Gilliam v. Gilliam et al

Filing 7

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Allison Claire on 12/16/14 VACATING 5 and 6 Motions for court order for service of process. (Manzer, C)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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JERRY GILLIAM,

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Plaintiff,

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No. 2:14-cv-02454-MCE-AC

v.

ORDER

MA ELIZA CANGGAS GILLIAM, et al.,

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Defendants.

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On December 9, 2014, plaintiff filed two (2) motions seeking the court’s assistance in

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effecting service of process upon defendant Ma Eliza Canggas Gilliam. ECF Nos. 9 & 10.

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Plaintiff’s motions allege that defendants J. Christina Alvarez Aulakh (erroneously sued as “J.

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Christina Alverez Aulaki”), ECF No. 4, Debbie Sue Magistrado, Marsha A. McHugh, and James

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Robert Gilliam know the whereabouts of Defendant Canggas but have refused to reveal her

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location to plaintiff after repeated requests. ECF No. 9 at 1–2; ECF No. 10 at 1–2. The court

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construes plaintiff’s motion as a motion for early discovery.1 However, plaintiff’s motion is not

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As a general rule, discovery proceedings take place only after the defendant has been served;
however, in rare cases, courts have made exceptions, permitting limited discovery to ensue after
filing of the complaint to permit the plaintiff to learn the identifying facts necessary to permit
service on the defendant. See e.g., Gillespie v. Civiletti, 629 F.2d 637, 642 (9th Cir. 1980)
(finding the district court abused its discretion in dismissing the case with respect to the John Doe
defendants without requiring the named defendants to answer interrogatories seeking the names
and addresses of the supervisors in charge of the relevant facilities during the relevant time
period).
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properly noticed, and therefore must be vacated. See Local Rule 230(b).
In accordance with the foregoing, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff’s December

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9, 2014, motions for court order for service of process, ECF Nos. 9 & 10, are vacated.

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DATED: December 16, 2014

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