Ayobi v. Adams et al
Filing
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ORDER DENYING 38 Plaintiff's Motion to Compel, Without Prejudice, GRANTING Extension of Discovery Deadline, and DENYING Request for Appointment of Counsel signed by Magistrate Judge Stanley A. Boone on 1/23/2019. Discovery due by 2/25/2019. Dispositive Motions filed by 3/25/2019. (Jessen, A)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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SHAJIA AYOBI,
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Plaintiff,
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v.
BARBARA SHOWALTER,
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Defendant.
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Case No.: 1:17-cv-00693-DAD-SAB (PC)
ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION
TO COMPEL, WITHOUT PREJUDICE,
GRANTING EXTENSION OF DISCOVERY
DEADLINE, AND DENYING REQUEST FOR
APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL
[ECF No. 38]
Plaintiff Shajia Ayobi is appearing pro se and in forma pauperis in this civil rights action
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pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
Currently before the Court is Plaintiff’s motion to compel, request for an extension of the
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discovery deadline, and request for appointment of counsel, filed December 26, 2018. Defendant did
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not file an opposition or statement of non-opposition and the time to do so has expired. Local Rule
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230(l).
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I.
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DISCUSSION
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A.
Motion to Compel and Request to Extend Discovery Deadline
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This action is proceeding against Defendants Barbara Showalter for deliberate indifference to a
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serious medical need. On February 7, 2018, Defendant filed an answer to the complaint. On February
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8, 2018, the Court issued the discovery and scheduling order. The current deadline for completion of
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all discovery, including motions to compel is January 11, 2019.
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Plaintiff is proceeding pro se and she is a state prisoner challenging his conditions of
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confinement.
As a result, the parties were relieved of some of the requirements which would
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otherwise apply, including initial disclosure and the need to meet and confer in good faith prior to
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involving the Court in a discovery dispute. Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1); Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c); Fed. R. Civ.
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P. 37(a)(1); Local Rule 251; ECF No. 26, Discovery and Scheduling Order, &4. Further, where
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otherwise discoverable information would pose a threat to the safety and security of the prison or
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infringe upon a protected privacy interest, a need may arise for the Court to balance interests in
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determining whether disclosure should occur.
See Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c); Seattle Times Co. v.
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Rhinehart, 467 U.S. 20, 35 n.21 (1984) (privacy rights or interests implicit in broad purpose and
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language of Rule 26(c)); Burlington N. & Santa Fe Ry. Co. v. United States Dist. Court for the Dist. of
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Montana, 408 F.3d 1142, 1149 (9th Cir. 2005) (discussing assertion of privilege); Soto v. City of
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Concord, 162 F.R.D. 603, 616 (N.D. Cal. 1995) (recognizing a constitutionally-based right of privacy
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that can be raised in discovery); see also Garcia v. Clark, No. 1:10-CV-00447-LJO-DLB PC, 2012
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WL 1232315, at *6 n.5 (E.D. Cal. Apr. 12, 2012) (noting inmate=s entitlement to inspect discoverable
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information may be accommodated in ways which mitigate institutional safety concerns); Robinson v.
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Adams, No. 1:08-cv-01380-AWI-BAM PC, 2012 WL 912746, at *2-3 (E.D. Cal. Mar. 16, 2012)
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(issuing protective order regarding documents containing information which implicated the safety and
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security of the prison); Orr v. Hernandez, No. CV-08-0472-JLQ, 2012 WL 761355, at *1-2 (E.D. Cal.
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Mar. 7, 2012) (addressing requests for protective order and for redaction of information asserted to
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risk jeopardizing safety and security of inmates or the institution if released); Womack v. Virga, No.
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CIV S-11-1030 MCE EFB P, 2011 WL 6703958, at *5-6 (E.D. Cal. Dec. 21, 2011) (requiring
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defendants to submit withheld documents for in camera review or move for a protective order).
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Generally, if the responding party objects to a discovery request, the party moving to compel
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bears the burden of demonstrating why the objections are not justified. Grabek v. Dickinson, No. CIV
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S-10-2892 GGH P, 2012 WL 113799, at *1 (E.D. Cal. Jan. 13, 2012); Womack, 2011 WL 6703958, at
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*3; Mitchell v. Felker, No. CV 08-119RAJ, 2010 WL 3835765, at *2 (E.D. Cal. Sep. 29, 2010); Ellis
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v. Cambra, No. 1:02-cv-05646-AWI-SMS PC, 2008 WL 860523, at *4 (E.D. Cal. Mar. 27, 2008).
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This requires the moving party to inform the Court which discovery requests are the subject of the
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motion to compel, and, for each disputed response, why the information sought is relevant and why
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the responding party=s objections are not meritorious. Grabek, 2012 WL 113799, at *1; Womack,
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2011 WL 6703958, at *3; Mitchell, 2010 WL 3835765, at *2; Ellis, 2008 WL 860523, at *4.
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However, the Court is vested with broad discretion to manage discovery and notwithstanding these
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procedures, Plaintiff is entitled to leniency as a pro se litigation; therefore, to the extent possible, the
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Court endeavors to resolve his motion to compel on its merits. Hunt v. County of Orange, 672 F.3d
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606, 616 (9th Cir. 2012); Surfvivor Media, Inc. v. Survivor Productions, 406 F.3d 625, 635 (9th Cir.
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2005); Hallett v. Morgan, 296 F.3d 732, 751 (9th Cir. 2002).
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Plaintiff’s motion to compel must be denied, without prejudice. Plaintiff has filed a three-page
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motion to compel discovery further responses to his discovery requests he claims to have received on
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December 17, 2018. Plaintiff seeks to compel a response to the discovery and to extend the discovery
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deadline. However, Plaintiff’s motion to compel is procedurally defective in that she failed to attach
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the relevant discovery requests for which he compels a response, and fails to demonstrate how such
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responses are inadequate. Plaintiff bears the burden of identifying which responses are in dispute and
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providing sufficient information so that Court can discern why she is challenging the responses. Once
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the Court has before it the requests and responses which are in dispute, it can reach the merits of
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Plaintiff’s motion to compel and provide the parties with a final resolution regarding Plaintiff’s
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discovery requests.
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deadline because such request is unopposed, and the discovery deadline will be extended an additional
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thirty days, and further extend the correlating dispositive motion deadline.
In addition, the Court will grant Plaintiff’s request to extend the discovery
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Plaintiff’s second request for appointment of counsel must be denied, without prejudice. As
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Plaintiff was previously advised, she does not have a constitutional right to appointed counsel in this
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action, Rand v. Rowland, 113 F.3d 1520, 1525 (9th Cir. 1997), and the Court cannot require any
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attorney to represent her pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1), Mallard v. United States District Court
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for the Southern District of Iowa, 490 U.S. 296, 298 (1989). However, in certain exceptional
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circumstances the Court may request the voluntary assistance of counsel pursuant to section
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1915(e)(1). Rand, 113 F.3d at 1525. Without a reasonable method of securing and compensating
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counsel, the Court will seek volunteer counsel only in the most serious and exceptional cases. In
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determining whether “exceptional circumstances exist, the district court must evaluate both the
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likelihood of success on the merits [and] the ability of the [plaintiff] to articulate [her] claims pro se in
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light of the complexity of the legal issues involved.” Id. (internal quotation marks and citations
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omitted). The test for exceptional circumstances requires the court to evaluate a plaintiff’s likelihood
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of success on the merits and the ability of the plaintiff to articulate his or her claims pro se in light of
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the complexity of the legal issues involved. See Wilborn v. Escalderon, 789 F.2d 1328, 1331 (9th Cir.
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1986); Weygandt v. Look, 718 F.2d 952, 954 (9th Cir. 1983). Circumstances common to most
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prisoners, such as lack of legal education and limited law library access, do not establish exceptional
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circumstances that would warrant a request for voluntary assistance of counsel.
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In this case, the Court does not find the exceptional circumstances necessary to request
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volunteer counsel at this time. The Court does not find the legal issues here to be particularly
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complex. The record reflects that Plaintiff has adequately articulated her claim and litigated this action
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to date. While a pro se litigant may be better served with the assistance of counsel, so long as a pro se
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litigant, such as Plaintiff in this instance, is able to “articulate [her] claims against the relative
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complexity of the matter,” the “exceptional circumstances” which might require the appointment of
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counsel do not exist. Rand v. Rowland, 113 F.3d at 1525 (finding no abuse of discretion under 28
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U.S.C. § 1915(e) when district court denied appointment of counsel despite fact that pro se prisoner
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“may well have fared better-particularly in the realm of discovery and the securing of expert
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testimony.”) Accordingly, Plaintiff’s second motion for appointment of counsel is denied, without
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prejudice.
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II.
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ORDER
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Based on the foregoing, it is HEREBY ORDERED that:
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Plaintiff’s motion to compel is denied, without prejudice;
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Plaintiff’s request to extend the discovery deadline is granted;
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The discovery deadline is extended to February 25, 2019, and the deadline to file a
dispositive motion is extended to March 25, 2019; and
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4.
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Plaintiff’s second motion for appointment of counsel, is denied without prejudice.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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Dated:
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January 23, 2019
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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