Gaines v. CA Dept. of Corrections, et al.
Filing
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FINDINGS and RECOMMENDATIONS recommending that Defendant's Motion for terminating sanctions, filed on December 18, 2017 49 , be DENIED; Plaintiff be prohibited from supporting his case or opposing Defendant's defenses with any evidence not disclosed to Defendant's exhaustion interrogatories or requests for production of documents; referred to Judge O'Neill,signed by Magistrate Judge Stanley A. Boone on 03/22/2018. Objections to F&R due 14-Day Deadline (Martin-Gill, S)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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THURMAN GAINES,
Plaintiff,
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v.
DR. HOROWITZ,
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Defendant.
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Case No.: 1:15-cv-00587-LJO-SAB (PC)
FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
REGARDING DEFENDANT’S SECOND MOTION
FOR SANCTIONS
FOURTEEN (14) DAY DEADLINE
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I.
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INTRODUCTION
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Plaintiff Thurman Gaines is appearing pro se and in forma pauperis in this civil rights action
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pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. This action currently proceeds on Plaintiff’s Second Amended
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Complaint against Dr. E. Horowitz for deliberate indifference in violation of the Eighth Amendment.
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(ECF No. 19.)
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Currently before the Court is Defendant’s second motion for sanctions, filed on December 18,
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2017. (ECF No. 49.) After being granted an extension of time, (ECF No. 53), Plaintiff filed an
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opposition on January 22, 2018. (ECF No. 54.) On January 29, 2018, Defendant filed a reply. (ECF
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No. 55.) The motion is deemed submitted. Local Rule 230(l).
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II.
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DISCUSSION
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A.
Arguments
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Defendant’s motion seeks terminating sanctions for Plaintiff’s failure to comply with this
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Court’s July 14, 2017 order compelling Plaintiff to provide certain discovery responses. Defendants
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sought the information in order to prepare a motion for summary judgment for the failure to exhaust
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administrative remedies.
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Subsequent to issuing that order, Plaintiff requested voluntary dismissal of this action, without
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prejudice, (ECF No. 41), which the Court granted, on the condition that Plaintiff produce the
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discovery responses as set forth in the July 14, 2017 order, (ECF No. 44). Plaintiff was later granted an
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extension of time to comply, (ECF No. 46), and then, on December 7, 2017, sought to withdraw his
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request for voluntary dismissal. (ECF No. 47.) That request was granted. (ECF No. 50). In the
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meantime, Defendant filed this motion on the basis that Plaintiff only provided partial responses to
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several of the discovery requests he was required to respond to by the Court’s July 14, 2017 order.
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Specifically, Defendant seeks terminating sanctions, or in the alternative, an evidentiary sanction
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barring Plaintiff from using any undisclosed evidence in this action.
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In opposition, Plaintiff responds that he made a good faith effort to respond to the discovery
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requests, and as a layman, did not fully understand the requests but attempted to provide the requested
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information. Plaintiff further provided amended and supplemental responses with the opposition in an
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effort to fully comply with the Court’s order.
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In reply, Defendant states that Plaintiff has now provided sufficient supplemental responses in
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opposition to the motion for sanctions. However, Defendant argues that Plaintiff had this information
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when he was originally served with the requests, and has not explained why he delayed this litigation
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and wasted resources by failing to provide all requested information until this late date.
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B.
Analysis
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Defendants seek terminating sanctions for Plaintiff’s failure to comply with discovery requests
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pursuant to Rule 37 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which “authorizes the district court, in its
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discretion, to impose a wide range of sanctions when a party fails to comply with the rules of
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discovery or with court orders enforcing those rules.” Wyle v. R.J. Reynolds Indus., Inc., 709 F.2d
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585, 589 (9th Cir. 1983); see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b); Local Rule 110.
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Dispositive sanctions may be warranted where “discovery violations threaten to interfere with
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the rightful decision of the case.” Conn. Gen. Life Ins. Co. v. New Images of Beverly Hills, 482 F.3d
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1091, 1097 (9th Cir. 2007). The Ninth Circuit has identified five factors that a court must consider
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when a party seeks terminating sanctions: “(1) the public’s interest in the expeditious resolution of
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litigation; (2) the court’s need to manage its docket; (3) the risk of prejudice to the [party seeking
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terminating sanctions]; (4) the public policy favoring disposition of cases on their merits; and (5) the
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availability of less drastic sanctions.” Henderson v. Duncan, 779 F.2d 1421, 1423 (9th Cir. 1986);
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Toth v. Trans World Airlines, Inc., 862 F.2d 1381, 1385 (9th Cir. 1988).
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On balance, the Court finds that the factors here weigh against dismissal of this action.
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Although there has been a significant delay in this litigation, Plaintiff has now complied with the
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Court’s order requiring that he provide discovery responses, and Defendant has acknowledged that the
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responses are adequate. The management of the Court’s docket and the expeditious resolution of this
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matter can be aided by the setting of immediate deadlines for the completion of discovery in this case
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and of deadlines for filing dispositive motions here. The public policy favoring disposition of cases on
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their merits also weighs against terminating this case.
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Finally, with respect to less drastic alternatives, Defendant seeks for Plaintiff to be barred from
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using any information that has not been disclosed, although now his responses appear sufficient. The
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Court finds this to be an appropriate, given the multiple opportunities Plaintiff has been given to fully
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respond to these discovery requests. Therefore, the Court will recommend that Plaintiff be prohibited
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from supporting his case or opposing Defendant’s defenses with any evidence not disclosed in
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response to Defendant’s exhaustion interrogatories or requests for production of documents.
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III.
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RECOMMENDATION
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For the foregoing reasons, IT IS HEREBY RECOMMENDED that:
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1.
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Defendant’s motion for terminating sanctions, filed on December 18, 2017 (ECF No.
49), be denied; and
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2.
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Plaintiff be prohibited from supporting his case or opposing Defendant’s defenses with
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any evidence not disclosed in response to Defendant’s exhaustion interrogatories or requests for
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production of documents.
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These Findings and Recommendations will be submitted to the United States District Judge
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assigned to the case, pursuant to the provisions of Title 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(l). Within fourteen (14)
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days after being served with these Findings and Recommendations, the parties may file written
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objections with the court. The document should be captioned “Objections to Magistrate Judge’s
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Findings and Recommendations.” The parties are advised that failure to file objections within the
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specified time may result in the waiver of the “right to challenge the magistrate’s factual findings” on
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appeal. Wilkerson v. Wheeler, 772 F.3d 834, 839 (9th Cir. 2014) (citing Baxter v. Sullivan, 923 F.2d
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1391, 1394 (9th Cir. 1991)).
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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Dated:
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March 22, 2018
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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