Villareal v. County of Fresno

Filing 63

ORDER Requiring Defendant to Respond to Plaintiff's Allegations that her Documents Went Missing After an Inspection re 62 , signed by Magistrate Judge Erica P. Grosjean on 11/8/17. Deadline: 11/13/2017. (Gonzalez, R)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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ELAINE K. VILLAREAL,

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Plaintiff,
v.

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COUNTY OF FRESNO,

Case No. 1:15-cv-01410-EPG (PC)
ORDER REQUIRING DEFENDANT TO
RESPOND TO PLAINTIFF’S ALLEGATIONS
THAT HER DOCUMENTS WENT MISSING
AFTER AN INSPECTION
(ECF NO. 62)

Defendant.

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Elaine K. Villareal (“Plaintiff”) is a prisoner proceeding in forma pauperis in this civil

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rights action filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

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An Albino evidentiary hearing is set for November 14, 2017, at 10:30 a.m. (ECF No. 48).

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On November 7, 2017, Plaintiff filed her witness list. (ECF No. 62). Included with the witness

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list was the declaration of Plaintiff’s limited purpose counsel, Jeff Price.1 Accord to Mr. Price,

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Plaintiff informed him that her legal documents were rifled through during an inspection on

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November 4, 2017, and that several of her important original documents were missing, preventing

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her from bringing relevant evidence to the hearing.
These are extremely serious allegations that threaten the integrity of the evidentiary

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Mr. Price was appointed for the limited purpose of representing Plaintiff at the evidentiary hearing. (ECF

No. 47).
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hearing.2
Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that:

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1. On or before November 13, 2017, at 3:00 p.m., Defendant shall file a response to

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Plaintiff’s allegations regarding the inspection that took place on November 4,

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2017;

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2. If in investigating this issue Defendant finds that Plaintiff’s documents were taken

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in error, the documents shall be returned to Plaintiff in advance of the hearing;

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3. To the extent this issue is not resolved prior to the hearing, the Court will take

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evidence regarding the alleged incident on November 4, 2017, at the upcoming

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evidentiary hearing. The parties may file amended witnesses lists on or before

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November 13, 2017, at 3:00 p.m.; and
4. The Court will consider requests for presentation of additional evidence or

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sanctions after hearing all relevant evidence at the scheduled hearing.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated:

November 8, 2017

/s/
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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The Court also notes that Plaintiff previously alleged retaliation by Defendant’s employees (see ECF Nos.

48 & 55).
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