Crew v. Commissioner of Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

Filing 18

ORDER DENYING, WITHOUT PREJUDICE, AS PREMATURE 17 Motion to Compel, signed by Chief Judge Lawrence J. O'Neill on 8/24/2016. (Martin-Gill, S)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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1:16-cv-00590-LJO-BAM (PC)

DAVID CREW,
Plaintiff,
v.
COMMISSIONER OF DEPARTMENT
OF CORRECTIONS AND
REHABILITATION,

ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION
TO COMPEL DISCOVERY EVIDENCE AS
PREMATURE
(ECF No. 17)

Defendant.

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Plaintiff David Crew (“Plaintiff”) is a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma

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pauperis in this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff initiated this action on

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April 26, 2016. (ECF No. 1.) On August 22, 2016, Plaintiff filed the instant motion to compel

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discovery of evidence, seeking to compel the production of his health information that supports

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his claims from Kern Valley State Prison. (ECF No. 17.)

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Plaintiff’s motion for discovery is premature and shall be denied without prejudice. The

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Court is required to screen Plaintiff’s complaint to determine whether it is subject to dismissal or

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whether the action should proceed to discovery on Plaintiff’s claims. 28 U.S.C. §

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1915(e)(2)(B)(ii) (“Notwithstanding any filing fee, or any portion thereof, that may have been

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paid, the court shall dismiss the case at any time if the court determines that . . . the action or
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appeal . . . fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.”) In this case, the Court has

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screened Plaintiff’s complaint, and dismissed it for failure to state a claim, with leave to amend.

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(ECF No. 14.) Thus, there is no operative complaint that this action currently proceeds upon, no

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defendants have been served or appeared, and discovery has not been opened.

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The Court further informs Plaintiff that to the extent he seeks to review health records

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about himself from the institution at which he is currently housed, an order from the Court should

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not be necessary. Certain documents, such as Plaintiff’s own health records, incident reports,

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Rules Violation Reports, and his central file, should be available for Plaintiff to review by making

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the necessary requests to prison officials and staff.

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Accordingly, Plaintiff’s motion to compel discovery, dated August 22, 2016 (ECF No. 17)
is HEREBY DENIED, without prejudice, as premature.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

/s/ Lawrence J. O’Neill _____

August 24, 2016

UNITED STATES CHIEF DISTRICT JUDGE

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