Tate v. Andres

Filing 61

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Allison Claire on 05/21/20 DENYING 60 Motion for sanctions and to find defendant in contempt. (Plummer, M)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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DEREK TATE,

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Plaintiff,

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No. 2:18-cv-0822 KJM AC P

v.

ORDER

J. ANDRES,

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Defendant.

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Plaintiff, a state prisoner proceeding pro se with a civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C.

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§ 1983, has filed a motion for sanctions and to find defendant in contempt. ECF No. 60.

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By order filed March 26, 2020, the undersigned granted defendant’s request to extend the

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dispositive motion deadline to April 24, 2020. ECF No. 54. Defendant then moved to extend the

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deadline an additional five days, up to April 29, 2020. ECF No. 55. On April 27, 2020, the court

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granted plaintiff’s motion to compel and vacated the dispositive motion deadline. ECF No. 56 at

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6-7. The motion for an extension of time was accordingly denied as moot, and the dispositive

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motion deadline was to be re-set upon resolution of the discovery matter. Id. at 7. Defendant

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filed a motion for summary judgment two days later. ECF No. 57. That motion was vacated, and

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defendant was advised that he could file a motion for summary judgment after discovery was

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fully resolved and a new dispositive motion deadline was set. ECF No. 58.

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Plaintiff now argues that defendant disregarded a court order when he filed a motion for

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summary judgment after the extended deadline of April 24, 2020, and after the dispositive motion

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deadline was vacated. ECF No. 59. He claims that defendant’s only purpose was to harass him

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and retaliate against him for filing a motion to compel. Id. at 6-8. Plaintiff asks that the court

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sanction defendant by prohibiting him from filing another motion for summary judgment, holding

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him in contempt, and issuing a fine. Id. at 12.

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Although the dispositive motion deadline was vacated, defendant was not prohibited from

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filing a motion for summary judgment and therefore did not violate a court order. Furthermore,

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defendant is entitled to seek summary judgment if he believes it is appropriate and will be given

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that opportunity to do so once the discovery matter is fully resolved.
Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff’s motion for sanctions and to find

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defendant in contempt (ECF No. 60) is denied.

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DATED: May 21, 2020

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