Singanonh v. Fine et al

Filing 54

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Allison Claire on 08/31/21 GRANTING 52 Motion to Compel. Within 14 days of the service of this order, plaintiff must fully respond to defendants interrogatories and requests for production without objection. Defendant may file a motion for sanctions within 30 days of the service of this order if plaintiff fails to comply with this order. (Plummer, M)

Case 2:18-cv-01824-KJM-AC Document 54 Filed 08/31/21 Page 1 of 3
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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TIENGKHAM SINGANONH,

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Plaintiff,

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No. 2:18-cv-1824 KJM AC P

v.

ORDER

R. FINE, et al.,

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Defendants.

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Plaintiff is a former state prisoner proceeding pro se with a civil rights action pursuant to

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42 U.S.C. § 1983. Currently pending before the court is defendant’s motion to compel. ECF No.

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52.

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The scope of discovery under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(1) is broad.

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Discovery may be obtained as to “any nonprivileged matter that is relevant to any party’s claim or

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defense and proportional to the needs of the case.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1). “Information within

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this scope of discovery need not be admissible in evidence to be discoverable.” Id. The court,

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however, may limit discovery if it is “unreasonably cumulative or duplicative, or can be obtained

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from some other source that is more convenient, less burdensome, or less expensive;” or if the

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party who seeks discovery “has had ample opportunity to obtain the information by discovery;”

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or if “the proposed discovery is outside the scope permitted by Rule 26(b)(1).” Fed. R. Civ. P.

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26(b)(2)(C). The purpose of discovery is to “make a trial less a game of blind man’s bluff and
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Case 2:18-cv-01824-KJM-AC Document 54 Filed 08/31/21 Page 2 of 3
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more a fair contest with the basic issues and facts disclosed to the fullest practicable extent,”

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United States v. Procter & Gamble Co., 356 U.S. 677, 682 (1958) (citation omitted), and “to

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narrow and clarify the basic issues between the parties,” Hickman v. Taylor, 329 U.S. 495, 501

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(1947).

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Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37, a motion to compel may be made if “a party

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fails to answer an interrogatory submitted under Rule 33; or a party fails to produce documents or

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fails to respond that inspection will be permitted . . . as requested under Rule 34.” Fed. R. Civ. P.

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37(a)(3)(B)(iii)-(iv). The party seeking to compel discovery has the burden of showing that the

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discovery sought is relevant or that its denial will cause substantial prejudice. Aros v. Fansler,

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548 F. App’x 500, 501 (9th Cir. 2013) (citing Hallett v. Morgan, 296 F.3d 732, 751 (9th Cir.

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2002)). The opposing party is “required to carry a heavy burden of showing why discovery was

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denied.” Blankenship v. Hearst Corp., 519 F.2d 418, 429 (9th Cir. 1975).

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On June 28, 2021, defendant filed a motion to compel responses to his interrogatories and

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requests for production. ECF No. 52. Defendant asserts that the discovery requests were served

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on plaintiff by mail on May 3, 2021, and responses were due forty-five days later—on June 21,

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2021—but that plaintiff failed to provide any responses. ECF No. 52-1 at 2.

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After plaintiff failed to respond to the motion to compel, he was given an additional

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twenty-one days to file a response and cautioned that failure to respond would be construed as

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consent to the court granting the motion. ECF No. 53. Twenty-one days have now passed and

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plaintiff has not filed a response.

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Review of the interrogatories and requests for production shows that they appear to be

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relevant within the meaning of Rule 26(b)(1). See ECF No. 52-2 at 4-8 (interrogatories), 12-15

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(requests for production). The motion to compel will therefore be granted and plaintiff will be

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required to respond to defendant’s interrogatories and request for production without objection.

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Plaintiff is cautioned that failure to comply with this order and provide complete responses to

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defendant’s discovery requests will result in sanctions that may range from exclusion of evidence

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all the way up to dismissal of the case, depending upon the degree of non-compliance.

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Case 2:18-cv-01824-KJM-AC Document 54 Filed 08/31/21 Page 3 of 3
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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

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1. Defendant’s motion to compel, ECF No. 52, is GRANTED.

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2. Within fourteen days of the service of this order, plaintiff must fully respond to

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defendant’s interrogatories and requests for production without objection.
3. Defendant may file a motion for sanctions within thirty days of the service of this

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order if plaintiff fails to comply with this order.

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DATED: August 31, 2021

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