Harris v. Rios et al

Filing 91

ORDER denying 90 Motion to Compel Production of Documents signed by Magistrate Judge Michael J. Seng on 6/10/2013. (Lundstrom, T)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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DONTE ROLANDO HARRIS,

CASE No. 1:09-cv-00781-MJS (PC)
ORDER DENYING WITHOUT PREJUDICE
PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO COMPEL
DOCUMENT PRODUCTION UNDER SET
TWO REQUEST FOR PRODUCTION

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Plaintiff,
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v.

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(ECF No. 90)
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H.A. RIOS, et al.,
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Defendants.

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/
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I.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Plaintiff Donte Rolando Harris, a federal prisoner proceeding pro se, filed this

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civil rights action on April 27, 2009 pursuant to Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents

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of Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388, 91 S.Ct. 1999 (1971). (ECF No. 1.)

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The action arose while Plaintiff was incarcerated at the Federal Correctional

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Institution - Atwater, California (“FCI Atwater”) and proceeds on Plaintiff’s Second

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Amended Complaint against Defendants Gonzaga, Cobb, Zaragoza, and Valero for

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interfering with incoming mail and against Defendant Cobb for interfering with outgoing

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mail in violation of Plaintiff’s rights under the First Amendment; and against Defendants

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Estrada, Cobb, Valero, and Zaragoza for violating Plaintiff’s Fourteenth Amendment

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due process rights in connection with his mail. Defendants filed their Answer on

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October 25, 2012. (ECF No. 69.) This matter is in the discovery phase.
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Now pending before the Court is Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel Production of

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documents under his request for production set two. (ECF No. 90.)

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II.

LEGAL STANDARDS

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A.

Discovery Motions

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Plaintiff is a federal prisoner proceeding pro se. As a result, the parties were

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relieved of some of the requirements which would otherwise apply, including initial

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disclosure and the need to meet and confer in good faith prior to involving the Court in a

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discovery dispute. Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1); Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c); Fed. R. Civ. P.

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37(a)(1); Local Rule 230; ECF No. 70 at ¶5.

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However, regardless of Plaintiff’s incarceration, this is a civil action to which the

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Federal Rules of Civil Procedure apply, and the discovery process is subject to the

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overriding limitation of good faith. Asea, Inc. v. Southern Pac. Transp. Co., 669 F.2d

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1242, 1246 (9th Cir. 1981). Parties may obtain discovery regarding any non-privileged

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matter that is relevant to any party’s claim or defense, and for good cause, the Court

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may order discovery of any matter relevant to the subject matter involved in the action.

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Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1). Relevant information need not be admissible at the trial if the

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discovery appears reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible

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evidence. Id.

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Generally, if the responding party objects to a discovery request, the party

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moving to compel bears the burden of demonstrating why the objections are not

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justified. E.g., Grabek v. Dickinson, 2012 WL 113799, at *1 (E.D. Cal. Jan. 13, 2012);

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Mitchell v. Felker, 2010 WL 3835765, at *2 (E.D. Cal. Sep. 29, 2010); Ellis v. Cambra,

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2008 WL 860523, at *4 (E.D. Cal. Mar. 27, 2008). This requires the moving party to

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inform the Court which discovery requests are the subject of the motion to compel, and,

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for each disputed response, why the information sought is relevant and why the

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responding party’s objections are not meritorious. Grabek, 2012 WL 113799, at *1;

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Womack v. Virga, 2011 WL 6703958, at *3 (E.D. Cal. December 21, 2011).

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Nonetheless, the Court is vested with broad discretion to manage discovery,
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Hunt v. County of Orange, 672 F.3d 606, 616 (9th Cir. 2012); Surfvivor Media, Inc. v.

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Survivor Productions, 406 F.3d 625, 635 (9th Cir. 2005); Hallett v. Morgan, 296 F.3d

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732, 751 (9th Cir. 2002), and where the discovery request seeks information which,

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based on the record, is clearly within the scope of discovery and the objection lacks

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merit, the Court may elect to exercise its discretion to reach the merits of the dispute,

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the moving party’s initial burden notwithstanding. Marti v. Baires, 2012 WL 2029720, at

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*3 (E.D. Cal. Jun. 5, 2012); Williams v. Adams, 2009 WL 1220311, at *1 (E.D. Cal. May

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4, 2009).

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Courts in the Eastern District of California have required, “at a minimum, [that]

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the moving party plaintiff has the burden of informing the court (1) which discovery

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requests are the subject of his motion to compel, (2) which of the defendant's responses

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are disputed, (3) why he believes the defendant's responses are deficient, (4) why the

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defendant's objections are not justified, and (5) why the information he seeks through

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discovery is relevant to the prosecution of this action.” Walker v. Karelas, 2009 WL

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3075575 at *1 (September 21, 2009); Brooks v. Alameida, 2009 WL 331358 at *2

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(February 10, 2009).

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The court must limit discovery if the burden of the proposed discovery outweighs

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its likely benefit. Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(2)(C)(iii). “In each instance [of discovery], the

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determination whether . . . information is discoverable because it is relevant to the

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claims or defenses depends on the circumstances of the pending action.” Fed. R. Civ.

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P. 26 Advisory Committee's note (2000 Amendment) (Gap Report) (Subdivision (b)(1)).

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B.

Requests for Production

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A party may serve on any other party a request within the scope of Rule 26(b) to

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produce and permit the requesting party or its representative to inspect, copy, test, or

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sample items in the responding party's possession, custody or control. Fed. R. Civ. P.

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34(a)(1).

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III.

Discussion
Plaintiff has not met his burden as moving party. He argues that he served a

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second set of requests for production on Defendants on April 24, 2013 and that “he has

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not received documents as requested and per order of the court.” (ECF No. 90 at 1.) He

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fails to provide a copy of his set two request, to explain what relevant documents are

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sought, to advise if Defendants have responded and, if so, when and how; and to

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describe the extent to which Plaintiff disputes Defendants’ response and objections.
Without the ability to evaluate the reason for, nature, scope and reasonableness

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of Plaintiff’s discovery and Defendants’ responses , if any, the Court cannot rule on
Plaintiff’s motion.
Accordingly, Plaintiff’s Motion shall be denied without prejudice to his bringing a

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motion to compel which complies with the standards provided in this Order.

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IV.

ORDER

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Based on the foregoing, it is HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion to

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Compel Production of documents under his set two request for production (ECF No. 90)

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is DENIED without prejudice.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated:
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June 10, 2013

Michael J. Seng

/s/
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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