Coston v. Nangalama et al

Filing 259

STIPULATION and ORDER signed by Senior Judge Morrison C. England, Jr on 10/20/2023 AMENDING 226 Order reopening discovery and EXTENDING the close of Discovery by 150 days to 3/25/2024. The Parties are further ORDERED to file a Joint Status Report no later than 30 days after the close of discovery. (Clemente Licea, O)

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Julie A. Shepard (SBN 175538)
[e-mail]
Alice S. Kim (SBN 317479)
[e-mail]
Eric Wolff (SBN 341180)
[e-mail]
Tal Ratner Solovey (SBN 348113)
[e-mail]
JENNER & BLOCK LLP
515 South Flower Street, Suite 3300
Los Angeles, CA 90071-2246
Telephone:
[phone]
Facsimile:
[phone]

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Attorneys for Plaintiff Danny Murphy Coston

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Additional Counsel Listed on Signature Page

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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SACRAMENTO DIVISION

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DANNY MURPHY COSTON

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Plaintiff,
v.
ANDREW NANGALAMA, et al.
Defendants.

Case No. 2:10-cv-02009-MCE-EFB
STIPULATION AND ORDER TO EXTEND
DISCOVERY DEADLINE
[Declaration of Eric Wolff filed concurrently
herewith]
Judge:
Hon. Morrison C. England, Jr.
Courtroom: 7

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STIPULATION AND ORDER TO EXTEND DISCOVERY DEADLINE
Case No. 2:10-cv-02009-MCE-EFB

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SUBJECT TO THE APPROVAL OF THE COURT, Plaintiff Danny Murphy Coston (“Mr.

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Coston”) and Defendant Andrew Nangalama (“Dr. Nangalama,” together, the “Parties”), through

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their counsel, jointly submit the following Stipulation and Proposed Order for an extension of the

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discovery cut-off due to the need to reschedule depositions and to allow for California State Prison

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– Sacramento (“CSP-Sac”) and Mr. Coston to litigate, and thereafter for this Court to adjudicate,

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Mr. Coston’s pending Motion to Compel CSP-Sac to comply with the Court’s August 18, 2023

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Order (ECF No. 255) (the “Second Motion to Compel”), which Mr. Coston has agreed to withdraw

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and refile at a later date to accommodate counsel for Dr. Nangalama and CSP-Sac, as described

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below.

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RECITALS

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WHEREAS, by the Order reopening discovery for 120 days from the date the Order was

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electronically filed, October 17, 2022, (ECF No. 226), the close of discovery was set for February

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14, 2023;

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WHEREAS, Mr. Coston promptly prepared and served written discovery on Defendants

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Dr. Nangalama and Randall Hale1 (together, “Defendants”), serving requests for production on

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November 3, 2022, and serving requests for admission and interrogatories on December 13, 2022;

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WHEREAS, Mr. Coston personally served non-party CSP-Sac with Subpoenas Duces

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Tecum on November 15, 2022 and January 30, 2023 (the “Subpoenas”);

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WHEREAS, CSP-Sac did not respond to either of the Subpoenas by their respective
deadlines;

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WHEREAS, during the period of December 2022 through June 2023, CSP-Sac represented

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that it was experiencing staff shortages, a backlog of requests, and technical issues that contributed

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to its delays in responding to the Subpoenas;

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Randall Hale is currently unrepresented in this proceeding. The Court granted counsel’s motion
to withdraw from the representation of Mr. Hale and ordered him to file a status report with the
court by thirty days after proof of service of the order on Mr. Hale was filed (ECF No. 232).
Withdrawal was effective on January 3, 2023 when the proof of service of the Order on Mr. Hale
was filed. (See ECF No. 235). Mr. Hale has not filed a status report, and, as described in the
Parties’ motion to extend discovery deadline, appears not to be participating in the litigation. (See
ECF No. 236 at 5).
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STIPULATION AND [PROPOSED] ORDER TO EXTEND DISCOVERY DEADLINE
Case No. 2:10-cv-02009-MCE-EFB

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WHEREAS, due to the delays in CSP-Sac’s production, on December 27, February 9, and

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April 20, 2023, this Court granted the Parties’ prior stipulations to extend discovery, ultimately

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extending the close of discovery to August 28, 2023 (ECF Nos. 234, 238, 240);

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WHEREAS, on July 11 and 14, 2023, Mr. Coston noticed the depositions of Defendants

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and served deposition subpoenas on seven non-party witnesses scheduling their depositions for

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various dates in mid-July and August and before the close of discovery on August 28, 2023;

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WHEREAS, counsel for Dr. Nangalama requested to reschedule all of the depositions,
except for Dr. Nangalama’s deposition;

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WHEREAS, on July 27, 2023, Mr. Coston filed his first Motion to Compel CSP-Sac to

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conduct a diligent search for, and produce, all documents responsive to the Subpoenas and serve a

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declaration on Mr. Coston detailing its efforts to find responsive documents and related

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information (ECF No. 247) (the “First Motion to Compel”);

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WHEREAS, CSP-Sac and Mr. Coston resolved the First Motion to Compel by entering a

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Court-ordered stipulation to the relief Mr. Coston sought in the First Motion to Compel, namely

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that CSP-Sac would conduct a diligent search for all documents responsive to the Subpoenas and

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produce those documents by August 23, 2023, and serve a declaration on Mr. Coston detailing its

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search efforts and related information by August 25, 2023 (the “Stipulation re CSP-Sac’s Response

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to Plaintiff’s Subpoenas”) (ECF No. 248);

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WHEREAS, this Court granted the Stipulation re CSP-Sac’s Response to Plaintiff’s
Subpoenas (ECF No. 251);

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WHEREAS, the Parties stipulated and asked the Court to extend the close of discovery to

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allow the Parties enough time to prepare for, reschedule, and conduct depositions after the date

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CSP-Sac was ordered to complete its document production and provide a declaration detailing its

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efforts to find responsive documents (ECF No. 249);

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WHEREAS, on August 23, 2023, CSP-Sac served written responses referring to

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documents it had already produced prior to the filing of Mr. Coston’s First Motion to Compel and

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represented in these written responses that its search for documents responsive to the subpoena

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STIPULATION AND [PROPOSED] ORDER TO EXTEND DISCOVERY DEADLINE
Case No. 2:10-cv-02009-MCE-EFB

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Mr. Coston served on January 30, 2023 was still ongoing despite the deadline for production being

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August 23, 2023;
WHEREAS, this Court granted the Parties’ stipulation to extend the close of discovery,

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and extended the close of discovery to October 27, 2023 (ECF No. 250);

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WHEREAS, CSP-Sac requested an additional two weeks to provide the declaration
detailing CSP-Sac’s efforts to find responsive documents (ECF No. 252);

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WHEREAS, the Court granted CSP-Sac’s request for additional time to produce the

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declaration and ordered the declaration detailing CSP-Sac’s efforts to find responsive documents

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be due September 11, 2023 (ECF No. 254);

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WHEREAS, since then, counsel has diligently moved the case forward and taken six

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depositions between September 8, 2023 and October 6, 2023, and attempted to take a seventh

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deposition on September 27, 2023, but on the day of the deposition the witness became unable to

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attend;

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WHEREAS, on October 11, 2023 Mr. Coston filed a Motion to Compel CSP-Sac to comply

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with the Court’s August 18, 2023 Order compelling it to diligently search for, and produce, all

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documents responsive to Mr. Coston’s subpoenas to the prison and provide a declaration detailing

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its search efforts (ECF No. 255);

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WHEREAS, three depositions that were subpoenaed in July 2023 have not yet taken place

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and cannot be completed prior to the current close of discovery on October 27, 2023, despite

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counsel’s diligent efforts because:

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i) Mr. Coston cannot effectively or efficiently conduct non-party CSP-Sac’s Fed. R. Civ.

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P. 30(b)(6) deposition until the Parties’ have resolved their dispute regarding CSP-

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Sac’s production, this dispute is the subject of Mr. Coston’s pending Second Motion to

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Compel CSP-Sac (ECF No. 255);

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ii) a non-party witness became unavailable on the day of their deposition scheduled

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before the close of discovery and there is not sufficient time to schedule it before the

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current close of discovery; and

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STIPULATION AND [PROPOSED] ORDER TO EXTEND DISCOVERY DEADLINE
Case No. 2:10-cv-02009-MCE-EFB

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iii) another non-party witness—a former employee of CSP-Sac, for whom CSP-Sac’s

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counsel accepted service of Mr. Coston’s deposition subpoena—did not communicate

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with CSP-Sac’s counsel regarding deposition scheduling and must now be re-served

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personally with a deposition subpoena by Mr. Coston’s counsel;

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WHEREAS, counsel for Dr. Nangalama and CSP-Sac is unavailable between November
6, 2023 and December 8, 2023;

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WHEREAS, at the request of counsel for Dr. Nangalama and CSP-Sac, Mr. Coston will

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withdraw his Second Motion to Compel (ECF No. 255) without prejudice and refile it after counsel

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for CSP-Sac and Dr. Nangalama returns from her period of unavailability;

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WHEREAS, counsel for CSP-Sac and Dr. Nangalama, who received a draft of the Joint

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Statement of Discovery Disagreement regarding Mr. Coston’s Second Motion to Compel (the

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“Joint Statement”) with Mr. Coston’s portions completed on October 12, 2023, will provide Mr.

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Coston’s counsel with a completed version of the Joint Statement by Wednesday, December 20,

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2023, so that Mr. Coston's counsel can file the Joint Statement the following day, December 21,

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2023 and notice the hearing on the motion for January 10, 2024, before Magistrate Judge Edmund

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F. Brennan, or if that date is unavailable, as soon as possible thereafter;

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WHEREAS, the Parties need additional time to litigate the Second Motion to Compel given

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the unavailability of counsel for Dr. Nangalama and CSP-Sac between November 6, 2023 and

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December 8, 2023, and also need additional time to reschedule, prepare for, and conduct the three

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outstanding depositions; and

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WHEREAS, a trial date has not been set in this case, so extending the discovery deadline

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would not affect the schedule in this case except to require an adjustment to the date by which the

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Parties are to file a Joint Status Report.

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STIPULATION

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NOW, THEREFORE, the Parties hereby agree as follows subject to the Court’s approval:

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The Parties agree to extend the close of discovery by 150 days to Monday, March 25, 2024.

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SO STIPULATED.

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STIPULATION AND [PROPOSED] ORDER TO EXTEND DISCOVERY DEADLINE
Case No. 2:10-cv-02009-MCE-EFB

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Dated: October 18, 2023

JENNER & BLOCK LLP

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By:

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/s/ Julie A. Shepard
Julie A. Shepard
Alice S. Kim
Eric Wolff
Tal Ratner Solovey
Attorneys for Plaintiff Danny Murphy Coston

Dated: October 17, 2023

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/s/ Amie Bears (authorized on 10/17/23)
Catherine Woodbridge (SBN 186186)
Amie Bears (SBN 242372)
1300 I Street, Suite 125
P.O. Box 944255
Sacramento, CA 94244-2550
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]
[e-mail]
Attorneys for Defendant Andrew Nangalama
Attorneys for Non-Party California State Prison –
Sacramento

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STIPULATION AND [PROPOSED] ORDER TO EXTEND DISCOVERY DEADLINE
Case No. 2:10-cv-02009-MCE-EFB

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ORDER

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Based on the above stipulation, the joint motion of the parties for an extension of the

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close of discovery is granted. The Order reopening discovery (ECF No. 226) is amended to

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extend the close of discovery by 150 days to Monday, March 25, 2024. The Parties are further

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ordered to file a Joint Status Report not later than 30 days after the close of discovery.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: October 20, 2023

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STIPULATION AND [PROPOSED] ORDER TO EXTEND DISCOVERY DEADLINE
Case No. 2:10-cv-02009-MCE-EFB