Cleveland v. Janssen Pharmaceuticals

Filing 78

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Allison Claire on 1/17/2019 DENYING 67 Motion to Compel and 71 Motion to Compel. (Washington, S)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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DOMINGO L. CLEVELAND, SR.,

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No. 2:16-cv-02308-MCE-AC

Plaintiff,
v.

ORDER

JANSSEN PHARMACEUTICALS,
Defendant.

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Plaintiff is incarcerated and is proceeding in pro se. ECF No. 73. This matter is before

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the court on plaintiffs’ motion to compel depositions (ECF No. 67) and plaintiff’s motion to

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compel (ECF No. 71). Defendant filed an opposition (ECF No. 74). Upon review of the briefing,

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both motions are DENIED.

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Plaintiff’s motion to compel depositions appears to seek production of transcripts from

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defendant’s depositions of Dr. Nima Kabirian Dehkordi on January 30, 2018, Dr. Sandy En-Lee

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on February 1, 2018, and Dr. Bryan Chow on January 30, 2018. ECF No. 67 at 1. Defendant

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represents it has already produced to plaintiff transcripts of the depositions of Drs. Dehkordi and

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Chow, and that the deposition of Dr. En-Lee was cancelled. ECF No. 74 at 1. For this reason,

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the motion to compel depositions (ECF No. 67) is DENIED as MOOT.

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Plaintiff’s motion to compel simply asks defendant to produce to plaintiff a copy of “the

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evidence they have.” ECF No. 71 at 1. The court cannot compel discovery in such broad terms.
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A motion to compel is the mechanism for seeking court intervention when a party has failed to

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respond adequately to written requests for specific discovery pursuant to the Federal Rules of

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Civil Procedure. When one party wants the other to provide specific documents, he must request

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those specific documents from other party under Rule 32. Discovery requests are not filed with

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the court; they are simply directed to the party from whom discovery is sought. If the party

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propounding the request is dissatisfied with the response to a written request for discovery, he

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may then bring a motion to compel under Rule 37. Such a motion must include the specific

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requests that were made, the responding party’s responses, and the reasons for the moving party’s

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dissatisfaction. Because the motion before the court does not demonstrate that specific discovery

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was requested, or provide any of the information essential to adjudication of a motion to compel,

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it must be DENIED.

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It is HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff’s motion to compel depositions (ECF No. 67) and

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motion to compel (ECF No. 71) are DENIED.

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DATED: January 17, 2019

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