Howard v. Wang, et al.

Filing 54

ORDER DENYING Defendants' 46 Motion for Reconsideration signed by District Judge Anthony W. Ishii on 11/19/2013. (Sant Agata, S)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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TIMOTHY HOWARD,

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Plaintiff,

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v.

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J. WANG, et al.,

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Defendants.

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Case No.: 1:10cv01783 AWI DLB (PC)
ORDER DENYING DEFENDANTS’
MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION
(Document 46)

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Plaintiff Timothy Howard (“Plaintiff”) is a prisoner in the custody of the California

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Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (“CDCR”). Plaintiff is proceeding pro se in this civil

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rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

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PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

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Plaintiff filed this action on September 28, 2010. On January 22, 2013, the Court ordered that

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the action proceed on Plaintiff’s Eighth Amendment claim against Defendants Dr. Wang and Dr.

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Clark.

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Defendants filed their answer on July 3, 2013.

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On July 9, 2013, the Court issued a Discovery and Scheduling Order. Part I of the Order
requires the parties to provide initial disclosures, including names of witnesses and production of
documents.
On July 22, 2013, Defendants filed a Request for Reconsideration of Part I of the Discovery
and Scheduling Order. Plaintiff did not file an opposition. The matter is deemed submitted pursuant
to Local Rule 230(l).

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LEGAL STANDARD
Defendants move for reconsideration pursuant to Local Rule 303(c), which permits District

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Judge review of a Magistrate Judge’s order. Local Rule 303(a) incorporates the “clearly erroneous” or

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“contrary to law” standard set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 72(a). Thus, the District Judge

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must “modify or set aside any part of the order that is clearly erroneous or is contrary to law.” Fed. R.

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Civ. P. 72(a).

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DISCUSSION
Defendants correctly argue that Part I of the Discovery and Scheduling Order requires the
parties to engage in disclosures similar to those required under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure
26(a)(1). Defendants are also correct in that Plaintiff is a pro se prisoner, and that such actions are
generally exempt from initial disclosure requirements.
Defendants are incorrect, however, insofar as they argue that the Discovery and Scheduling
Order is an improper “standing order” meant to modify the initial disclosure requirements. As the
Court has previously explained in at least one other prisoner action where the Discovery and

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Scheduling Order has been issued, the order is a case-specific order that issued in this action “[t]o

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expedite the fair disposition of this action and to discourage wasteful pretrial activities.” Therefore,

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the order is proper since “even in a case excluded . . ., the court can order exchange of similar

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information in managing the action under rule 16.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1) Advisory Committee Note

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of 2000. The fact that a similar order has issued in other prisoner cases does not transform the order
into a formal, or informal, standing order.

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The Court notes that the discovery order at issue, which has been used and upheld in other
actions in this Court, was implemented in light of the numerous discovery issues that were arising with
increasing frequency in other pro se prisoner actions. Defendants’ discovery practices were bordering
on unnecessarily obstructive, and these tactics caused numerous discovery disputes that required
extensive Court resources to resolve. The intent of the order, as explained above, is to discourage
similar wasteful activities.
Defendants further believe that such requirements are an undue burden on the State in prisoner
cases. However, again, the intent behind the order is to streamline the discovery process and
ultimately reduce the overall burden on the State, the Court and the parties. Similarly, although
Defendants suggest that the order deprives counsel of the exercise of professional judgment in
determining how much time and effort to devote to investigation, the order requires no more than
would be required under Rule 26(a), or in the ordinary course of investigating a complaint. The
purpose of initial disclosures under FRCP 26(a) is “to accelerate the exchange of basic information . . .
and to eliminate the paper work involved in requesting such information.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1)
Advisory Committee Note of 1993 (emphasis added). Orders such as this fall well within the vested
control of a trial court to control its docket and to ensure efficient use of limited judicial resources.
Defendants also attempt to raise an issue based on the Discovery and Scheduling Order’s

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failure to limit the disclosures to “discoverable information.” While the order may not specifically

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state that disclosures are limited to “discoverable information,” the context of the order, as well as

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common sense, dictate that only discoverable information need be exchanged. Indeed, the order limits

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Defendants’ disclosures to information regarding individuals “likely to have information about

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Defendant(s)’ claims or defenses, or who will be used to support Defendant(s)’ version of the events

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described in the complaint.” July 9, 2013, Order at 2.

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Finally, insofar as Defendants object to the requirement that Defendants produce materials in
the possession, custody or control of Defendants and CDCR, their objection fails. Defendants
specifically object to the definition used in Allen v. Woodford, 2007 WL 309945 (E. D. Cal. 2007),
cited in the order, and contend that they are medical doctors who do not control CDCR or its

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documents. Mot. 9. This standard, however, requires no more than production of information for

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which Defendants have “the legal right to obtain” on demand. If a document does not fall within the

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definition of Allen, it need not be produced. Certainly, Defendants will not have “possession, custody

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or control” of all of CDCR’s documents. The order does not require Defendants to produce

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documents that they cannot otherwise obtain in the course of their employment.
The above arguments are not persuasive and do not establish that the Discovery and
Scheduling Order, in general, is contrary to law or clearly erroneous.
Accordingly, Defendants’ motion is DENIED.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: November 19, 2013

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SENIOR DISTRICT JUDGE

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