Blaine v. California Health Care Facility et al

Filing 95

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Allison Claire on 03/31/17 granting 94 Motion to Appoint Counsel. The clerk of court is directed to contact Sujean Park, ADR coordinator for the following purposes: To expeditiously locate an attorney admitted to practice in this court who iswilling to accept appointment to represent plaintiff for the limited purposes noted above; and after locating counsel willing to accept appointment on plaintiffs behalf, toschedule a mandatory settlement conference within the following two to three months. The clerk of court is also directed to send plaintiff together with a copy of this order, a copy of the court's order filed 3/15/17 93 . (cc: ADR Director) (Plummer, M) Modified on 4/3/2017 (Plummer, M).

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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VANCE BLAINE,

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No. 2:13-cv-2163 KJM AC P

Plaintiff,
v.

ORDER

CALIFORNIA HEALTH CARE
FACILITY, et al.,
Defendants.

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Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis with this civil rights

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action filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff, who is blind or nearly blind, is suing three

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medical providers – defendants Crosson, Sabin and Ditomas – for deliberate indifference to his

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serious medical needs. By order filed March 15, 2017, the court found that plaintiff’s Second

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Amended Complaint (SAC), see ECF No. 90, states cognizable Eighth Amendment claims

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against defendants Crosson, Sabin and Ditomas, but does not state a cognizable claim under the

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Americans with Disabilities Act. See ECF No. 93. Defendants were directed to file their

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responses to plaintiff’s SAC within thirty days. Id.

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On March 20, 2017, plaintiff filed a notice of change of address and request for

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appointment of counsel. Due to cancer, plaintiff has been transferred to hospice care at the

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California Medical Facility, where he has been told he may live only six to ten more months, and
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where he has no access to a law library. As the docket reflects, this court previously found that

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extraordinary circumstances in this case warrant the appointment of counsel; this finding is now

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both underscored and urgent. The court endeavored without success to obtain appointed counsel

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for plaintiff and then, through repeated requests to the Office of the California Attorney General

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and prison officials, sought to ensure that adequate support services were available to plaintiff to

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pursue this action on his own.

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Because time is now of the essence, the court’s Pro Bono Coordinator will again be tasked

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with seeking to locate an attorney willing to represent plaintiff, for the limited purposes of

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meeting with plaintiff, reviewing his documents, and participating in a mandatory settlement

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conference. Appointed counsel may conduct limited discovery if necessary, on an expedited and

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informal basis, to review and/or obtain all of plaintiff’s relevant medical records (including

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through the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation) and any relevant documents

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in each of the defendants’ possession. Defendants are directed to promptly produce all relevant

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documents. No discovery may be sought from plaintiff, as all of plaintiff’s relevant documents

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appear to be attached to his SAC (335 pages). No depositions will be conducted at this time.

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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

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1. Plaintiff’s motion for appointment of counsel, ECF No. 94, is granted.

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2. The Clerk of Court is directed to contact Sujean Park, Alternative Dispute Resolution

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Coordinator, for the following purposes:

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A. To expeditiously locate an attorney admitted to practice in this court who is

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willing to accept appointment to represent plaintiff for the limited purposes noted above;

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and

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B. After locating counsel willing to accept appointment on plaintiff’s behalf, to

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schedule a mandatory settlement conference within the following two to three months.

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3. The Clerk of Court is also directed to send plaintiff, together with a copy of this order,
a copy of the court’s order filed March 15, 2017 (ECF No. 93).
SO ORDERED.
DATED: March 31, 2017

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