Bertram v. Sizelove, et al
Filing
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ORDER DENYING Plaintiff's 42 Motion to Quash, 51 Motion to Compel, and 54 Motion for Subpoena, signed by Magistrate Judge Gerald B. Cohn on 1/30/2012. Plaintiff Shall Execute a Release of Medical Records Within Fifteen (15) Days. (Marrujo, C)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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TIMOTHY BERTRAM,
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Plaintiff,
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v.
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CASE NO. 1:10-cv-00583-AWI-GBC (PC)
ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION
TO QUASH, MOTION TO COMPEL, AND
MOTION FOR SUBPOENA
C. SIZELOVE, et al.,
Docs. 42, 51, 54
Defendants.
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I. Procedural History
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On April 5, 2010, Plaintiff, a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis, filed
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this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. On November 22, 2010, the Court dismissed
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certain claims and found a cognizable Eighth Amendment claim for deliberate indifference to
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medical needs. Doc. 14. On August 2, 2011, the Court issued a discovery and scheduling order,
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establishing a discovery deadline of April 2, 2012 and a dispositive motion deadline of June 11,
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2012. Doc. 36.
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On August 17, 2011, Plaintiff filed a motion to quash subpoena. Doc. 42. On September 6,
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2011, Defendants filed an opposition to Plaintiff’s motion to quash subpoena. Doc. 44. On
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September 19, 2011, Plaintiff filed objections to Defendants’ opposition. Doc. 47. On October 13,
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2011, Plaintiff filed a motion to compel discovery from Defendants. Doc. 51. On October 31, 2011,
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Defendants filed an opposition to Plaintiff’s motion to compel. Doc. 53. On November 16, 2011,
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Plaintiff filed a motion for subpoenas. Doc. 54. This matter is deem submitted pursuant to Local
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Rule 230(l).
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II. Plaintiff’s Motion to Quash Release of Medical Records
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A. Background
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In his complaint, Plaintiff alleges that Defendants were deliberately indifferent to his medical
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condition; that they failed to provide him a bottom bunk; that on July 14, 2009, Plaintiff had a
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seizure and fell from his top bunk; and that he suffered from head, neck, and shoulder injuries. Pl.
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Compl. at 5-8, Doc. 1. In response to Plaintiff’s complaint, Defendants requested Plaintiff’s medical
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records in discovery. Defs. Opp’n at 1, Doc. 44. Defendants requested medical records from July 4,
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2009 to present. Id. Defendants did not request Plaintiff’s mental or psychiatric records. Id. at 4. In
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response to Defendants request for records, the Litigation Department at California Mens Colony
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notified defense counsel that they were unable to comply with the request because Plaintiff objected
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to the production of his medical records. Id. at 2. On August 18, 2011, Defendants received
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correspondence from Plaintiff that their medical request was too broad and that it would divulge
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other medical issues that are not relevant to the litigation. Id.
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In lieu of his complete medical records, Plaintiff provided six sheets of paper from his
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medical records, indicating that these are the only medical records relevant to the litigation. Id.
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Defendants list the records as: (1) Health Care Services Request form dated 4/6/09 - appears to
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include only includes Plaintiff’s handwriting regarding his allegation of seizures and a lower bunk
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chrono; (2) Comprehensive Accommodation Chrono dated 03/05/09 - appears to indicate Plaintiff
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needs a bottom bunk; (3) Physician’s Order - appears to include entries for 06/09/09 and 07/15/09,
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states only that Inmate was sent to hospital; (4) Interdisciplinary Progress Notes dated the 14th day
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of 2009, month is illegible, but would likely be July as the “Notes” appear to describe treatment after
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Plaintiff’s alleged fall; (5) Physician’s Order - appears to include entries for 07/15/09 and 07/21/09;
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(6) Aftercare Instructions from Tehachapi Valley Healthcare District dated 07/15/09. Id.
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Plaintiff moves to quash the subpoena for medical records issued by Defendants. Pl. Mot.
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Quash, Doc. 42. Plaintiff alleges the request is too broad and would violate his civil rights under
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Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”). Id. at 1-2. Plaintiff agrees
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only to release the medical records from one (1) day before the incident and eleven (11) days after
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the incident. Id. Plaintiff also wants unrelated issues redacted from the records. Id. In Plaintiff’s
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motion to quash, he includes four (4) of the records that Defendants’ referenced Plaintiff providing
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in his response. Id. at 3-7.
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In Plaintiff’s objections to Defendants’ opposition, Plaintiff contends that he only needs to
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show that an actual physical injury occurred in order to prevail under the Prison Litigation Reform
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Act (“PLRA”). Pl. Obj. at 1, Doc. 47. Plaintiff states that he provided the lower bunk chrono; that
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it is obvious that he had a medical need; that Defendants were deliberately indifferent to his medical
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need; and that no further medical explanation is necessary. Id. at 1-2. Plaintiff states that he is not
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contending that he suffered any lasting injury, so any records outside of the date of his alleged injury
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and any records regarding the extent of his alleged injury are not relevant. Id. at 2. Plaintiff concludes
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that whether he had a major or minor injury is not relevant to his lawsuit. Id. at 3.
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B. Legal Standard
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“Parties may obtain discovery regarding any nonprivileged matter that is relevant to any
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party’s claim or defense . . . Relevant information need not be admissible at the trial if the discovery
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appears reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.” Fed. R. Civ. P.
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26(b)(1). For document production requests, responding parties must produce documents which are
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in their “possession, custody or control.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 34(a)(1).
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In this case the question of whether Defendants should obtain access to Plaintiff’s medical
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records depends upon whether the confidentiality of these records has been waived by putting the
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privileged information “at issue.” Fritsch v. City of Chula Vista, 187 F.R.D. 614, 625-626 (S.D. Cal.
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1999), modified on other grounds, 196 F.R.D. 562 (S.D. Cal.1999) (citing Vanderbilt v. Town of
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Chilmark, 174 F.R.D. 225 (D. Mass. 1997)) (finding waiver of psychotherapist-patient privilege if
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communication between the two is put at issue by the patient, for example, where the case of action
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relies on advice or findings of the psychotherapist. Under this measure of fairness, waiver prevents
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the privilege from being used as both a sword and a shield). Id. at 229-30. HIPAA allows health care
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providers to disclose medical records in response to a court order. See 45 C.F.R. § 164.512(e)(1).
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With respect to Plaintiff’s constitutional privacy claim, there is no question that Plaintiff’s
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medical condition around the time of trial is relevant to claims raised in his petition. By making these
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claims, Plaintiff waived his privacy rights in his medical records. See Barnes v. Glennon, 2006 WL
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2811821, at *4 (N.D. N.Y. Sept. 28, 2006) (“Although the release of the medical records was not
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pursuant to a discovery order or by consent, the release, nevertheless, did not violate Plaintiff's
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constitutional right to privacy since medical conditions were at the heart of the argument presented
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by Plaintiff in his habeas corpus petition....”); Woods v. Goord, 2002 WL 731691, at *11 (S.D. N.Y.
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Apr. 23, 2002) (“It is settled law that release of an inmate’s medical records in defense of litigation
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does not violate any right of the inmate when he has filed suit against prison officials.”) (citing Gill
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v. Gilder, 1997 WL 419983, at *2 (S.D. N.Y. July 28, 1997)); Ferrell v. Glen-Gery Brick, 678 F.
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Supp. 111, 112-13 (E.D. Pa. 1987) (“when a party places his or her physical or mental condition in
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issue, the privacy right is waived”).
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Because the requested documents are relevant to this action, they must be produced unless
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they are privileged. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1). Plaintiff has waived the privilege, at least according
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to state law, by placing his medical records at issue in this case. See In re Lifschutz, 2 Cal.3d 415,
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433–34 (1970) (under California law, the patient-physician privilege is waived where the patient’s
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specific medical condition is placed into issue by the patient). Under federal law, the privilege may
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be waived when the patient files a lawsuit that places the content of the privileged communications
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in issue. See Sarko v. Penn–Del Directory Co., 170 F.R.D. 127, 130 (E.D. Pa. 1997); Vann v. Lone
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Star Steakhouse & Saloon, Inc., 967 F. Supp. 346, 349–50 (C.D. Ill. 1997); cf. Home Indem. Corp.
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v. Lane Powell Moss and Miller, 43 F.3d 1322, 1326 (9th Cir. 1995) (applying waiver to the
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attorney-client privilege).
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Privacy rights in medical records are neither fundamental nor absolute. Whalen v. Roe, 429
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U.S. 589, 603-604 (1977). The holder of a privacy right can waive it through a variety of acts,
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including by written authorization or instituting a lawsuit. Id. Moreover, where an individual
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institutes a law suit in which his health and medical records are at issue, release of the records would
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likely be ordered, even over objection, during discovery. See Williams v. Baron, 2007 WL 433120,
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at *1 (E.D. Cal. Feb. 5, 2007).
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As a general rule, HIPAA prohibits disclosure of private medical data. “Except as otherwise
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permitted or required by this subchapter, a covered entity may not use or disclose protected health
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information without an authorization that is valid under this section.” 45 C.F.R. 164.508(a).
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However, 45 C.F.R. 164.508 permits disclosure in certain circumstances including when it is
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allowed under 45 C.F.R. 164.512. Subdivision (e) of this latter section permits disclosure of the
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records in judicial proceedings if ordered by the court, or in response to a subpoena if the agency is
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assured that the subpoenaing party has made reasonable efforts to obtain a release. 45 C.F.R.
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164.512(e). “Reasonable efforts” are shown when the subpoena allows time for objections and none
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were made before the expiration of the time allowed. 45 C.F.R. 164.512(e)(1)(ii), (iii). Here, the
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subpoena is governed by Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 45, which permitted objection to the
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subpoena by Plaintiff in the form of a motion to quash and/or motion for protective order.
C. Analysis
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Plaintiff filed a motion to quash, but the Court finds that Plaintiff has waived his right to
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privacy by initiating this lawsuit and placing his medical records at issue. Thus, the Court finds that
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HIPAA permits disclosure of the subpoenaed records in this instance and that Plaintiff’s objection
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is not well-founded. In the instant action, Plaintiff alleges claims of deliberate indifference to serious
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medical needs, alleging Defendants failed to provide adequate medical care. Accordingly, Plaintiff
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has placed his medical records at issue, thereby waiving his privacy interest in the records. Moreover,
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Defendants did not request Plaintiff’s mental health records. The Court agrees with Defendants that
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because Plaintiff’s complaint asserts an Eighth Amendment violation premised on Defendants’
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deliberate indifference to Plaintiff’s serious medical needs, his medical records are directly relevant
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to the action. Seaton v. Mayberg, 610 F.3d 530, 537 (9th Cir. 2010); (clarifying that the Supreme
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Court has not established a constitutional right to privacy in medical records); see also Thomas v.
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Carrasco, 2010 WL 4024930 at *3-4 (E.D. Cal. Oct. 13, 2010) (determining, in line with several
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other district courts, that the right of privacy of medical records is waived when the plaintiff's
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medical condition is “at issue”).
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III. Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel and Motion for Subpoenas of Non-Party Individuals
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Plaintiff moves to compel discovery responses from Defendants. Doc. 51. However,
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Defendants cannot provide responses without Plaintiff’s release of records. Defs. Resp. at 1, Doc.
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44. Therefore, Defendants cannot provide responses to discovery without Plaintiff’s cooperation.
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Finally, Plaintiff moves for subpoenas from five (5) nonparty individuals. Doc. 54. Subject
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to certain requirements, Plaintiff is entitled to the issuance of a subpoena commanding the
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production of documents or tangible things from a nonparty, and to service of the subpoena by the
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United States Marshal. Fed. R. Civ. P. 45; 28 U.S.C. § 1915(d). However, the Court will consider
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granting such a request only if the documents or tangible things sought from the nonparty are not
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equally available to Plaintiff and are not obtainable from Defendants through a request for the
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production of documents or tangible things. Fed. R. Civ. P. 34. If Defendants object to Plaintiff’s
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discovery request, a motion to compel is the next required step. If the Court rules that the documents
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or tangible things are discoverable but Defendants do not have care, custody, and control of them,
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Plaintiff may then seek a subpoena. Alternatively, if the Court rules that the documents are not
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discoverable, the inquiry ends.
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In Plaintiff’s motion for subpoena, Plaintiff does not write the names, occupation titles, or
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state why he needs to subpoena these five (5) nonparty individuals. The Court will not issue blank
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subpoenas, and the Court will not issue subpoenas for individuals without Plaintiff first following
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the procedure outlined above.
IV. Conclusion
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Accordingly, it is HEREBY ORDERED that:
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1.
Plaintiff’s motion to quash is DENIED;
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2.
Plaintiff’s motion to compel is DENIED;
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3.
Plaintiff’s motion for subpoenas is DENIED;
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4.
Plaintiff shall execute a release of medical records within fifteen (15) days of service
of this order; and
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5.
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Plaintiff is cautioned that a failure to comply with this order may result in dismissal
pursuant to Rules 37(b) or 41(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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Dated:
0jh02o
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January 30, 2012
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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