctions.
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(Doc. 137)
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On September 19, 2011, Plaintiff filed a Motion to Strike Defendant Ryan’s
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response to Plaintiff’s Motion for Sanctions, claiming again that Defendant Ryan, among other
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things, committed perjury. (Doc. 150) Defendant Ryan responds that Plaintiff fails to state a
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sufficient basis to strike Defendant Ryan’s response. (Doc. 158)
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II. Legal Standard and Relevant Law
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A. Discovery Requests
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Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26 provides that “[p]arties may obtain discovery
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regarding any nonprivileged matter that is relevant to any party’s claim or defense . . . Relevant
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information need not be admissible at the trial if the discovery appears reasonably calculated
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to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(b)(1). “An interrogatory may
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relate to any matter that may be inquired into under Rule 26(b)[,]” and objections “must be
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stated with specificity.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 33(a)(2). The Court may limit discovery requests when
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“the burden or expense of the proposed discovery outweighs its likely benefit.” Fed.R.Civ.P.
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26(b)(2)(C)(iii).
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A party may request documents by describing “with reasonable particularity each
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item or category of items.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 34(b)(1)(A). The responding party must produce
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documents in his “possession, custody, or control.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 34(a)(1). “Control is defined
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as the legal right to obtain documents upon demand.” United States v. Int'l Union of Petrol. &
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Indus. Workers, AFL-CIO, 870 F.2d 1450, 1452 (9th Cir. 1989). “Thus, [a] party responding
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to a Rule 34 production request . . . is under an affirmative duty to seek that information
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reasonably available to [it] from [its] employees, agents, or others subject to [its] control.” Hill
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v. Eddie Bauer, 242 F.R.D. 556, 560 (C.D. Cal. 2007) (quotation marks omitted).
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When a party makes a request for admission, and when answering in “good faith
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requires that [the responding] party qualify an answer or deny only a part of a matter, the answer
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must specify the part admitted and qualify or deny the rest.” Fed.R.Civ.P 36(a)(4).
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B. Sanctions
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“If a party fails to provide information or identify a witness as required by Rule
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26(a) or (e), . . . the [C]ourt, on motion and after giving an opportunity to be heard[,] . . . may
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order payment of reasonable expenses, including attorney’s fees.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 37(c)(1). “Rule
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37 sanctions are intended to punish evasion of pre-trial discovery.” Shervin v. Perez, 925 F.2d
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1470 (9th Cir. 1991). A court may also assess sanctions pursuant to its inherent power,
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including sanctions “when the losing party has acted in bad faith, vexatiously, wantonly, or for
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oppressive reasons.” Fink v. Gomez, 239 F.3d 989, 991 (9th Cir. 2001) (quoting Roadway Exp.,
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Inc. v. Piper, 447 U.S. 752, 766 (1980)); see Okonkwo v. Glendale Union High Sch. Dist., 2009
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WL 536568 (D.Ariz. Mar. 4, 2009).
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C. Motion to Strike
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Local Rule of Civil Procedure 7.2(m)(1) provides that “[u]nless made at trial, a
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motion to strike may be filed only if it is authorized by statute or rule . . . or if it seeks to strike
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a part of a filing or submission on the ground that it is prohibited (or not authorized) by a
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statute, rule, or court order.” LRCiv. 7.2(m)(1). Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure,
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“[t]he [C]ourt may strike from a pleading an insufficient defense or any redundant, immaterial,
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impertinent, or scandalous matter.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(f). Pleadings are limited to complaints and
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third-party complaints, answers to complaints and third-party complaints, answers to
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counterclaims designated as counterclaims, answers to crossclaims, and court-ordered replies
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to answers. Fed.R.Civ.P. 7(a); Burns v. Lawther, 53 F.3d 1237, 1241 (11th Cir. 1995) (“Rule
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7 explicitly excludes everything else from its definition of pleadings.”); Yount v. Regent Univ.,
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Inc., 2009 WL 995596, at *11 (D.Ariz. Apr. 14, 2009).
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D. Due Process
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When an inmate is transferred to a more confined facility or cell, courts generally
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determine “what process an inmate must be afforded under the Due Process Clause,” Wilkinson
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v. Austin, 545 U.S. 209, 220 (2005), and whether the new facility or cell will “impose[] atypical
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and significant hardship on the inmate” or “inevitably affect the duration of his sentence.”
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Sandin v. Conner, 515 U.S. 472, 484, 487 (1995); accord Myron v. Terhune, 476 F.3d 716, 718
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(9th Cir. 2007); Keenan v. Hall, 83 F.3d 1083, 1088 (9th Cir. 1996).
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The substantive component of the due process clause “bars certain arbitrary,
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wrongful government actions regardless of the fairness of the procedures used to implement
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them.” Zinermon v. Burch, 494 U.S. 113, 125 (1990) (quotation marks omitted); Brittain v.
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Hansen, 451 F.3d 982, 991 (9th Cir. 2006). The procedural component of the due process clause
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protects against the deprivation by state action of “life, liberty, or property, without due process
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of law.” U.S. Const., Amend. 14, § 1; Zinermon, 494 U.S. at 125. It is not the deprivation of
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life, liberty, or property that is procedurally unconstitutional; rather, it is the deprivation without
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the requisite due process. Zinermon, 494 U.S. at 125; Carey v. Piphus, 435 U.S. 247, 259
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(1978). Therefore, discovery based on a claim of a violation of due process must be relevant to
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those claims.
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E. Eighth Amendment
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Discovery based on a claim of a violation of the Eighth Amendment must be
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relevant to whether a plaintiff was denied “the minimal civilized measure of life’s necessities,”
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Keenan, 83 F.3d at 1089, and “whether the officials involved acted with ‘deliberate
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indifference’ to the inmates’ health or safety.’” Hope v. Pelzer, 536 U.S. 730, 738 (2002)
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(quoting Hudson v. McMillian, 503 U.S. 1, 8 (1992)); accord Keenan, 83 F.3d at 1089.
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III. Analysis
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A. Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel
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1. Request for Production No. 2
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Plaintiff requests “[any] and [all] documents related to the case in re MARK KOCH
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v. CHUCK RYAN, et al. (2003).” (Doc. 118 at 3) Defendant Ryan objects to this request,
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stating it is irrelevant, overbroad, vague, ambiguous, and that he is not obligated to conduct
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Plaintiff’s research. (Id.)
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Plaintiff alleges that Defendants have violated his due process and Eighth
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Amendment rights. However, Plaintiff fails to show how documents relating to another
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inmate’s decade-old case are relevant to his own due process and Eighth Amendment claims.
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Even assuming that Plaintiff could show that the prison official in that case violated that
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inmate’s due process or Eighth Amendment rights, that violation is not relevant as to whether
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Defendant Ryan violated Plaintiff’s due process or Eighth Amendment rights. See Hope, 536
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U.S. at 738 (describing requirements for an Eighth Amendment claim); Zinermon, 494 U.S. at
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125 (describing requirements for a due process claim). The Court finds that Defendant Ryan’s
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objection is proper, and denies Plaintiff’s request as to Production No. 2 .
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2. Request for Production No. 3
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Plaintiff requests “[any] and [all] notes, documents, letters, memoranda, files,
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records, record books, logs, grievance reports or written communications concerning Plaintiff,
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to include electronic communications (emails, telephonic recordings via official ADC
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procedures for all State prisons).” (Doc. 118 at 5) Defendant Ryan objects, stating the request
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is, among other things, overbroad; vague and ambiguous as to time frame, scope, and subject
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matter; and precluded by A.R.S. § 31-221. (Id.)
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Plaintiff claims that “[t]he documents are necessary to show that Plaintiff has
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exhausted every remedy administratively,” and “to show the court the deceptive and arbitrary
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practices of R[yan].” (Doc. 104 at 2) The Court “must limit the . . . extent of discovery
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otherwise allowed by these rules or by local rule if it determines that[] the discovery sought is
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unreasonably cumulative.” Fed.R.Civ.P. § 26(b)(2)(C). Plaintiff’s request for “[any] and [all]
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notes, documents, letters, memoranda, files, records, record books, logs, grievance reports or
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written communications concerning Plaintiff” is unreasonably cumulative because many of the
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requested documents are likely to fall outside the scope of the claims brought in this action.
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However, Plaintiff seems to have attempted to limit his request to merely the temperature logs,
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docs. 104 at 2, and 133 at 3-4, and Defendant Ryan appears to have acknowledged the
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limitation, docs. 118 at 5, and 137 at 2-3.
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Regarding temperature logs that Plaintiff requests, doc. 104 at 2, Defendant Ryan
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states “there are no temperature logs made by Sgt. Key, or anyone else,” doc. 118 at 5. Plaintiff
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attached documents to his motion for sanctions, doc. 133, that have temperatures recorded in
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them, and Defendant Ryan states that those documents are logs in which Sgt. Key recorded
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temperatures, but are “not considered to be [] formal ‘Temperature Log[s],’” doc. 137 at 3. He
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further states that “a detailed analysis of the temperature at a given unit would require staff to
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go through all of the continuous correctional logs and create a compilation of that data.” (Id.)
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However, Plaintiff does not request a detailed analysis of temperatures in the units or a
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compilation of data from the documents; rather, he requests only the documents on which the
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temperatures were already recorded. Accordingly, the Court will limit Plaintiff’s request to logs
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in which temperatures were recorded, and authorize Defendant Ryan to redact information as
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necessary for the safety of inmates and correctional facility staff.
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Therefore, the Court grants Plaintiff’s request for Production No. 3, subject to the
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limitation of logs in which temperatures were recorded and redacted as necessary for security
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purposes.
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3. Request for Production No. 7
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Plaintiff requests “any and all reports, files, procedures, instructions, notes,
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memoranda, internal communications, procedures and regulations concerning long-term
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isolation, psychological & Physiological effects of long-term isolation generated by ADOC,
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contractors, physicians, or outside bodies.” (Doc. 118 at 6) (capitalization omitted) Defendant
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Ryan objects, stating the request is “irrelevant and not calculated to lead to admissible evidence
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at trial, overbroad, vague and ambiguous as to scope and issue, unduly burdensome, and that
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he [is] not obligated to conduct Plaintiff’s research.”
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Although documents relating to the effects of long-term isolation might “be
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reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence,” Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(b)(1);
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see Hutto v. Finney, 437 U.S. 678, 686 (1978) (stating that “the length of confinement cannot
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be ignored in deciding whether the confinement meets constitutional standards”), requesting
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Defendant Ryan to produce these materials is akin to asking Defendant Ryan to perform
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Plaintiff’s legal or medical research. Defendant Ryan states that “ADC does not have any
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materials on the issues sought.” (Doc. 118 at 6) Accordingly, the Court will deny the motion
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to compel as to Plaintiff’s request for Production No. 7.
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4. Request for Production No. 8
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Plaintiff requests “[a]ll documents discovered in interrogatory questions #8-13.”
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(Doc. 118 at 6) (capitalization omitted) Defendant Ryan objects, stating the request is, among
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other things, “irrelevant and not calculated to lead to admissible evidence at trial; overbroad.”
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(Id.)
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Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b), the Court finds that this request
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is unreasonably cumulative and will result in the production of documents that are irrelevant to
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Plaintiff’s claims. For example, Interrogatory No. 8 requests generally that Defendant Ryan
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identify any documents related to complaints about conditions of confinement at SMU I. (Doc.
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118 at 9) Most of those documents would be irrelevant to Plaintiff’s own due process and
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Eighth Amendment claims. Accordingly, the Court finds that Defendant Ryan’s objection to
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request for Production No. 8 is proper, and denies Plaintiff’s request.
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5. Request for Production No. 9
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Plaintiff requests “[e]xpert reports and documents produced by ADC and Opponents
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in Koch v. Lewis, et al., CIV90-1872, concerning indefinite SMU-type confinement and its
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effects, due process, and all issues involved in that same matter.” (Id. at 7) Defendant Ryan
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asserts the same objections he asserted to Request for Production No. 2, and he also objects that
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this request is unreasonably cumulative, because it is a duplicative request. (Id.)
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The Court agrees with Defendant Ryan that this request is included within Plaintiff’s
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request for Production No. 2. The Court finds, as it did with Plaintiff’s request for Production
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No. 2, that Plaintiff fails to show how documents relating to another inmate’s decade-old case
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are relevant to his own due process and Eighth Amendment claims, and denies Plaintiff’s
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request.
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6. Request for Production No. 10
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Plaintiff requests “all documents produced in the [Koch v. Lewis] matter.” (Id.)
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(capitalization omitted) Defendant Ryan’s objections are the same as those in Request for
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Production Nos. 2 and 9. (Id.) The Court agrees with Defendant Ryan that this is a duplicative
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request, and denies Plaintiff’s request.
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7. Request for Interrogatories No. 3
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Plaintiff requests that Defendant Ryan “identify any records, redacted if necessary
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to protect the names of the individuals, any and all inmates who have been taken to the ‘hole’
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(i.e., [R]DU’s Detention Units, SMU’s, or restrictive confinement) for ‘Playing Cards[,]’
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Gambling from 2000 to present,” or further if necessary to find such inmates. (Doc. 118 at 7)
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(capitalization omitted) Defendant Ryan objects, stating, among other objections, that Plaintiff
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“[s]eeks the creation of a document not currently in existence.” (Id. at 8) He further states that
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“if an inmate was sent to detention or a higher custody level sometime after being found guilty
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of gambling, there could be any number of other reasons why he was moved.” (Id.)
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Plaintiff claims that Defendant Ryan’s alleged arbitrary restrictive confinement of
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Plaintiff violated his right to due process. Whether other inmates have ever been similarly
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restrictively confined for gambling may be relevant to this claim. Although Plaintiff asserts
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this information may be easily searched “like Google,” Defendant Ryan argues that adhering
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to the request would require him “to go through each individual inmate’s file.” The importance
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of this issue does not outweigh the burden of going through each inmate’s file individually, and
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Plaintiff can support his due process claim using other means. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(b)(2)(C)(iii)
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(stating courts must limit discovery when it determines that “the burden or expense of the
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proposed discovery outweighs its likely benefit, . . . considering the needs of the case”).
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To the extent that this request would require Defendant Ryan to go through each
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inmate’s file individually, the Court finds that Defendant Ryan’s objection is proper, and denies
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Plaintiff’s request as to Interrogatory No. 3. Moreover, the temporal scope of the request (2000
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to the present) is too broad.
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8. Request for Interrogatories No. 4
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Plaintiff requests that Defendant Ryan “identify the evidence of Plaintiff being a
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threat to any/all DNHW’s (Do Not House With’s), by D0801 behavioral indicators, i.e., actual
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behavior, threats, or some action taken against any individual that would not comport with
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ADOC or State policy, rules, laws, and federal law.” (Doc. 118 at 8) Defendant Ryan objects,
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stating the request is “overbroad and vague and ambiguous as to scope and duration and that it
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request[s] confidential and sensitive information, some of which is [sic] he is precluded from
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obtaining by [A.R.S. § 31-221(E)].” (Id.) Defendant Ryan also states that “[i]n this case, only
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one inmate on [Plaintiff’s] DNHW list is at issue, and . . . [Plaintiff] already knows this inmate
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has an issue with him and what the issue is.” (Doc. 118 at 9)
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Assuming § 31-221(E) prohibits the voluntary release of the requested information,
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it does not amount to a privilege to avoid compliance with the discovery processes in cases filed
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in federal court. Although Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(b)(1) specifically provides that privileged items are
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excluded from the scope of discoverable matters, Fed.R.Evid. 501 requires that as to federal
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claims, federal laws of privilege apply. Defendant cites no federal privilege that would preclude
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discovery of the materials requested. Thus, the Court finds that A.R.S. § 31-221(E) does not
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preclude discovery of the materials requested in Interrogatory No. 4. Therefore, the Court
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grants Plaintiff’s request as to Interrogatory No. 4.
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To the extent that legitimate security concerns could arise from the compliance with
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this interrogatory, Defendant Ryan may redact as necessary information that discloses the
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identity of specific inmates or officers, or any other matter that may otherwise create a specific
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threat to institutional security.
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9. Request for Interrogatories No. 8
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Plaintiff requests that Defendant Ryan “[i]dentify any documents related to any
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complaint, grievance, criticism, censure, reprimand or rebuke directed towards conditions of
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confinement at Special Management Unit One.” (Doc. 118 at 9) Defendant Ryan objects,
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stating the request is “irrelevant and not calculated to lead to admissible evidence; overbroad;
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ambiguous as to scope, issue, and timeframe; unduly burdensome; and precluded by A.R.S. §
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31-221.” (Doc. 118 at 9)
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Other inmates’ claims are not relevant to Plaintiff’s claims regardless of whether
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another inmate was afforded due process or suffered a violation of his Eighth Amendment
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rights. Accordingly, the Court finds that Defendant Ryan’s objection is proper, and denies
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Plaintiff’s request as to Interrogatory No. 8.
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10. Request for Interrogatories No. 9
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Plaintiff requests that Defendant Ryan “[i]dentify any documents electronically
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stored or written files, pertaining to Plaintiff.” (Doc. 118 at 9) Defendant Ryan’s objections
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are the same as those to Request for Production No. 3. (Id.)
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The Court agrees with Defendant Ryan that the majority of information kept in those
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files is unrelated to Plaintiff’s claims and the request is overbroad. Accordingly, the Court finds
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that Defendant Ryan’s objection is proper, and denies Plaintiff’s request as to Interrogatory No.
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9.
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11. Request for Interrogatories No. 10
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Plaintiff requests that Defendant Ryan “[i]dentify any and all parties by name and
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title who authorized transfers, audited Plaintiff’s AIMS DI09 and other screens.” (Id. at 10)
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Defendant Ryan objects, stating he has “no personal knowledge as to who audited [Plaintiff’s]
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AIMS, [and] that the request [is] irrelevant to the case at hand, overbroad, and ambiguous as to
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timeframe.” (Id.)
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The Court agrees with Defendant Ryan that the request is overbroad and ambiguous.
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The identification of all parties who have ever authorized a transfer is outside the scope of
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Plaintiff’s claims. Accordingly, the Court denies Plaintiff’s request as to Interrogatory No. 10.
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12. Request for Interrogatories No. 11
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Plaintiff requests that Defendant Ryan “[i]dentify any and all documents related to
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previous legal actions, complaints, to which [he has] been a party to in any court regarding
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conditions of confinement.” (Id.) Defendant Ryan objects, stating the request is “irrelevant,
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overbroad, vague and ambiguous as to scope and timeframe, and unduly burdensome.” (Id.)
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He further states that “other inmates’ complaints . . . are irrelevant to any claims [Plaintiff] is
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making.” (Id.) The Court agrees that other inmates’ complaints are irrelevant to Plaintiff’s
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claims. Accordingly, the Court finds that Defendant Ryan’s objection to is proper, and denies
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Plaintiff’s request as to Interrogatory No. 11.
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13. Request for Interrogatories No. 12
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Plaintiff requests that Defendant Ryan “[i]dentify any and all documents, PACE file
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entries, related to any complaint, grievance, criticism, censure, reprimand or rebuke, directed
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toward Quincy Owens, COIV Roberts, COIV Baca, COII D. Hatfield, Capt. R. Fisher, Lt. Paula
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Berger, Cristina Renault, Sgt. D. Putnam, and defendants (authorized by the Court) in this
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action.” (Doc. 118 at 11) Defendant Ryan objects, stating the request is “irrelevant, overbroad,
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vague and ambiguous as to issue and timeframe, unduly burdensome, and [seeks] confidential
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and sensitive records, including personnel records.” (Id.) He further states that grievances
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“would be entirely irrelevant unless they were directly related to that officer’s treatment of
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Plaintiff.” (Id.)
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While § 31-221(E) does not apply to personnel records, Osborn v. Bartos, 2010 WL
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3809847, at *15 (D.Ariz. Sept. 20, 2010), the Court agrees that the grievances would be
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irrelevant unless the were related to the treatment of Plaintiff. Plaintiff’s claims involve only
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his Eighth Amendment and due process rights. Accordingly, the Court finds that Defendant
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Ryan’s objection is proper, and denies Plaintiff’s request as to Interrogatory No. 12.
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14. Request for Interrogatories No. 13
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Plaintiff requests that Defendant Ryan “[i]dentify any and all documents used to
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transfer Plaintiff to RDU on May 8, 2009; and to SMU I in August 2009.” (Doc. 118 at 11)
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Defendant Ryan objects, stating the request is “irrelevant information and [is] vague as to the
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kind of documents [Plaintiff is] seeking.” (Id.) He further states “[i]t is unclear whether
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[Plaintiff] merely seeks the administrative paperwork that is filled out every time an inmate is
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transferred, and which would be irrelevant;” whether he seeks reports relating to the DNHW,
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which he already has; or something entirely different. (Id. at 11-12)
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Defendant Ryan’s objection is improper. Plaintiff requests that Defendant Ryan
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identify all documents used to transfer him on two particular dates. Defendant Ryan’s objection
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states that Plaintiff should have identified the documents that Defendant Ryan is to identify. If
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Plaintiff could identify those documents, he would have no need for the interrogatory.
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Defendant Ryan’s objection also states that administrative paperwork is irrelevant,
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but he does not explain why it is irrelevant. Plaintiff’s procedural due process claim requires
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that he show a deprivation of a constitutionally protected liberty or property interest and a
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denial of adequate procedural protections. Brewster v. Bd. of Educ. of Lynwood Unified Sch.
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Dist., 149 F.3d 971, 982 (9th Cir. 1998). Administrative paperwork or other transfer documents
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that show when, why, or by whom Plaintiff was transferred “appears reasonably calculated to
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lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(b)(1). Accordingly, the Court
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grants Plaintiff’s request as to Interrogatory No. 13.
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15. Request for Admission No. 3
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Plaintiff requests that Defendant Ryan admit that “P[laintiff] has been in some form
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of solitary confinement . . . for over 14 years due to [administrative] (i.e., non-disciplinary, non-
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behavioral acts) overrides, and policy rationale.” (Doc. 118 at 12) Defendant Ryan denies this
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matter, stating that “[w]hile [Plaintiff’s] current placement in SMU I is the result of an
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administrative override, . . . he was previously housed in maximum custody in part because he
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was found guilty of murdering another inmate.” (Id.) Plaintiff replies by claiming that only two
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years of SMU detention were behavioral-related, while “[t]he other 14+ years and counting are
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NOT behavioral.” (Doc. 132 at 10)
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Plaintiff’s conclusory allegation that Defendant is lying is not supported by anything
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other than Plaintiff’s opinion. While the parties disagree on the reasons Plaintiff has been
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housed in maximum custody, Defendant Ryan’s denial fairly responds to the substance of the
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matter. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 36(a)(4). Plaintiff has not shown that Defendant Ryan’s denial is
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improper. Accordingly, the Court denies Plaintiff’s request as to Admission No. 3.
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16. Request for Admission No. 6
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Plaintiff requests that Defendant Ryan admit that he has “been involved in cases
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where inmate(s) have been released from extreme duration and degree of SMU-type
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confinement.” (Doc. 118 at 12) Defendant Ryan objects, stating the term “involved in” is vague
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and ambiguous. (Id.)
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Defendant Ryan opines that “involved in” has more than one meaning, and Plaintiff
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does not attempt to clarify what he means by asking Defendant Ryan to admit to being involved
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in certain cases. Indeed, active involvement differs from passive involvement, which both differ
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from being involved merely by association. However, this request for admission could be
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answered using qualifying language according to Defendant Ryan’s understanding of the
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meaning of “involved in.” See Fed.R.Civ.P. 36(a)(4) (“[W]hen good faith requires that a party
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qualify an answer or deny only part of a matter, the answer must specify the part admitted and
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qualify or deny the rest.”). Accordingly, Defendant Ryan must either deny the matter, or qualify
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his admission with his understanding of the term “involved in.” Therefore, the Court grants
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Plaintiff’s request as to Admission No. 6.
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B. Plaintiff’s Motion for Sanctions
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Plaintiff requests sanctions pursuant to Rule 37, Fed.R.Civ.P., for Defendant Ryan’s
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and his counsel’s alleged perjury, misrepresentation, and evasion in response to Plaintiff’s
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motion to compel. (Doc. 132) Rule 37(c) allows for sanctions when the non-moving party fails
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to provide information. Fed.R.Civ.P. 37(c)(1). After reviewing Defendant Ryan’s responses
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to discovery requests and Plaintiff’s motion to compel, the Court finds that he answered all
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requests and did not fail to provide information to Plaintiff’s requests or information required
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by Rule 26(a) or (e), Fed.R.Civ.P. Further, the Court will not assess sanctions pursuant to its
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inherent power because to the extent Defendant Ryan misstated any facts in his responses, they
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seem to have been the product of vague and ambiguous requests rather than deliberate
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misstatements.
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C. Plaintiff’s Motion to Strike
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Plaintiff requests that the Court strike Defendant Ryan’s response, doc. 137, to
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Plaintiff’s motion for sanctions, doc. 133. Defendant Ryan’s response is not a pleading to
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which Rule 12(f), Fed.R.Civ.P., applies. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 7(a); Yount, 2009 WL 995596, at *11.
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Because there is no statute, rule, or order that authorizes Plaintiff’s motion to strike, the Court
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denies Plaintiff’s motion to strike.
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IV. Conclusion
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Based on the foregoing,
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IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel, doc. 104, is GRANTED in
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part and DENIED in part as follows:
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1) the motion is granted as to Plaintiff’s request for Production No. 3, and
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Defendant Ryan is ordered promptly to produce those documents requested subject to the
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limitation of logs in which temperatures were recorded, redacted as necessary for security
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purposes;
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2) the motion is granted as to Plaintiff’s request for Interrogatory No. 4, and
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Defendant Ryan is ordered promptly to comply, and may redact as necessary information that
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discloses the identity of specific inmates or officers, or any other matter that may otherwise
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create a specific threat to institutional security;
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3) the motion is granted as to Plaintiff’s request for Interrogatory No. 13, and
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Defendant Ryan is ordered promptly to identify all documents used to transfer Plaintiff to RDU
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on May 8, 2009, and to SMU I in August 2009;
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4) the motion is granted as to Plaintiff’s request for Admission No. 6, and
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Defendant Ryan is ordered promptly to either deny the matter, or qualify his admission with his
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understanding of the term “involved in;” and
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5) the motion is otherwise denied.
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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion for Sanctions, doc. 133, is
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DENIED.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion to Strike, doc. 150, is
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DENIED.
DATED this 23rd day of November, 2011.
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