Murphy v. Midland Funding, LLC

Filing 11

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Kendall J. Newman on 04/12/17 ORDERING that the 10 Motion for Discovery is DENIED without prejudice as premature; all discovery is STAYED until the 04/27/17 status conference. (Benson, A)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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NICHOLAS JAMES MURPHY,

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No. 2:17-cv-0242-JAM-KJN PS

Plaintiff,
v.

ORDER

MIDLAND FUNDING, LLC,

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Defendant.

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A status (pretrial scheduling) conference in this matter is presently set for April 27, 2017.
(ECF No. 8.)
On April 10, 2017, plaintiff filed a “motion for discovery.” (ECF No. 10.) However,

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upon review of the motion, it is actually a set of requests for admission to defendant. Discovery

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requests, and responses to such requests, should not ordinarily be filed on the court record, but

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merely served on the parties to the action. Moreover, a discovery motion at this juncture is

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premature, because plaintiff has merely requested defendant to answer the requests for admission.

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In light of plaintiff’s pro se status, the filing of a discovery motion was likely an inadvertent error.

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If plaintiff at a later juncture believes that defendant’s discovery responses are somehow

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insufficient, and wishes to bring a discovery motion, he must comply with the Federal Rules of

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Civil Procedure and Local Rule 251, including the specific meet-and-confer and briefing
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requirements.1

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Therefore, the court denies the motion for discovery without prejudice as premature. The
court also stays discovery until the April 27, 2017 status conference.

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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

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1. Plaintiff’s motion for discovery (ECF No. 10) is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE as

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premature.

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2. All discovery is STAYED until the April 27, 2017 status conference.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: April 12, 2017

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A copy of the court’s Local Rules is available on the court’s website or from the Clerk’s Office.
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