Guerra v. Kern County Sheriff's Department et al

Filing 61

ORDER denying 51 Motion to Amend the Complaint and to Re-Open Discovery signed by Magistrate Judge Barbara A. McAuliffe on 4/20/2016. (Lundstrom, T)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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JOAQUIN GUERRA,

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Plaintiff,

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v.
KERN COUNTY SHERIFF’S
DEPARTMENT, et al.,
Defendants.

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Case No.: 1:13-cv-01077-AWI-BAM (PC)
ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S COMBINED
MOTION FOR LEAVE TO AMEND COMPLAINT
AND TO RE-OPEN DISCOVERY
(ECF No. 51)

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Plaintiff Joaquin Guerra (“Plaintiff”) is proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis in this civil

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rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §1983. Plaintiff initiated this action while a pre-trial detainee at the

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Kern County Jail. This action currently proceeds on Plaintiff’s first amended complaint against

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Defendants Sweeney and Feely.

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On February 3, 2016, Plaintiff filed a combined motion for leave to amend his complaint

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pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15, and a motion to reopen discovery. (ECF No. 51.)

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Defendants have opposed the motion. (ECF No. 52.) The time for Plaintiff to file a reply has passed,

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and he has not done so. The combined motion is deemed submitted. Local Rule 230(l).

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I.

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Motion for Leave to Amend Complaint
Plaintiff first asserts in his motion that he has identified unnamed defendant Nurse Jane Doe #1

as “Nurse Morgan,” and he seeks leave to amend his complaint to identify her as a defendant. (ECF
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No. 51, pp. 1-2.) Plaintiff argues that the delay in obtaining Jane Doe #1’s identity was not his fault,

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but was rather due to “the long process that Plaintiff was put through by defendants in order to obtain

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Nurse Jane Doe 1 true name [sic].” (Id. at 2.) Specifically, Plaintiff contends that he was not allowed

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to view audio and visual footage of his booking until September 14, 2015, which he needed to hear

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and see so that he could identify Nurse Jane Doe #1. (Id. at 2-3.) That footage was poor quality, and

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defense counsel did not provide better quality footage until December 9, 2015, at which time Plaintiff

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was able to identify Jane Doe #1. (Id. at 4-5.)

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Defendants oppose the motion, arguing that it was not timely made since it was filed after the

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July 22, 2015 deadline to amend the pleadings passed. (ECF No. 52.) Defendants further argue that

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Plaintiff did not diligently seek the identity of Nurse Jane Doe #1, as evidenced by the fact that he

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prematurely sought a subpoena to obtain the names of female medical staff at Kern County Jail, but

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did not follow-up on that after discovery opened. (Id. at 2-3.) Instead, Plaintiff waited until May 26,

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2015, seven months into the discovery period, to begin seeking the identity of Nurse Jane Doe #1

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through written discovery requests, to which Defendants timely responded. (Id. at 3-5.) Defendants

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also indicate that they reasonably assisted Plaintiff regarding the problems viewing and hearing the

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audio/video footage they sent in response to his discovery requests. (Id.) Plaintiff also failed to seek

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any extension of the deadline to amend his complaint for good cause. (Id. at 5.)

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A.

Legal Standard

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Under Rule 15(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a party may amend the party’s

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pleading once as a matter of course at any time before a responsive pleading is served. Otherwise, a

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party may amend only by leave of the court or by written consent of the adverse party. Fed. R. Civ. P.

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15(a). “Rule 15(a) is very liberal and leave to amend shall be freely given when justice so requires.”

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AmerisourceBergen Corp. v. Dialysist West, Inc., 465 F.3d 946, 951 (9th Cir. 2006) (citation and

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quotation omitted).

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However, courts “need not grant leave to amend where the amendment: (1) prejudices the

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opposing party; (2) is sought in bad faith; (3) produces an undue delay in litigation; or (4) is futile.” Id.

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These factors do not carry equal weight. Prejudice is the most important factor to consider. Jackson v.

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Bank of Hawaii, 902 F.2d 1385, 1387 (9th Cir. 1990).
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B.

Discussion

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In this case, the Court finds both significant prejudice and undue delay here that warrant the

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denial of Plaintiff’s request for leave to amend his complaint. Plaintiff’s motion to amend his

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complaint was made long after the deadline to amend the pleadings under this Court’s scheduling

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order, and more than four months after discovery closed. (ECF No. 27.) In that time, the Court has

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expended resources resolving discovery disputes and a motion for summary judgment, which the

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parties spent resources briefing. Now, a second motion for summary judgment is pending, with

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briefing underway. A newly-named defendant would be entering this litigation very late in the game.

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Allowing the amendment at this late stage will require reopening discovery, and will disrupt the

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schedule and delay the proceedings. All of this will prejudice Defendants.

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Also, contrary to Plaintiff’s assertions, there is undue delay here on his part. Although Plaintiff

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has a reasonable explanation for the time spent from September 14, 2015 through December 9, 2015 in

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attempting to identify Nurse Jane Doe #1, he does not explain why he waited until seven months after

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discovery opened before he started attempting to identify her. The record reflects that Plaintiff made

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other filings around that time, and yet he apparently was not working on identifying the unnamed

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defendant. And, as Defendants note, despite the fact that it was explained to him that he could renew

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his request for a subpoena to obtain discovery on the unnamed defendant after his complaint was

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screened, (ECF No. 15), Plaintiff never renewed that request.
If the moving party cannot explain the delay, this indicates that the delay is undue. See Jackson

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v. Bank of Hawaii, 902 F.2d 1385, 1388 (9th Cir. 1990) (citing E.E.O.C. v. Boeing Co., 843 F.2d

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1213, 1222 (9th Cir. 1988)); Swanson v. U.S. Forest Service, 87 F.3d 339, 345 (9th Cir. 1996).

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Plaintiff provides no explanation for his delay in beginning to issue discovery on the unnamed

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defendant’s identity. And, as noted, the record shows he had a reasonable opportunity to engage in

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such discovery, and did otherwise engage in making filings, but did not seek to identify the Doe

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defendant. Thus, the delay here is undue, even when giving consideration to Plaintiff’s pro se litigant

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status. For these reasons, Plaintiff’s motion for leave to amend his complaint is denied.

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II.

Motion to Reopen Discovery
Plaintiff also seeks to re-open discovery due because Defendants allegedly prevented him from

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viewing the footage discussed above and discovering Nurse Jane Doe #1’s identity until after

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discovery closed. (ECF No. 51, pp. 26-27.) He apparently seeks to re-open discovery to seek

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information for prosecuting his claim against the nurse.
The Court does not find good cause for re-opening discovery here. Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(4).

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Both his motion and Defendants’ opposition show that Defendants did not withhold the audio/video

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footage from Plaintiff. Rather, issues regarding restrictions by the institution where he was held caused

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some delay in being able to view and listen to that footage, and Defendants worked with the institution

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to allow Plaintiff to view that footage, and to improve the quality when it was not satisfactory to him.

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Regardless, Plaintiff’s request for the opportunity to propound discovery related to his claim against

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Nurse Jane Doe #1 is moot, since the Court is denying his motion for leave to amend his complaint to

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identify that defendant and add her to this case, as explained above.

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III.

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Conclusion and Order
Accordingly, it is HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff’s motion for leave to amend his

complaint and re-open discovery, (ECF No. 51), is DENIED, in its entirety.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

/s/ Barbara

April 20, 2016

A. McAuliffe

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UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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