Brown v. Gipson et al

Filing 74

ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART 62 Defendant's Motion for Protective Order signed by Magistrate Judge Barbara A. McAuliffe on 2/6/2018. (Jessen, A)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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WILLIAM BROWN,

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Plaintiff,

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v.
W. RASLEY,

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Case No. 1:13-cv-02084-AWI-BAM (PC)
ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND
DENYING IN PART DEFENDANT’S
MOTION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER
(ECF No. 62)

Defendant.

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I.

Plaintiff William Brown is a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis in this

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Background

civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
On December 28, 2017, Defendant Rasley filed a motion for summary judgment under

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Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 for the failure to exhaust administrative remedies. (ECF No.

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61.)

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On January 8, 2018, Defendant filed a motion for a protective order to stay discovery, or

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in the alternative, to limit discovery to matters pertinent to issues of exhaustion of administrative

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remedies and government claim presentation, until Defendant’s summary judgment motion is

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resolved. (ECF No. 62.) Defendant also filed a declaration in support. (ECF No. 62-2) Defendant

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declares that he contacted Plaintiff to discuss a stipulation, and Plaintiff declined to agree to any

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protective order. Defendant further declares that Plaintiff served interrogatories and requests for

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production on Defendant Rasley on or about December 8, 2017. (Id.)
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On February 5, 2018, Plaintiff submitted objections to, among other things, the motion for

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a protective order. (ECF No. 66.) The Court finds a reply unnecessary, and the motion is deemed

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submitted. Local Rule 230(l).

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II.

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Motion for Protective Order
In support of the motion for protective order, Defendant argues that: (1) the pending

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motion for summary judgment will potentially dispose of the entire action; (2) the Court does not

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require additional information to decide the motion; and (3) the expenditure of resources required

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to respond to discovery requests will be needless if the Court grants Defendants’ motion for

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summary judgment, and if the motion is denied, the parties may conduct merits discovery with no

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prejudice from the brief delay. Defendant further argues that additional discovery is not

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necessary here because the motion for summary judgment includes the relevant information and

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documents available to Defendant about Plaintiff’s appeal history and efforts to exhaust his claim

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in this case. Further, Plaintiff has either possession of, or equal access to, his own documents

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related to his appeal history and so will not need additional discovery on the exhaustion issue.

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The district court “has broad discretion to stay proceedings as an incident to its power to

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control its own docket.” Clinton v. Jones, 520 U.S. 681, 706 (1997) (citing Landis v. North

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American Co., 299 U.S. 248, 254 (1936)). The party seeking the stay bears the burden of

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establishing the need to stay the action. Clinton, 520 U.S. at 708.

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Here, the Court finds that Defendants have met the burden of showing good cause to stay

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all non-exhaustion related discovery in this case. As Defendants argue, proceeding with

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discovery that is not related to their potentially dispositive motion will result in unnecessary

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motion practice, litigation costs, and a waste of judicial resources. If Defendants’ motion does

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not resolve this case, Plaintiff will not be prejudiced by a modest delay in proceeding with non-

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exhaustion related discovery.

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Further, Plaintiff’s opposition to the motion is based on his desire to have Defendant

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respond to his merits-related discovery concerning the injuries he alleges in this case. The Court

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does not find Plaintiff’s opposition to be persuasive regarding whether a protective order should

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be issued here.
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However, the Court finds it appropriate to permit discovery on matters pertinent to issues

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of exhaustion of administrative remedies and government claim presentation here. Although

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documentary evidence and affidavits were provided in support of Defendant’s motion for

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summary judgment, Plaintiff may require additional information prompted by the motion or

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evidence which is not currently in his possession. The Court will not preclude discovery requests

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which is solely related to exhaustion matters or government claim presentation issues at this time.
Therefore, to the extent Plaintiff’s interrogatories and request for production served on

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Defendant on or about December 8, 2017 relate to matters of exhaustion of administrative

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remedies or government claim presentation issues, Defendant shall respond to them. Otherwise,

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such discovery is stayed pending the outcome of Defendant’s motion for summary judgment.

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III.

Conclusion and Order

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For these reasons, it is HEREBY ORDERED that:

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1.

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Defendant’s motion for protective order, filed on January 8, 2018 (ECF No. 62), is

granted in part;
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All discovery, other than on matters pertinent to issues of exhaustion of

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administrative remedies and government claim presentation, is stayed in this case pending the

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disposition of Defendant’s motion for summary judgment; and

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3.

Defendant shall respond to Plaintiff’s interrogatories and request for production

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served on or about December 8, 2017 only to the extent such requests are related to matters of

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exhaustion of administrative remedies or government claim presentation issues. Defendant’s

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responses, if any are required, are due on or before thirty (30) days from the date of this order.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

/s/ Barbara

February 6, 2018

A. McAuliffe

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UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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