Biscoe v. Garcia et al
Filing
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ORDER that Plaintiff's Motion for an Order Compelling Discovery, doc. 41 , is DENIED in its entirety. Signed by Magistrate Judge Lawrence O Anderson on 8/6/2012.(KMG)
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA
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Donna Marie Biscoe,
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Plaintiff,
vs.
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R.N. Garcia, et al.,
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Defendant.
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No. CV-11-943-PHX-ROS (LOA)
ORDER
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This matter comes before the Court on Plaintiff’s Motion for an Order Compelling
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Discovery, filed on July 29, 2012. (Doc. 41) Defendants filed their Response to Plaintiff’s
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Motion on July 16, 2012, asking that the Court deny Plaintiff’s Motion. (Doc. 43)
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I. Background
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Plaintiff commenced this action on May 11, 2011, (Doc. 1) The Court screened her
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42 U.S.C. § 1983 Complaint pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(A)(a) on December 14, 2011.
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(Doc. 19) The Court allowed Plaintiff’s Count I claim against Defendants Robles, Butticci
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and Garcia, alleging an Eighth Amendment violation for deliberate indifference to her
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serious medical needs, to move forward and ordered the Defendants to answer the Complaint
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as to Count I. The Court dismissed Count II as duplicative. The Court also dismissed the
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fictitiously-named Defendant Doe, but stated that Plaintiff could seek leave to amend the
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Complaint, in compliance with Rule 15, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, if she later learned
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Defendant Doe’s identity. The Court, by separate order, has now granted Plaintiff leave to
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amend to file a Second Amended Complaint. (Doc. 44)
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II. Discovery in Prisoner Cases
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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 . . . .
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Relevant information need not be admissible at the trial if the discovery appears reasonably
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calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(b)(1); see also
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Oppenheimer Fund, Inc. v. Sanders, 437 U.S. 340, 351 (1978). Because discovery is
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designed to define and clarify the issues in the case, it is not limited to the precise issues
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raised in the pleadings. Sanders at 350–51. “The question of relevancy should be construed
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‘liberally and with common sense’ and discovery should be allowed unless the information
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sought has no conceivable bearing on the case.” Soto v. City of Concord, 162 F.R.D. 603,
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610 (N.D. Cal. 1995) (quoting Miller v. Panuci, 141 F.R.D. 292, 296 (C.D. Cal. 1992)). The
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court may limit discovery if it determines the discovery sought is unreasonably cumulative,
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obtainable from a more convenient or less expensive source, the party seeking discovery had
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ample opportunity to obtain the information sought, or the burden or expense of the
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proposed discovery outweighs its likely benefit. Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(b)(2).
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Discovery in prisoner cases raises unique challenges. For example, “where otherwise
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discoverable information would pose a threat to the safety and security of the prison or
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infringe upon a protected privacy interest, a need may arise for the Court to balance interests
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in determining whether disclosure should occur.” Fields v. Banuelos, 2012 WL 2888734,
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at *1 (E.D. Cal. July 13, 2012) (citing, among others, Robinson v. Adams, 2012 WL 912746,
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at *2-3 (E.D. Cal. Mar. 16, 2012) (issuing protective order regarding documents containing
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information which implicated the safety and security of the prison); Orr v. Hernandez, 2012
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WL 761355, at *1-2 (E.D. Cal. Mar. 7, 2012) (addressing requests for protective order and
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for redaction of information asserted to risk jeopardizing safety and security of inmates or
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the institution if released); Womack v. Virga, 2011 WL 6703958, at *5-6 (E.D. Cal. Dec.21,
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2011) (requiring defendants to submit withheld documents for in camera review or move for
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a protective order)).
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The district court is vested with broad discretion to manage discovery and discovery
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disputes. Hunt v. County of Orange, 672 F.3d 606, 616 (9th Cir. 2012); Childress v. Darby
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Lumber, Inc., 357 F.3d 1000, 1009 (9th Cir. 2004). Generally, if the responding party objects
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to a discovery request, the party moving to compel bears the burden of demonstrating why
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the objections are not justified. The moving party is required to inform the court which
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discovery requests are the subject of the motion to compel, and, for each disputed response,
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why the information sought is relevant and why the responding party’s objections are not
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meritorious. See Grabek, 2012 WL 113799, at *1; Womack, 2011 WL 6703958, at *3;
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Mitchell v. Felker, 2010 WL 3835765, at *2 (E.D. Cal. September 29, 2010); Ellis v.
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Cambra, 2008 WL 860523, at *4 (E.D. Cal. March 27, 2008).
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III. Discussion
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Plaintiff states that she had telephonic contact with Ms. Watanabe in the Attorney
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General’s Office in an attempt to resolve their discovery disputes. At the outset, the Court
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finds that because it has not screened the yet-to-be filed Second Amended Complaint, as
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required by 28 U.S.C. § 1915(A)(a), the Court will deny without prejudice Plaintiff’s Motion
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to Compel with respect to discovery on issues related to other Defendants who have not yet
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been served or on claims that are not currently before the Court. The Court will set out each
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discovery dispute separately below.
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Defendant Butticci
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1. In her Request for Production of Documents #1, Plaintiff requested “[a] copy of
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all complaints, ADOC [Arizona Department of Corrections] inmate letters, written
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reprimands, grievances, internal investigations that’s [sic] been filed on you by the ADOC
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officials and/or by Inmates.” Defendant responded that, among other things, the request was
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“overbroad, vague and ambiguous, unduly burdensome, and sought confidential and
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sensitive information.” (Doc. 43 at 2) Defendant asserts that inmates are not allowed to
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possess personal and confidential information in the officers’ personnel files for security
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reasons. Defendant further noted that the request is not limited in scope, time frame or
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subject and the discovery sought is not relevant to the case at hand. Plaintiff states that this
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information is relevant to verify if Defendant has a history regarding inmate complaints, etc.,
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and/or whether internal investigations have been filed by ADOC against Defendant
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regarding medical issues.
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The Court agrees that the request is overbroad. It is not limited in time, scope or
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subject. Additionally, the Court finds that the information sought may lead to the production
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of confidential or privileged information. Plaintiff may elect to narrow the discovery request
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to information that is related to her specific case and does not to contain confidential or
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privileged information with respect to other ADOC employees or inmates. The Court will
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deny Plaintiff’s request as to this production.
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2. In her Request for Production of Documents #6, Plaintiff requested Defendant to
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“produce the ADOC’s Brent Lumley’s 28 Yard video cameras ASAP for plaintiff to view
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the video cameras recordings starting from the time frames of January 21, 2011, to January
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24, 2011, and to provide the full names of all ADOC’s officials found in the video
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recordings.” Defendant first responded that this discovery request “was not reasonably
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calculated to lead to admissible evidence at trial that would have any bearing on the issue
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currently before the court, was overbroad, and sought confidential and sensitive
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information.” (Doc. 43 at 3) Defendant supplemented his response on June 5, 2012, to
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indicate that ADOC was not able to locate any videos for this time frame and that such
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videos, unless circumstances exist that would require saving, are recorded over on a regular
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basis.
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Although Plaintiff appropriately limited the scope of her request in this situation,
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Defendant has responded in a supplemental response that he has attempted to locate the
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video recordings, but states that the alleged evidence is no longer in existence. He alleges
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that the tapes are recorded over on a routine basis absent a compelling reason to keep the
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tapes. If there is no evidence to produce, Defendant clearly cannot produce it and therefore,
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the Court will deny Plaintiff’s request.
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3. In her Request for Production of Documents #9, Plaintiff requested Defendant to
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produce “[a] copy of ADOC’s Arizona State Prison Complex Perryville Inmate by Housing
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Count Sheet for facility Brent Lumley 28 Yard C-Pod for the month of January, 2011.”
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Defendant responded that the request “was not reasonably calculated to lead to admissible
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evidence at trial that would have any bearing on the issue currently before the court,
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overbroad, and sought confidential and sensitive information.” (Doc. 43 at 4) Defendant
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notes that Plaintiff seeks information for the entire month of January, when the alleged
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conduct only covered four days, and further, that there are prison security concerns with
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inmates possessing such information on other inmates.
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As with Plaintiff’s request for production #1, the Court finds that the request is overly
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broad. It is not limited in time, scope or subject. Additionally, the Court finds that the
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information sought may lead to the production of confidential, sensitive information or raise
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other prison security concerns. Plaintiff may narrow the request to information that is related
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to her specific case, in both time and relevance, and does not contain confidential or
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privileged information with respect to other ADOC employees or inmates. The Court will
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deny this request for production.
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Defendant Garcia
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1. In her Request for Production of Documents #8, Plaintiff requests “[a] copy of all
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documents that refer, relates, pertains to the ADOC’s Dental Medical Protocol Procedures,
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Medical Emergency - nonemergency Dental Care, Dental X-rays procedures, policies, rules,
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and regulations that pertains to Dental Care for pregnant Inmates.” Defendant responds in
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part that none of the current Defendants were responsible for Plaintiff’s dental care and/or
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X-rays, and, therefore, the request is inapplicable to Defendant Garcia and the other
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Defendants. (Doc. 43 at 4-5)
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The Court agrees with Defendant. As mentioned above, until the Court screens
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Plaintiff’s Second Amended Complaint and other Defendants allegedly associated with
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Plaintiff’s dental care are joined in this lawsuit, the Court will deny without prejudice
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Plaintiff’s request for discovery related to her dental care issues.
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2. In her Request for Production of Documents #9, Plaintiff requests “[a] copy of any
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and all complaints, reprimands, grievances, Investigations, Internal Investigations, and
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findings filed against the Defendant, the R.N., Mrs. Garcia. Thus including Inmate Letters
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filed.” Defendant responds that the request “was not reasonably calculated to lead to
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admissible evidence at trial that would have any bearing on the issue currently before the
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court, overbroad, vague and ambiguous, unduly burdensome, and sought confidential and
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sensitive information.” (Doc. 43 at 5) Defendant asserts that the request is not limited in
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time, scope or subject and raises prison security concerns.
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The Court finds that the request is overly broad, and is not limited in time, scope or
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subject. Additionally, the Court finds that the information sought may lead to the production
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of confidential or privileged information. Plaintiff may narrow the request to information
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that is relevant to her specific case and does not contain confidential or sensitive information
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with respect to other ADOC employees or inmates. The Court will deny Plaintiff’s request
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as to this production.
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3. In her Request for Production of Documents #10, Plaintiff requests “[a] copy of
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any and all Complaints, reports, written reprimands, grievances, Investigations and Internal
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Investigations filed against the ADOC’s Medical facility within the Arizona State Prison,
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including Brent Lumley Yard Medical Facility and Medical Staff.” Defendant responds that
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the request is “not reasonably calculated to lead to admissible evidence at trial that would
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have any bearing on the issue currently before the court, overbroad, vague and ambiguous,
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unduly burdensome, and sought confidential and sensitive information.” (Doc. 43 at 6)
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Defendant further reiterates the objections raised in Request #9, immediately above.
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The Court finds that the request is overly broad, and is not limited in time, scope or
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subject. Additionally, the Court finds that the information sought may lead to the production
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of confidential or privileged information. Plaintiff may narrow the request to information
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that is relevant to her specific case and does not contain confidential or sensitive information
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with respect to other ADOC employees or inmates. The Court will deny Plaintiff’s request
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as to this production.
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4. In her Request for Production of Documents #12, Plaintiff requests “[a] copy of
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all Complaints, grievance, written reprimands, Inmate Letters, Informants, filed against the
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Dental Staff(s) member(s) that provided Dental Care treatment to the plaintiff on January
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21, 2011.” Defendant responded that the request is “not reasonably calculated to lead to
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admissible evidence at trial that would have any bearing on the issue currently before the
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court, overbroad, vague and ambiguous, unduly burdensome, and sought confidential and
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sensitive information.” (Doc. 43 at 6) Defendant further reiterates the objections raised in
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Request #9, raised above with respect to dental staff.
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The Court agrees with Defendant. As mentioned above, until the Court screens
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Plaintiff’s Second Amended Complaint and other Defendants allegedly associated with
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Plaintiff’s dental care are joined in this lawsuit, the Court will deny without prejudice
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Plaintiff’s request for discovery related to her dental care issues.
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5. In her Request for Production of Documents #14, Plaintiff requests “[a] copy of
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the plaintiff’s ADOC’s Evaluation Inmate/Religious-Diet (Non-Compliance) starting from
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January 20, 2011, until May 12, 2011, including any and all documents that refers, relates
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or pertains to the plaintiff’s ADOC’s pregnancy diet she was placed on starting January 20,
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2011, until May 13, 2011.” Defendant objected to the request on the grounds that this
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requests is “not reasonably calculated to lead to admissible evidence at trial that would have
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any bearing on the issue currently before the court.” (Doc. 43 at 7) Defendant further
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responds that there is no dispute that Plaintiff was pregnant and Plaintiff’s pregnancy diet
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has no bearing on Defendant’s alleged conduct in this matter.
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The Court finds that the evidence Plaintiff seeks to discover is not reasonably
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calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence that would have any bearing on
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a claim or defense currently before the Court. Additionally, the Court finds that the request
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exceeds the time frame and scope of the issue Plaintiff alleges. Plaintiff’s request seeks
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information into May, 2011, long after her miscarriage occurred. The Court will deny
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Plaintiff’s request on this issue.
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Defendant Robles
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1. In her Request for Production of Documents #1, Plaintiff requested “[a] copy of
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all complaints, Inmate Letters, written reprimands, grievances, Internal Investigations and
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findings that has been filed on you by the Arizona Department of Corrections (‘ADOC’s’)
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Officials and/or by Inmates.” Defendant responded that this request “was not reasonably
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calculated to lead to admissible evidence at trial that would have any bearing on the issue
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currently before the court, overbroad, vague and ambiguous, unduly burdensome, and sought
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confidential and sensitive information.” (Doc. 43 at 7) Defendant contends that the request
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is not limited in time, scope or subject and that the type of information sought is confidential
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in nature and raises prison security concerns. (Doc. 43 at 7-8)
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The Court finds that the request is overly broad and is not limited in time, scope or
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subject. Additionally, the Court finds that the information sought may lead to the production
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of confidential or sensitive information regarding prison security. Plaintiff may narrow the
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request to information that is related to her specific case and does not contain confidential
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or sensitive information with respect to other ADOC employees or inmates. The Court will
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deny Plaintiff’s request as to this production.
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2. In her Request for Production of Documents #3, Plaintiff requests “[a] record or
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worksheet schedule of all the ADOC Officials, males and females, that worked with you at
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ADOC’s Brent Lumley Unit on 28 Yard, morning shift from 6 a.m. till 2 p.m., during the
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time frame of January 21, 2011, thru January 24, 2011, including their full name, full
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description, and photos with their full names stipulated on their photos.” Defendant
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responded that this request is “not reasonably calculated to lead to admissible evidence at
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trial that would have any bearing on the issue currently before the court, overbroad, vague
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and ambiguous, unduly burdensome, and sought confidential and sensitive information.”
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(Doc. 43 at 8) Defendant further responds that a request for descriptions and photos of all
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the prison officers creates a security risk to the officers.
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The Court finds that the request is overly broad and is not limited in time, scope or
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subject. Additionally, the Court finds that the information sought may lead to the production
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of confidential or sensitive information regarding prison security. Moreover, Plaintiff’s
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request for photos raises serious security concerns with respect to the officers’ safety.
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Plaintiff may narrow the request to information that is related to her specific case and does
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not contain confidential or sensitive information with respect to other ADOC employees or
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inmates. The Court will deny Plaintiff’s request as to this production.
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3. In her Request for Production of Documents #6, Plaintiff requests “[a] record of
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ADOC’s Medical Protocol procedures.” Defendant responded that the request is “not
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reasonably calculated to lead to admissible evidence at trial that would have any bearing on
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the issue currently before the court, was overbroad, vague and ambiguous as to scope and
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subject, and obtainable from a less burdensome source.” (Doc. 43 at 9) Defendant Robles
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further responded that this information had already been produced to Plaintiff and that any
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other information she requested was either not related to her claims or is available in the unit
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library. (Doc. 43 at 9)
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The Court finds that the request is overly broad and is not limited in time, scope or
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subject matter. Plaintiff may narrow the request to information that is related to her specific
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case and the issues before the Court. The Court will deny Plaintiff’s request as to this
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production.
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4. In her Request for Production of Documents #8, Plaintiff requests “[i]nvestigations
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and findings and written reprimands, grievances, informals, recommendations, complaints,
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Inmate letters, Incident reports filed on ADOC’s Arizona State Prison Medical facility
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including the stipulated filed by the Correctional Associations [sic].” Defendant responded
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that the request is “not reasonably calculated to lead to admissible evidence at trial that
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would have any bearing on the issue currently before the court, overbroad, vague and
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ambiguous, and seeks confidential and privileged information. (Doc. 43 at 9) Defendant
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further objects that Plaintiff has not identified which organization she is referring to, nor
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does she connect the current Defendants to any medical facility or staff decisions. (Doc. 43
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at 9)
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The Court finds that the request is overly broad and is not limited in time, scope or
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subject. Additionally, the Court finds that the information sought may lead to the production
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of confidential or sensitive information regarding prison security. Plaintiff may narrow the
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request to information that is relevant to her specific case and does not contain confidential
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or sensitive information with respect to other ADOC employees or inmates. The Court will
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deny Plaintiff’s request as to this production.
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5. In her Request for Production of Documents #9, Plaintiff requests “[a] record of
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ADOC’s Arizona State Prison rules, regulations, policies and procedures on R & A
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receptionist area (Brent Lumley Unit 28 Yard in ADOC), including information that refers,
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relates, or that pertains to housing, feedings etc. of pregnant Inmates.” Defendant objected
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that the request is “not reasonably calculated to lead to admissible evidence at trial that
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would have any bearing on the issues currently before the court and was obtainable from a
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less burdensome source.” (Doc. 43 at 10) Defendant further objects that it is not clear what
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R & A Plaintiff is referring to and that if it involves feeding and recreation times, those times
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are the same for pregnant and nonpregnant inmates and is unrelated to conduct of the
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Defendants. (Doc. 43 at 10)
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The Court finds that the request is overly broad and is not limited in time, scope or
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subject. Plaintiff may narrow the request to information that is relevant to her specific case
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and does not contain confidential or privileged information with respect to other ADOC
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employees or inmates. The Court will deny Plaintiff’s request as to this production.
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6. In her Request for Production of Documents #10, Plaintiff requests “[a] copy of
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plaintiff’s ADOC’s Master Record file.” Defendant objected that the request is “not
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reasonably calculated to lead to admissible evidence at trial that would have any bearing on
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the issue currently before the court, overbroad, and unduly burdensome.” (Doc. 43 at 10)
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Defendant further objected that the master files are voluminous, and, among other things,
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include confidential information, information related to the inmate’s sentencing and
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disciplinary reports and information not relevant to the case at hand. (Doc. 43 at 10)
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The Court finds that the request is overly broad and is not limited in time, scope or
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subject. Additionally, the Court finds that the information sought may lead to the production
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of confidential, or sensitive information regarding prison security. Plaintiff may narrow the
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request to information that is relevant to her specific case and does not contain confidential
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or confidential information with respect to other ADOC employees or inmates. The Court
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will deny Plaintiff’s request as to this production.
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Accordingly,
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IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion for an Order Compelling Discovery, doc.
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41, is DENIED in its entirety.
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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that any additional requests for production of
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documents by Plaintiff must be in complete compliance with this Order as well as the Rule
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of Practice for the United States District Court for the District Court of Arizona (“Local
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Rule” or “LRCiv”) 7.2(e) which provides:
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Unless otherwise permitted by the Court, a motion, including its supporting
memorandum, . . . shall not exceed seventeen (17) pages, exclusive of
attachments and any required statement of facts.
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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that counsel and any party, if unrepresented, must
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hereinafter comply with the Rules of Practice for the United States District Court for the
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District of Arizona. The District’s Rules of Practice may be found on the District Court’s
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internet web page at www.azd.uscourts.gov/. All other rules may be found as
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www.uscourts.gov/rules/.
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Dated this 6th day of August, 2012.
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