(PC) Boone v. CSP Corcoran Warden et al

Filing 47

ORDER DENYING Plaintiff's 41 46 Motion to Compel as Premature signed by Magistrate Judge Gary S. Austin on 11/17/2022. (Sant Agata, S).

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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EMANUEL BOONE,

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Plaintiff,

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vs.

1:19-cv-01232-JLT-GSA-PC
ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION
TO COMPEL AS PREMATURE
ECF Nos. 41, 46.)

CSP CORCORAN WARDEN, et al.,

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Defendants.

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I.

BACKGROUND

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Emanuel Boone (“Plaintiff”) is a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis

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with this civil rights action filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff filed the Complaint

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commencing this action on September 6, 2019. (ECF No. 1.) This case now proceeds with the

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First Amended Complaint filed on October 5, 2020, against defendants Burnes, Tapia, Flores,

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Brandon, Dowdy, Blanco, and Vega for use of excessive force in violation of the Eighth

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Amendment. (ECF No. 13.)

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On April 18, 2022, the court issued a Discovery and Scheduling Order setting out pretrial

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deadlines for the parties (ECF No. 32), and on July 8, 2022, the court issued an Amended

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Discovery and Scheduling Order, (ECF No. 39). On October 14, 2022, the Court granted

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Plaintiff’s motion to modify the scheduling order extending deadlines for all parties. (ECF No.

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44.) The current deadline for completing discovery, including the filing of motions to compel,

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is April 7, 2023, and the current deadline for filing dispositive motions is June 9, 2023. (Id.)
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On September 22, 2022, Plaintiff filed a motion to compel. (ECF No. 41.) On October

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14, 2022, Defendants filed an opposition to the motion. (ECF N0. 45.) On November 7, 2022,

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Plaintiff filed a reply to the opposition. (ECF No. 46.)
Plaintiff’s motion to compel is now before the court.

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II.

MOTION TO COMPEL

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A.

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The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure govern discovery in this civil action. The discovery

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process is subject to the overriding limitation of good faith, and callous disregard of discovery

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responsibilities cannot be condoned. Asea, Inc. v. Southern Pac. Transp. Co., 669 F.2d 1242,

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1246 (9th Cir. 1981) (quotation marks and citation omitted). Parties may obtain discovery

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regarding any nonprivileged matter that is relevant to any party’s claim or defense, including the

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existence, description, nature, custody, condition, and location of any documents or other

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tangible things and the identity and location of persons who know of any discoverable matter.

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Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1) (quotation marks omitted). For good cause, the court may order

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discovery of any matter relevant to the subject matter involved in the action. Id. (quotation

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marks omitted). Relevant information need not be admissible at the trial if the discovery appears

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reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence. Id. (quotation marks

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omitted).

Legal Standards

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Pursuant to Rule 37(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a party propounding

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discovery may seek an order compelling disclosure when an opposing party has failed to respond

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or has provided evasive or incomplete responses. Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(a)(3)(B). “[A]n evasive or

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incomplete disclosure, answer, or response is to be treated as a failure to disclose, answer, or

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respond.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(a)(4). The moving party bears the burden of demonstrating “actual

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and substantial prejudice” from the denial of discovery. See Hallett v. Morgan, 296 F.3d 732,

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751 (9th Cir. 2002) (citations omitted).

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Generally, if the responding party objects to a discovery request, the party moving to

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compel bears the burden of demonstrating why the objections are not justified. E.g., Grabek v.

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Dickinson, No. CIV S-10-2892 GGH P, 2012 WL 113799, at *1 (E.D. Cal. Jan. 13, 2012);
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Womack v. Virga, No.CIV S-11-1030 MCE EFB P, 2011 WL 6703958, at *3; Mitchell v. Felker,

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No. CV 08-119RAJ, 2010 WL 3835765, at *2 (E.D. Cal. Sep. 29, 2010); Ellis v. Cambra, No.

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1:02-cv-05646-AWI-SMS PC, 2008 WL 860523, at *4 (E.D. Cal. Mar. 27, 2008). This requires

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the moving party to inform the court which discovery requests are the subject of the motion to

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compel, and, for each disputed response, why the information sought is relevant and why the

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responding party’s objections are not meritorious. Id. However, the court is vested with broad

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discretion to manage discovery and notwithstanding these procedures, and Plaintiff is entitled to

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leniency as a pro se litigator; therefore, to the extent possible, the court endeavors to resolve his

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motion to compel on its merits. Hunt v. County of Orange, 672 F.3d 606, 616 (9th Cir. 2012);

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Surfvivor Media, Inc. v. Survivor Productions, 406 F.3d 625, 635 (9th Cir. 2005); Hallett, 296

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F.3d at 751.
Parties’ Positions

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B.

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Plaintiff requests production of any and all discipline and personnel complaint records,

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and any previous suits filed against all named Defendants.

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Defendants respond that they have not received any discovery requests from Plaintiff,

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thus Defendants argue that Plaintiff’s motion should be denied because he is seeking an order

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compelling Defendants to produce documents they have not yet been asked to produce.

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C.

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Plaintiff submits no evidence that he served a request for production of documents on

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Defendants requesting the documents he is requesting, and Defendants assert that they have not

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received any discovery requests from Plaintiff. Accordingly, the Court will deny Plaintiff’s

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motion to compel as premature because he has not yet served Defendants with a request for

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production of documents before filing the motion to compel. Plaintiff’s motion shall be denied

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without prejudice to renewal of the motion when appropriate at a later stage of the proceedings.

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Plaintiff is advised that any future motion to compel must individually analyze each

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discovery request and response and set forth arguments to explain how Defendants’ objections

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to each request are improper. Plaintiff’s motion to compel must notify Defendants how each

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response is deficient. Specifically, the motion to compel must: 1) set forth each disputed request

Discussion

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exactly as Plaintiff phrased it in his original request, 2) set forth Defendants’ response exactly as

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Defendants phrased it in their original response, and 3) address each objection made by

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Defendants and explain how each objection is improper. Plaintiff may not raise new arguments

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for the first time in his reply brief, and may not simply file a motion to compel that identifies the

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discovery requests in dispute and provide vague and general conclusions regarding the

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inadequacy of Defendants’ responses.

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As the moving party, Plaintiff bears the burden of informing the court which discovery

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requests are the subject of his motion to compel and, for each disputed response, why

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Defendants’ objection is not justified. Plaintiff may not simply assert that he has served

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discovery requests, that he is dissatisfied with Defendants’ objections, and that he wants an order

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compelling responses.
For these reasons, Plaintiff’s motion to compel shall be denied as premature, without

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prejudice to renewal of the motion at a later stage of the proceedings.

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III.

CONCLUSION

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Based on the foregoing, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff’s motion to compel,

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filed on September 22, 2022, is DENIED as premature, without prejudice to renewal of the

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motion at a later stage of the proceedings.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

November 17, 2022

/s/ Gary S. Austin
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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