(PC) Johnson v. Dovey et al
Filing
184
ORDER DENYING CDCR'S 182 Motion for Reconsideration as MOOT signed by District Judge Lawrence J. O'Neill on 8/27/2012. (Sant Agata, S)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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GARRISON S. JOHNSON,
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CASE NO. 1:08-cv-00640-LJO-DLB PC
Plaintiff,
ORDER DENYING CDCR’S MOTION FOR
RECONSIDERATION AS MOOT
v.
(ECF No. 182)
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JOHN DOVEY, et al.,
Defendants.
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Plaintiff Garrison S. Johnson ("Plaintiff") is a California state prisoner proceeding pro se
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and in forma pauperis in this civil action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. This action is proceeding
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against Defendants Dunnahoe, V. Ybarra, Cunningham, Medrano, Holguin, Valasquez,
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G.Ybarra, Curliss, J. Gonzales, and K. Powell on claims of excessive force, inhumane conditions
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of confinement, retaliation, and state law claims. On June 14, 2012, the United States Magistrate
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Judge assigned to this action issued a Findings and Recommendations recommending that
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Plaintiff’s motion for the Court to order access to the law library be denied. ECF No. 174. The
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Magistrate Judge also issued an order that Plaintiff be granted leave to submit a request for a
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subpoena duces tecum. On June 25, 2012, CDCR, a non-party to this action, filed a document
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purporting to be objections to the Findings and Recommendations. ECF No. 176. However,
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CDCR objected only to the Magistrate Judge’s order, not to the Findings and Recommendations.
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On August 21, 2012, the Court adopted the Findings and Recommendations and denied
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Plaintiff’s motion requesting a court order for access to the law library. ECF No. 180. Pending
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before the Court is CDCR’s motion for reconsideration, filed August 24, 2012. ECF No. 182.
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) governs relief from orders of the district court.
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The Rule permits a district court to relieve a party from a final order or judgment on grounds of:
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“(1) mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect; . . . (3) fraud . . . by an opposing party,
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. . . or (6) any other reason that justifies relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b). The motion for
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reconsideration must be made within a reasonable time. Id.
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“A motion for reconsideration should not be granted, absent highly unusual
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circumstances, unless the district court is presented with newly discovered evidence, committed
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clear error, or if there is an intervening change in the controlling law,” and it “may not be used to
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raise arguments or present evidence for the first time when they could reasonably have been
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raised earlier in the litigation.” Marilyn Nutraceuticals, Inc. v. Mucos Pharma GmbH & Co., 571
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F.3d 873, 880 (9th Cir. 2009) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted) (emphasis in
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original).
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CDCR has not presented grounds for reconsideration. The time period for objections
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provided in the Magistrate Judge’s Findings and Recommendations pertained to Plaintiff’s
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motion for a court order requesting access to the law library. The objections raised by CDCR
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pertain only to the Magistrate Judge’s order regarding issuance of a subpoena duces tecum. A
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United States Magistrate Judge’s duties includes all discovery matters in this Court. See L.R.
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302(c)(1). CDCR’s objections were irrelevant to the adjudication of the Findings and
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Recommendations.
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Though not raised by CDCR, to the extent that CDCR may have filed objections to the
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Magistrate Judge’s order, not the Findings and Recommendations, CDCR fails to present
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grounds for reconsideration. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(a) (providing fourteen-day objection period
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for magistrate judge’s orders). Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 72(a), when
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reviewing a magistrate judge’s order, “[t]he district judge in the case must consider timely
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objections and modify or set aside any part of the order that is clearly erroneous or is contrary to
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law.” See also 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(A); L. R. 303. The assigned district judge may also
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reconsider any matter sua sponte. L.R. 303(g).
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Under the clearly erroneous standard of review, a district court may overturn a magistrate
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judge’s ruling “‘only if the district court is left with the definite and firm conviction that a
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mistake has been made.’” Computer Economics, Inc. v. Gartner Group, Inc., 50 F. Supp. 2d
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980, 983 (S.D. Cal. 1999) (quoting Weeks v. Samsung Heavy Indus. Co., Ltd., 126 F.3d 926, 943
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(7th Cir. 1997)). Under the contrary to law standard, a district court may conduct independent
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review of purely legal determinations by a magistrate judge. Id.
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CDCR fails to raise issues that merit reconsideration. CDCR challenges only the Court’s
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ruling that CDCR did not object to the Findings and Recommendations, which was explained
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above.1
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Accordingly, it is HEREBY ORDERED that CDCR’s motion for reconsideration, filed
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August 24, 2012, is denied.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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Dated:
b9ed48
August 27, 2012
/s/ Lawrence J. O'Neill
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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CDCR’s concerns in its objections were addressed. On August 22, 2012, the United
States Magistrate Judge issued an order addressing CDCR’s objections. ECF No. 181.
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