Williams v. Coalinga State Hospital et al

Filing 42

ORDER GRANTING Defendant's 35 Motion to Compel Plaintiff's Response to Production Requests signed by Magistrate Judge Jennifer L. Thurston on 12/2/2019. (Sant Agata, S)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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ROBERT C. WILLIAMS,

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Plaintiff,

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v.
RUBEN CASANOVA, et al.,

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Case No.: 1:17-cv-00917-JLT (PC)
ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT’S
MOTION TO COMPEL PLAINTIFF’S
RESPONSE TO PRODUCTION REQUESTS
(Doc. 35)

Defendants.

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Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(a) and Local Rule 230(l), Defendant

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Chase moves for an order compelling Plaintiff to respond to Defendant’s request for production

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of documents, set one. (Doc. 35.) Defendant propounded the production requests, plus

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interrogatories and requests for admission, on July 12, 2019, (Doc. 35 at 2, 4). To date, Plaintiff

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has not responded to any of the discovery requests. (Id.) Plaintiff has not filed any opposition or a

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statement of non-opposition to Defendant’s motion; and, the time to do so has passed. Local Rule

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230(l). The Court thus deems the motion submitted.

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I.

BACKGROUND

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a. Plaintiff’s Allegations

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Plaintiff Williams is civilly detained at Coalinga State Hospital. He alleges that, on

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October 26, 2015, patient Corey Bell attacked him in the dayroom of Unit Nine, breaking his

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nose. (Doc. 17 at 5-6.) Plaintiff alleges that Defendants Casanova, Obiha, Montijo, and Chase, all

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hospital psychiatric technicians, had abandoned their duties and were playing pinball or watching

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movies, allowing Plaintiff to be attacked. (Doc. 17 at 2-3, 5-6.) According to Plaintiff, Unit Nine

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is a “highly secured any supervise[d] unit,” and patients in this unit must be supervised by “one

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psych tech and one DSP officer.” (Id. at 3-4.) Plaintiff also states that Bell is known to be hostile

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and dangerous, and that Bell broke another patient’s nose and cheek bone just prior to the October

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26, 2015 incident. (Id. at 4.)

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b. Defendant’s Requests for Production

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Defendant Chase propounded his first and only set of production requests on July 12,

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2019. (See Doc. 35 at 1, 4.) The set includes fifteen requests, copied below:

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1. “All documents … that show, evidence, or demonstrate the length and reason for your

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detention at Coaling. [sic] State Hospital (CSH) on and before October 26, 2015.”

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2. “All documents … that show, evidence, or demonstrate that ‘Unit 9 Specialize Service

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Unit is a highly secured and supervise unit’ at CSH, as alleged in the third amended

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complaint.”

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3. “All documents … that show, evidence, or demonstrate that patient Corey Bell had

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‘just recently broke another patient cheek bone and nose prior to the incident that

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happened on October 26, 2015,’ as alleged in the third amended complaint.”

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4. All documents … that show, evidence, or demonstrate that it was a ‘well known fact

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that patient Corey Bell is a hostile, dangerous, and assaultive patient that pose a

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security threat to the institution and jeopardize a safety risk around other patients if

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and when unsupervised,’ as alleged in the third amended complaint.”

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5. “All documents … that show, evidence, or demonstrate that you informed, or reported

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to, any Defendant or CSH staff any safety concern or concerns you had for your safety

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being around Bell or in the vicinity of Bell before October 26, 2015.”

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6. “All documents … that show, evidence, or demonstrate that Defendants Chase and

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Montijo were ‘watching movies on the internet’ inside the Nurse’s Station instead of

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supervising the dayroom on October 26, 2015, as alleged in the third amended

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complaint.”
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7. “All documents … that show, evidence, or demonstrate that Defendants Casanova and

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Obioha abandoned their posts in the dayroom and were playing pinball in the

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recreational room on October 26, 2015, as alleged in the third amended complaint.”

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8. “All documents … that show, evidence, or demonstrate all the injuries, harm, and

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damages you contend you sustained as a result of Defendants’ conduct on October 26,

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2015, as alleged in the third amended complaint.”

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9. “All documents … that show, evidence, or demonstrate the medical treatment you

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received for the injuries you sustained as a result of being ‘sucker punched’ by Bell on

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October 26, 2015, as alleged in the third amended complaint.”

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10. “All documents … that show, evidence, or demonstrate any medical condition or

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symptom you continue to experience as a result of Bell’s ‘sucker punch’ on October

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26, 2015, as alleged in the third amended complaint.”

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11. “All documents … that show, evidence, or demonstrate any prior broken nose or

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injury to those parts of your body that you allege Bell injured as a result of his

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punching you on October 26, 2015, as alleged in the third amended complaint.”

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12. All documents … that show, evidence, or demonstrate any complaint you filed or

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request that criminal charges be filed against Bell as a result of his punching you on

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October 26, 2015, as alleged in the third amended complaint.”

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13. “All documents … that show, evidence, or demonstrate any correspondence or

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communication between you and Bell concerning the events of October 26, 2015 at

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CSH. This request includes both physical altercations that occurred between Plaintiff

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and Bell on October 26, 2015.”

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14. “All documents …, including affidavits, declarations, letters, notes, or statements, that

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you have obtained or received from any patient or inmate concerning the Defendants’

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conduct or the events that occurred at CSH on October 26, 2015, as alleged in the third

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amended complaint.”

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15. “All documents …, including affidavits, declarations, statements, letters, notes, or
calendar or diary entries that you created or generated before filing this lawsuit, that
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memorialize the Defendants’ conduct or the events that occurred at CSH on October

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26, 2015, as alleged in the third amended complaint.”

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(Doc. 35, Ex. A, “Defendant Chase’s Request for Production of Documents to Plaintiff, Set

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One.”)

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II.

DISCUSSION

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Parties may seek “discovery regarding any nonprivileged matter that is relevant to any

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party’s claim or defense and proportional to the needs of the case….” Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1).

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Information “need not be admissible in evidence to be discoverable.” (Id.). Within this general

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scope, a party may serve on any other party a request to produce documents, electronically stored

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information, or tangible things that are in the responding party’s possession, custody, or control.

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Fed. R. Civ. P. 34(a)(1). “Property is deemed within a party’s ‘possession, custody, or control’ if

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the party has actual possession, custody, or control thereof or the legal right to obtain the property

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on demand. Allen v. Woodford, No. 1:05-cv-01104-OWW-LJO, 2007 WL 309945, at *2 (E.D.

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Cal. 2007) (citation omitted). “The party to whom the request is directed must respond in writing

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within 30 days after being served….” Fed. R. Civ. P. 34(b)(2)(A). In response to each request, the

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responding party must state that it will produce the requested documents, information, or things,

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or the party must “state with specificity the grounds for objecting to the request.” Fed. R. Civ. P.

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34(b)(2)(B).

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If a party fails to produce documents as requested, the party seeking discovery may file a

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motion with the Court to compel production. Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(a)(3)(B)(iv). In general, the

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moving party must certify that she has conferred or attempted to confer in good faith with the

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responding party to resolve the dispute without court action. Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(a)(1); Local Rule

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251(b). However, in prisoner cases involving pro se plaintiffs, the meet-and-confer requirements

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of Rule 37 and Local Rule 251 do not apply, though they are still encouraged. (See Doc. 33 at 2.)

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Plaintiff has neglected to produce documents or otherwise respond to Defendant’s

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requests for production of documents. (Doc. 35 at 2, 4.) Request Nos. 2 through 15, listed above,

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directly and explicitly relate to the allegations in Plaintiff’s complaint. Thus, these requests are

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within the scope of discovery authorized by Rule 26(b), and Plaintiff must respond to them. If
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Plaintiff does not have documents responsive to any of these requests, or if the documents do not

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exist, then Plaintiff must state so with enough specificity to allow the Court to evaluate the merit

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of the response or whether Plaintiff has made a reasonable inquiry. See Ochotorena v. Adams, No.

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1:05-cv-01524-LJO-DLB, 2010 WL 1035774, at *4 (E.D. Cal. 2010); Uribe v. McKesson, No.

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1:08-cv-01285-DSM-NLS, 2010 WL 892093, at *3 (E.D. Cal. 2010).
Request No. 1, however, does not relate to any allegation in Plaintiff’s complaint; and, the

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Court does not see how the length and reason for Plaintiff’s detention at Coalinga State Hospital

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is relevant to a claim or defense in this action. Thus, the Court finds that Plaintiff need not

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respond to this request.

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III.

CONCLUSION AND ORDER

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For the reasons set forth above, the Court ORDERS:

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1. Defendant Chase’s motion to compel Plaintiff’s response to production requests, (Doc.

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35), is GRANTED;
2. Within 21 days from the date of service of this order, Plaintiff shall serve responses to

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Request Numbers 2 through 15 of Defendant Chase’s Request for Production of

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Documents to Plaintiff, Set One, served on July 12, 2019.

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In general, the Court must award costs to the moving party if it grants her motion to

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compel; however, the court must not order such payment if “the movant filed the motion before

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attempting in good faith to obtain the … discovery without court action.” Fed. R. Civ. P.

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37(5)(A). Since, as noted above, the meet-and-confer requirement does not apply here, and

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defense counsel does not state that she attempted to meet and confer, (see Doc. 35 at 4), the Court

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does not award costs.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

December 2, 2019

/s/ Jennifer L. Thurston
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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