Moore v. Gipson et al

Filing 83

ORDER Regarding Plaintiff's Status Report and Motion for Court Order and Directing the Parties to Meet and Confer 82 ; ORDER STAYING Briefing on Plaintiff's Motion for Court Order, signed by Magistrate Judge Barbara A. McAuliffe on 6/20/2018: 30-Day Deadline. (Hellings, J)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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MERRICK JOSE MOORE,

Case No. 1:13-cv-01820-DAD-BAM (PC)

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Plaintiff,

ORDER REGARDING PLAINTIFF’S
STATUS REPORT AND MOTION FOR
COURT ORDER, AND DIRECTING THE
PARTIES TO MEET AND CONFER

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v.

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GIPSON, et al.,

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(ECF No. 82)
Defendants.
ORDER STAYING BRIEFING ON
PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR COURT
ORDER

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Plaintiff Merrick Jose Moore (“Plaintiff”) is a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in
forma pauperis in this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
On August 8, 2017, Defendants filed a motion to compel pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil

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Procedure 37(a)(3)(B). (ECF No. 43.) On October 5, 2017, the Court issued an order directing

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the parties to meet and confer regarding the discovery dispute, and to file a joint statement

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following the parties’ conference. The Court stayed further briefing on Defendants’ motion to

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compel. (ECF No. 48.)

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Following the parties’ meet and confer and the filing of multiple status reports with no

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resolution of the dispute, on January 3, 2018, the Court reinstated briefing on Defendants’

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pending motion to compel. (ECF No. 59.) On February 7, 2018, the Court granted the motion to

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compel and ordered Plaintiff to serve supplemental discovery responses within thirty (30) days.
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(ECF No. 64.)

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Thereafter, Plaintiff asserted continued difficulty in accessing his property, in part due to

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lack of access to his law library and several transfers between institutions. Accordingly, the

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Court granted two more extensions of time for Plaintiff to serve his discovery responses. (ECF

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No. 72, 81.)

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Currently before the Court is Plaintiff’s status report and request for a court order

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directing prison officials to comply with his discovery requests, filed June 14, 2018. (ECF No.

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82.) Plaintiff argues that despite repeated requests, he has been unable to access his legal

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property or medical records in order to provide his supplemental discovery responses. (Id.)

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Upon review of the motion referenced above, and in light of the lengthy nature of this

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dispute, the Court finds it appropriate to require the parties to engage in a meet and confer

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conference regarding Plaintiff’s continued difficulty in accessing his legal property and medical

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file. Defense counsel is directed to contact Plaintiff by telephone, or to set-up an in-person

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meeting, regarding the parties’ discovery dispute within twenty-one (21) days of the date of this

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order. Briefing on the motion is stayed during the meet and confer process, and Defendants are

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relieved of their obligation to respond to the motion until further order of the court.
Within seven (7) days of the parties’ conference, defense counsel shall file a Joint

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Statement regarding the meet and confer conference. All parties shall participate in the

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preparation of the Joint Statement, and must sign the Joint Statement. Electronic signatures are

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acceptable; a wet signature is not required.

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The Joint Statement shall set forth the following:

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(a) a statement that the parties met and conferred in good faith regarding the dispute, by

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phone or in-person, including the date(s) of the conference(s);

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(b) a statement explaining whether the motion was resolved in full or in part through the
meet and confer process; and

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(c) if any issues from the motion remain unresolved, a statement referring the court to

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each specific request or portion of Plaintiff’s property that is still at issue.

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Upon review of the Joint Statement, the court shall issue a further order regarding the

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motion. No additional filings may be made regarding the motion unless and until ordered by the

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court.

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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

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1.

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The parties are ordered to meet and confer regarding Plaintiff’s motion for a court

order, (ECF No. 82), as outlined above;

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2.

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order of the court;

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3.

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Defendants are relieved of their obligation to respond to the motion until further

Within thirty (30) days of the date of service of this order, a Joint Statement shall

be filed in this matter as outlined above; and
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The parties are warned that the failure to meet and confer in good faith as set

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forth in this order, or to comply with any of its terms, will result in the imposition of

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sanctions.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

/s/ Barbara

June 20, 2018

A. McAuliffe

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UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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