Ransom v. Herrera et al

Filing 202

ORDER Overruling Defendants' Objections to the Magistrate Judge's August 7, 2018 Order, signed by Chief Judge Lawrence J. O'Neill on 8/21/2018. (Hellings, J)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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LEONARD RANSOM, JR.,

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ORDER OVERRULING DEFENDANTS’
OBJECTIONS TO THE MAGISTRATE
JUDGE’S AUGUST 7, 2018 ORDER

Plaintiff,
v.
DANNY HERRERA and RICKY
BRANNUM,

(ECF NO. 200)

Defendants.

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Case No. 1:11-cv-01709-LJO-EPG (PC)

Leonard Ransom, Jr. (“Plaintiff”), is a state prisoner proceeding pro se in this civil
rights action filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

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On August 20, 2018, Defendants filed an objection with this Court contesting a portion

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of the Magistrate Judge’s order which had permitted Defendants to take a second deposition of

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Plaintiff. (ECF No. 200). Specifically, while the Magistrate Judge granted Defendants’ motion

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for leave to depose Plaintiff a second time, the Magistrate Judge provided the limitation that

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“the deposition shall cover issues not already addressed in Plaintiff’s prior deposition.” (ECF

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No. 193, p. 2). In other words, Defendants claim that the Magistrate Judge committed legal

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error by not permitting Defendants to cover issues already addressed in Plaintiff’s prior

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deposition.

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This Court disagrees and will overrule Defendants’ objection.
I.

PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND AND DEFENDANTS’ OBJECTION

On August 6, 2018, Defendants filed their motion for leave to take Plaintiff’s
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deposition. (ECF No. 191). Defendants noted at the outset that “Defendant[s] must obtain

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leave of court to depose Plaintiff a second time.” (ECF No. 191-1, at p. 2). Defendants

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requested leave of the Court for a second deposition on the ground that “Defendants have not

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had the opportunity to depose Plaintiff regarding all his claims….” (ECF No. 191-1, at p. 2).
Because the additional testimony could affect Defendants’ need for expert witnesses

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and because Defendants may need to provide the additional testimony to their experts,

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Defendants also sought an extension of the expert disclosure deadline. (ECF No. 191-1, at p.

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3).

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The Magistrate Judge granted Defendants’ motion in part. (ECF No. 193). The

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Magistrate Judge found good cause for a second deposition as well as for an extension of the

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expert disclosure deadline. (ECF No. 193). However the Magistrate Judge limited the second

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deposition as follows: “Defendants have until September 14, 2018 to depose Plaintiff.

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Defendants may depose Plaintiff for up to two hours. Defendants may only cover topics that

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were not covered in the first deposition.” (ECF No. 193, at p. 2).

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Defendants filed their objection to the order on August 20, 2018. (ECF No. 200).

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Defendants argue that the “Order is contrary to the plain language of the Federal Rules of Civil

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Procedure and risks prejudicing Defendants,” and so “respectfully object to the Magistrate

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Judge’s Order and request review of this Order by the District Court under Federal Rule of

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Civil Procedure 72(a).” (ECF No. 200, at p. 1).

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II.

LEGAL STANDARDS FOR OBJECTIONS TO A MAGISTRATE
JUDGE’S ORDER

Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 72(a), when reviewing a magistrate judge's

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order, “[t]he district judge in the case must consider timely objections and modify or set aside

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any part of the order that is clearly erroneous or is contrary to law.” See also 28 U.S.C. §

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636(b)(1)(A); Local Rule 303. Under the clearly erroneous standard of review, a district court

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may overturn a magistrate judge's ruling “‘only if the district court is left with the definite and

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firm conviction that a mistake has been made.’” Computer Economics, Inc. v. Gartner Group,

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Inc., 50 F.Supp.2d 980, 983 (S.D.Cal.1999) (quoting Weeks v. Samsung Heavy Indus. Co.,
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Ltd., 126 F.3d 926, 943 (7th Cir.1997)). Under the contrary to law standard, a district court

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may conduct independent review of purely legal determinations by a magistrate judge. Id.

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III.

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As Defendants concede, there is no automatic right to take a second deposition.

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According to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a party must obtain leave of the court if “the

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deponent has already been deposed in the case.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 30(a)(2)(A)(ii). Whether to

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permit a second deposition lies in the court's discretion. Dixon v. Certainteed Corp., 164

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F.R.D. 685, 690 (D. Kan. 1996); City of Rialto v. Dep't of Def., No. 04-00079-PSG (SSX),

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2008 WL 11343315, at *3 (C.D. Cal. Mar. 18, 2008) (“Once a deposition has been concluded,

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a party is required to obtain leave of Court before noticing the deposition of a witness who has

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previously been examined in the same litigation. Fed. R. Civ. Proc. 30 (a)(2)(B). In those

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instances where leave of Court is required the granting or denial of discovery requests is left to

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the discretion of the trial court.”); Bookhamer v. Sunbeam Prod. Inc., No. C 09-6027 EMC

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DMR, 2012 WL 5188302, at *2 (N.D. Cal. Oct. 19, 2012) (“Whether to re-open a deposition

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lies within the court's discretion.”).

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DISCUSSION

Without a showing of need or good reason, courts generally will not require a

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deponent's reopened deposition. Dixon, 164 F.R.D. at 690. Reopened depositions are

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disfavored, except in certain circumstances, such as, long passage of time with new evidence or

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new theories added to the complaint. Graebner v. James River Corp., 130 F.R.D. 440, 441

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(N.D. Cal. 1990).

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Additionally, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure require a court to limit discovery if

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“the discovery sought is unreasonably cumulative or duplicative.” Fed. R. Civ. P.

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26(b)(2)(C)(i). This is a factor in determining whether to allow a second deposition. City of

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Rialto, 2008 WL 11343315, at *3 (“In exercising its discretion whether to grant

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a second deposition the Court should consider the limiting factors stated in Rule 26 (b)(2): (1)

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whether the discovery is cumulative or duplicative or is readily obtainable from another more

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convenient source; (2) whether the party seeking the discovery has had ample opportunity to

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obtain the information; and/or (3) whether the burden or the additional expense outweigh the
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benefit sought.”); Bookhamer, 2012 WL 5188302, at *2 (alteration in original) (“The court will

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not find good need if it determines that one of the following factors applies: (i) the discovery

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[second deposition] sought is unreasonably cumulative or duplicative, or can be obtained from

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some other source that is more convenient, less burdensome, or less expensive….”).

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In light of these settled legal principles, the Magistrate Judge did not commit legal error

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in ordering that the second deposition be limited to two hours and not cover issues already

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addressed in Plaintiff’s prior deposition. That decision was left soundly within her discretion.

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It also appears she correctly exercised that discretion through the limitation imposed so that the

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second deposition would not be cumulative or duplicative of the first deposition.
In fact, this Court finds Defendants’ objection to be frivolous. Whether to allow a

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second deposition at all is clearly within the discretion of the Court. It is clearly not legal error

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to limit that second deposition to matters that have not already been covered. In fact, not only

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is there no legal right to question a witness on ground already covered, a judge must limit

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discovery to the extent it is “unreasonably cumulative or duplicative.”

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The Court also notes that Defendants have not established any good cause to reopen any

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specific topic that has already covered. In neither Defendants’ initial motion or their objections

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to this Court did Defendants identify an earlier question that was insufficiently answered or

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required additional questioning. Defendants have not brought a motion to compel any answer

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to a question already posed. On the contrary, Defendants’ underlying motion requested leave

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to take a deposition precisely because they had not had the opportunity to question Plaintiff yet

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on certain claims. Rather than request leave to inquire about a specific topic already covered,

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Defendants assert it is their legal right to tread over the same ground so long as a deposition

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does not pass the seven-hour limit. This is incorrect, and indeed counter to the rules that

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expressly limit cumulative and duplicative discovery.

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IV.

CONCLUSION

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For the foregoing reasons, the Magistrate Judge’s August 7, 2018 order (ECF No. 193)

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order is not clearly erroneous or contrary to law, and Defendants’ objections (ECF No. 200) are

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OVERRULED.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

/s/ Lawrence J. O’Neill _____

August 21, 2018

UNITED STATES CHIEF DISTRICT JUDGE

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