Vandenburgh v. Solano County et al

Filing 9

FIRST INFORMATIONAL ORDER in prisoner civil rights case signed by District Judge Edward F. Shea on 01/08/09. (Manzer, C)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Plaintiff Mark J. Vandenburgh is a state prisoner proceeding pro se in this civil rights action. In litigating this action, all parties, v. SOLANO COUNTY, SOLANO COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT, Defendants. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA SACRAMENTO DIVISION MARK J. VANDENBURGH, Plaintiff, NO. CV-08-863-EFS FIRST INFORMATIONAL ORDER IN PRISONER CIVIL RIGHTS CASE

including those proceeding pro se, must comply with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Local Rules of the United States District Court, Eastern District of California. Failure to comply with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Local Rules, or a Court Order, including this Order, is grounds for appropriate sanctions, including dismissal of the action. Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b); LR 11-110.

This Order highlights specific rules of which Plaintiff should take particular note: 1. Documents intended to be filed with the Court by pro se litigants must be mailed to the Clerk of the Court, United States District Court, ORDER * 1

PDF created with pdfFactory trial version www.pdffactory.com

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

501 I Street, Room 4-200, Sacramento, California 95814. 133(d)(1). stricken. 2.

Local Rule 5-

All documents mailed improperly to a Judge's chambers will be

Each document submitted for filing must include the original Fed. R. Civ. P. 11(a); LR 7-131. required signature(s) will be

signature of the filing litigant(s). All documents submitted without the

stricken. Each separate document must be bound separately at the top left corner. LR 7-130(b). If a document is bound behind another document, it A document requesting Fed. R. Civ.

will not be filed or entered on the Court docket.

a Court order must be styled as a motion, not a letter. P. 7.

Documents submitted to the Court may be either typewritten or

handwritten, but must be legible, and writing shall be on one (1) side of the page only. LR 7-130 (modified). Every document submitted to the

Court must include your name, address, and prisoner identification number in the upper left-hand corner of the first page. LR 7-132. 3. You are not required to send the Court copies of your documents If the filing litigant

submitted for filing. LR 5-133(d)(2) (modified).

wishes the Court to return a file-stamped copy, he must include one copy for that purpose AND a pre-addressed postage paid envelope. The Court

cannot provide copies or mailing service for a litigant, even for an indigent plaintiff proceeding in forma pauperis. Copies of documents may

be obtained from the Court file by contacting Attorney's Diversified Services at 741 N. Fulton Street, Fresno, California 93728, 800-842-2695. 4. After Defendants have appeared by filing a response to the

complaint (i.e., an answer, a motion to dismiss, or a motion for summary judgment), and are represented by the office of the California State

ORDER * 2 PDF created with pdfFactory trial version www.pdffactory.com

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

Attorney General, Plaintiff is not required to serve copies of filings on Defendants or counsel, as counsel will receive service via the Court's electronic filing system. Any documents filed in a civil rights action

in which Defendants are not represented by the California State Attorney General must include a certificate of service stating that a copy of the document was served on the opposing litigant. Fed. R. Civ. P. 5; LR 5-135 (modified). A document submitted without the required proof of service Where a litigant is represented by private or other service on the litigant's attorney of record

will be stricken. government

counsel,

constitutes effective service. A sample Proof of Service form is attached hereto. 5. All filings must bear the file number assigned to the action,

followed by the initials of the District Judge to whom the case is assigned and the letters "PC." Where Plaintiff simultaneously pursues

more than (1) one action, he must file separate original documents and the appropriate number of copies pertains. in each action to which the document

Documents submitted listing more than one case number in the

caption will be stricken. 6. The Court cannot serve as a repository for the parties' evidence

(i.e., prison or medical records, witness affidavits, etc.). Litigants may not file evidence with the Court until the course of litigation brings the evidence into question (for example, on a motion for summary judgment, at trial, or when requested by the Court). Evidence improperly submitted to

the Court will either be returned or stricken. 7. The Eastern District of California converted to an electronic Pro se

filing, service, and storage system, effective January 3, 2005.

ORDER * 3 PDF created with pdfFactory trial version www.pdffactory.com

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

litigants are exempt from the electronic filing requirement and must submit all documents to the Court in paper. LR 5-133(b)(2). Paper

documents submitted by pro se litigants for filing will be scanned into the electronic Court file by the Clerk's Office. After being scanned into the electronic Court file, the paper documents will be retained in the Clerk's Office for a limited period of time and then discarded. 138(d). LR 39-

For this reason, pro se litigants are cautioned not to send When it is appropriate for pro se

original exhibits to the Court.

litigants to submit exhibits to the Court (see paragraph 6), the litigants shall retain their original exhibits and send photocopies to the Court. 8. After an answer is filed, the Court will issue an order opening

discovery, and setting the deadlines for completing discovery, amending the pleadings, and filing pre-trial dispositive motions. No discovery may be conducted without Court permission until an answer is filed and the Court issues the discovery order. Discovery propounded on a litigant is

self-executing, and must be served directly on the litigant from whom discovery is sought; litigants should not file copies of their discovery with the Court. LR 33-250, 34-250, 36-250. Discovery documents Where the

inappropriately submitted to the Court will be stricken.

discovery response is unsatisfactory, the litigant seeking discovery may file a motion to compel discovery, including a copy of the discovery propounded and the response thereto. Fed. R. Civ. P. 37. A motion to

compel must be accompanied by "a certification that the movant has in good faith conferred or attempted to confer with the litigant not making the disclosure in an effort to secure the disclosure without court action." Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(a)(1). In addition, at least ten (10) days before the

ORDER * 4 PDF created with pdfFactory trial version www.pdffactory.com

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

hearing, the litigants conferment in good

must file either: (1) a joint statement of together with a list and description of

faith

unresolved issues or (2) individual statements describing efforts to confer together with a list and description of unresolved issues.

Statements must not exceed ten (10) pages without first obtaining the District Judge's approval. A discovery motion that does not comply with

all applicable rules will be stricken and may result in the imposition of sanctions. 9. Because Plaintiff is incarcerated and proceeds pro se, all prewill be submitted without a hearing. LR 78-230(m).

trial motions

Litigants are referred to Local Rule 78-230(m) for the briefing schedule on motions. 10. All deadlines will be strictly enforced. Requests for time

extensions must state the reason the extension is needed and must be filed with the Court before the deadline in question. LR 6-144.

11. A pro se plaintiff has an affirmative duty to keep the Court and opposing parties apprised of his address. LR 83-182(f). If a plaintiff

moves and fails to file a notice of change of address, service of Court orders at Plaintiff's prior address shall constitute effective notice. Id. If mail directed to Plaintiff is returned by the U.S. Postal Service If the

as undeliverable, the Court will not attempt to re-mail it.

address is not updated within sixty (60) days of the mail being returned, the action will be dismissed for failure to prosecute. 12. LR 83-183(b).

The Court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners

seeking relief against a governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). The Court must dismiss a

ORDER * 5 PDF created with pdfFactory trial version www.pdffactory.com

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

complaint or portion thereof if the prisoner has raised claims that are legally "frivolous or malicious," that fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or that seek monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1),(2). The Court will

direct the United States Marshal to serve Plaintiff's complaint only after the Court has screened the complaint and determined that it contains cognizable claims for relief against the named Defendants. The Court has

a large number of prisoner civil rights cases pending before it and will screen plaintiff's complaint in due course. soon as any action is taken in your case. The Court will notify you as Due to the large number of

civil actions pending before the Court, the Clerk is unable to respond in writing to individual inquiries regarding case status. As long as you

keep the Court apprised of your current address, you will receive all decisions affecting the status of the case. As noted, the requirements set forth in Local Rules 5-130, 5133(d)(2), and 7-135 have been modified in this Order. These the

modifications apply to civil rights and habeas cases filed in

Sacramento division of the Eastern District of California by prisoners proceeding pro se. IT IS SO ORDERED. The District Court Executive is directed to enter

this Order and provide a copy to Plaintiff. DATED this 8th day of January 2009. S/ Edward F. Shea EDWARD F. SHEA United States District Judge
C:\WINDOWS\Temp\notes101AA1\ED.CA.863.Info.Order.wpd

ORDER * 6 PDF created with pdfFactory trial version www.pdffactory.com