Washington v. Mohammed et al

Filing 84

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Craig M. Kellison on 3/24/16 ORDERING that plaintiff's motion to set trial date (Doc. 70 ) and motion to compel (Doc. 73 ) are DENIED without prejudice. (Dillon, M)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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JOHN WASHINGTON,

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Plaintiff,

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vs.

ORDER

SALEM MOHAMMED, et al.,
Defendants.

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No. 2:08-cv-0386-KJM-CMK-P

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Plaintiff, a state prisoner proceeding pro se, brings this civil rights action pursuant
to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
Pending before the court are plaintiff’s motion to set a trial date (Doc. 70) and

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motion to compel (Doc. 73). Both of these motions were filed prematurely, and will be denied

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without prejudice on that basis. This case has a rather complicated history. However, after

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significant proceedings, an answer was filed on August 13, 2015 (Doc. 75). The court then

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issued a scheduling order, opening discovery and setting appropriate deadlines (Doc. 76).

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The two motions at issue in this order were both filed prior to the answer and

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scheduling order. As such, plaintiff’s request for the court to set a trial date is premature. The

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parties will need to complete discovery and file any dispositive motions deemed appropriate prior
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to the court setting a trial date. Similarly, plaintiff’s motion to compel was filed prior to answer

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and the court issuing the scheduling order and opening discovery. Until an answer is filed, the

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case is not at issue, and discovery cannot commence. Thus, any discovery requests plaintiff sent

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prior to the filing of the answer and scheduling order were premature and the defendants had no

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obligation to respond. Now that the case is at issue and the scheduling order in place, discovery

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has commenced. It appears there are additional discovery issues, which the court will address in

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a separate order.

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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff’s motion to set trial date
(Doc. 70) and motion to compel (Doc. 73) are denied without prejudice.

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DATED: March 24, 2016
______________________________________
CRAIG M. KELLISON
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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