Heilman v. Cherniss et al

Filing 249

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Edmund F. Brennan on 09/27/18 GRANTING IN PART 240 plaintiff's motion to take more than 10 depositions as articulated at the hearing and as summarized in this order and GRANTING 241 plaintiff's request to seal, but only, as articulated at the hearing and in this order, with respect to discovery in this matter. The Clerk is directed to file exhibits three through nine to the declaration of Jason German and the unredacted version of the joint statem ent on plaintiffs motion to take more than ten depositions under seal. The foregoing documents are to be sealed indefinitely for the purposes of discovery and, other than the court itself, only designated counsel in this action shall be allowed to view them. The deadline for fact discovery in this matter is extended to 10/05/18.(Plummer, M)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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THOMAS JOHN HEILMAN,

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No. 2:11-cv-0042-JAM-EFB P

Plaintiff,
v.

ORDER AFTER HEARING

C. CHERNISS, et al.,
Defendants.

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Thomas Heilman (“plaintiff”) has filed a motion to take more than ten depositions (ECF

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No. 240) and a request to seal documents (ECF No. 241). On August 29, 2018, the court held a

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hearing on both matters. Attorney Jason German appeared on behalf of plaintiff; Attorneys Tyler

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Onitsuka and William McCaslin appeared on behalf of defendants. For the reasons stated on the

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record and summarized below, plaintiff’s motion to take more than ten depositions is granted in

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part. The request to seal is granted, but solely for the purposes of discovery. Finally, the deadline

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for fact discovery will be extended.
Motion to Take More Than Ten Depositions

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Plaintiff seeks to take a total of seventeen depositions. At the time of the filing of his

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motion, he had taken four. At the hearing, the parties advised the court that, since the motion’s

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filing, plaintiff had taken four more depositions. Specifically, since the filing of this motion,

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plaintiff has deposed:
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1. Travyon Harbor (Witness Number One);1

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2. Charles Edwards (Witness Number Three);

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3. Tracy Sullivan (Witness Number Seven); and

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4. Tony Lee (Witness Number Eight).

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The parties also advised the court that inmate Gregory Dyas (Witness Number Two) has

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indicated that he is not amenable to being deposed in this matter. Based on Mr. Dyas’ reluctance,

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plaintiff states that he will not be pursuing that deposition any further. Finally, plaintiff advised

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the court that he had withdrawn his request to depose Nicole Daniel (Witness Number Eleven).

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Thus, plaintiff’s motion is granted in part and as to:

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1. Daniel Patillo (Witness Number Four);

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2. Victor Cordero (Witness Number Five);

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3. Timoteo Gomez (Witnesses Number Six);

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4. Daniel Ross (Witness Number Nine);

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5. Von Motschenbacher (Witness Number Ten); and

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6.

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Plaintiff’s request for a Fed. R. Civ. P. 30(b)(6) deposition of the California Department

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of Corrections and Rehabilitation is granted in part. At the hearing, plaintiff’s counsel indicated

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that the primary purpose of this deposition was for authentication of documents. Defendants’

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counsel indicated that they might be able to stipulate to the authenticity of at least some of the

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documents at issue. Thus, plaintiff may proceed with this deposition, but only after the parties

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meet and confer as to the possibility of stipulating to the authenticity of the relevant documents.

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Michele Ortega (Witness Number Twelve).

Request to Seal

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For the reasons stated on the record, plaintiff’s request to seal exhibits three through nine

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to the declaration of Jason German (which was filed in support of plaintiff’s motion to take more

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ten depositions) is granted. Plaintiff’s request to seal the unredacted version of the joint statement

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on that motion which quotes and refers to the foregoing exhibits is also granted. These

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The numeric designations refer to those given in the joint statement.
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documents will be filed under seal, as the court advised the parties at the hearing, solely for the

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purposes of discovery. In the event any of these sealed documents are relied upon in a future

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dispositive motion or at trial, the parties will have to file a renewed request to seal directed to the

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district judge assigned to this case.

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Extension of the Discovery Deadline
The previous deadline for fact discovery was September 4, 2018. ECF No. 235. As stated
at the hearing, that deadline is extended to October 5, 2018.

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Conclusion
Accordingly, it is ORDERED that:
1. Plaintiff’s motion to take more than ten depositions (ECF No. 240) is GRANTED
in part as articulated at the hearing and as summarized in this order;
2. Plaintiff’s request to seal (ECF No. 241) is GRANTED, but only, as articulated at the
hearing and in this order, with respect to discovery in this matter;
3. The Clerk is directed to file exhibits three through nine to the declaration

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of Jason German and the unredacted version of the joint statement on plaintiff’s motion to take

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more than ten depositions under seal;

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4. The foregoing documents are to be sealed indefinitely for the purposes of discovery

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and, other than the court itself, only designated counsel in this action shall be allowed to view

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them; and

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5. The deadline for fact discovery in this matter is extended to October 5, 2018.
DATED: September 27, 2018.

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