(PC)Garcia Jr v. Chandra et al
Filing
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ORDER signed by Chief District Judge Troy L. Nunley on 1/24/2025 DENYING 41 & 44 Motion for Reconsideration. (Deputy Clerk OML)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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RUBEN DARIO GARCIA, JR.,
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No. 2:22-cv-01221-TLN-CSK
Plaintiff,
v.
ORDER
A. CHANDRA, et al.,
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Defendants,
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This matter is before the Court on pro se Plaintiff Ruben Dario Garcia, Jr.’s (“Plaintiff”)
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Motions for Reconsideration of the assigned magistrate judge’s November 14, 2024, order and
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November 22, 2024 order. (ECF Nos. 41, 44.) Defendants J. Weiss, J. Quiring, A. Chandra, K.
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Mohr, and J. Charon (“Defendants”) filed an opposition to Plaintiff’s second motion. (ECF No.
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46.) For the reasons set forth below, the Court DENIES Plaintiff’s motions.
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I.
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Plaintiff filed this civil rights action on July 11, 2022. (ECF No. 1.) His First Amended
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Complaint alleges four causes of action. (ECF No. 14.) First, Plaintiff alleges that while he was
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housed at Mule Creek State Prison, Defendants J. Weiss, J. Quiring, A. Chandra, K. Mohr and J.
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Charon (collectively, “Defendants”) sought to chill his First Amendment rights through actions
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including, but not limited to, filing a Rules Violation Report (“RVR”) against Plaintiff in
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retaliation for Plaintiff filing a grievance against Defendant A. Chandra. (Id. at 16–19.) Second,
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Plaintiff alleges Defendants J. Quiring and J. Weiss violated his due process rights in connection
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with a disciplinary hearing in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. (Id. at 19.) Third,
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Plaintiff alleges Defendants violated his Eighth Amendment rights by removing him from his
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existing housing and placing him in segregated housing, despite their knowledge that segregated
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housing “den[ied] or interfered with [Plaintiff’s] medically recommended mental health treatment
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and care[.]” (Id. at 20.) Finally, Plaintiff alleges Defendants collectively conspired to violate his
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constitutional rights. (Id. at 21.)
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FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
After the case failed to settle, Defendants filed an Answer. (ECF No. 25.) The magistrate
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judge then issued a discovery and scheduling order. (ECF No. 26.) The order set the discovery
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deadline for September 13, 2024, and the pretrial motions deadline for December 6, 2024. (Id. at
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6.) The order further noted that responses to written discovery requests were due forty-five days
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after the request was served. (Id. at 5.)
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Plaintiff subsequently filed two motions for the appointment of a psychiatric and mental
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health expert and a prison electronic records expert. (ECF Nos. 27, 31.) The magistrate judge
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denied Plaintiff’s motions without prejudice on four main grounds. (ECF No. 34.) First, the
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magistrate judge concluded it had no authority to appoint an expert witness for Plaintiff’s own
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benefit. (Id. at 4.) Second, the magistrate judge noted 28 U.S.C. § 1915 does not allow a court to
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appoint and pay an expert for Plaintiff’s own benefit. (Id.) Third, the magistrate judge
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determined plaintiff’s motions for a neutral expert witness were premature. (Id. at 5.) Finally,
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the magistrate judge concluded that Plaintiff’s claims were not so complex as to require the
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appointment of an expert witness at this time. (Id.) Plaintiff now seeks reconsideration of the
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magistrate judge’s order. (ECF No. 41.)
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Plaintiff also propounded ten sets of discovery on Defendants but did not provide proof of
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service. (ECF No. 39 at 4.) Defendants responded to Plaintiff on July 30, 2024, but neglected to
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contain Plaintiff’s California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (“CDCR”)
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identification number on the envelope so the mail was returned. (Id. at 5.) Defendants then re-
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served their discovery responses on August 13, 2024. (Id.; ECF No. 46 at 2.) On August 25,
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2024, Plaintiff wrote Defendants stating he had received Defendants’ responses, but requested a
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meet and confer to address certain points. (ECF No. 39 at 5.) Defendants claim they received the
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letter on August 28, 2024, but were unable to schedule a call with Plaintiff before he filed a
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motion to compel discovery on September 13, 2024. (ECF No. 30; ECF No. 39 at 5.) The
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magistrate judge denied Plaintiff’s motion, but granted Plaintiff leave to propound limited
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requests for production of documents from Defendants J. Weiss and J. Quiring. (ECF No. 39.)
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Plaintiff now also seeks reconsideration of this order. (ECF No. 44.) Defendants oppose. (ECF
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No. 46.)
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II.
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A party may object to a non-dispositive pretrial order of a magistrate judge within
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fourteen days after service of the order. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(a). The magistrate judge’s order
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will be upheld unless it is “clearly erroneous or contrary to law.” Id.; 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(A);
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E.D. Cal. L.R. 303(f). “A party seeking reconsideration must set forth facts or law of a strongly
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convincing nature to induce the court to reverse a prior decision.” Martinez v. Lawless, No. 1:12-
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CV-01301-LJO-SKO, 2015 WL 5732549, at *1 (E.D. Cal. Sept. 29, 2015) (citing Kern-Tulare
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Water Dist. v. City of Bakersfield, 634 F. Supp. 656, 665 (E.D. Cal. 1986), aff’d in part and rev’d
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in part on other grounds, 828 F.2d 514 (9th Cir. 1987)).
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STANDARD OF LAW
Under the “clearly erroneous” standard, “the district court can overturn the magistrate
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judge’s ruling only if the district court is left with the ‘definite and firm conviction that a mistake
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has been committed.’” E.E.O.C. v. Peters’ Bakery, 301 F.R.D. 482, 484 (N.D. Cal. 2014)
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(quoting Burdick v. C.I.R., 979 F.2d 1369, 1370 (9th Cir. 1992)). “Thus, review under the
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‘clearly erroneous’ standard is significantly deferential.’” Concrete Pipe and Prods. of Cal., Inc.
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v. Constr. Laborers Pension Tr. for S. Cal., 508 U.S. 602, 623 (1993). “A [m]agistrate [j]udge’s
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decision is ‘contrary to law’ if it applies an incorrect legal standard, fails to consider an element
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of applicable standard, or fails to apply or misapplies relevant statutes, case law, or rules of
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procedure.” Martin v. Loadholt, No. 1:10-CV-00156-LJO-MJ, 2014 WL 3563312, at *1 (E.D.
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Cal. July 18, 2014) (citation omitted).
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III.
ANALYSIS
A.
November 14, 2024 Order
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Plaintiff raises eleven objections to the magistrate judge’s November 14, 2024 order,
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which the Court addresses in turn. (ECF No. 41 at 4–15.) First, Plaintiff takes issue with the
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magistrate judge’s “erroneous[] f[inding]” that Plaintiff sought appointment of an expert for the
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benefit of his own case. (Id. at 4–5.) However, the magistrate judge’s order makes clear the
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magistrate judge was unsure what type of expert witness Plaintiff was seeking –– a neutral expert
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witness or an expert witness to serve on Plaintiff’s behalf. (ECF No. 34 at 4 (couching the
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analysis with “to the extent Plaintiff seeks appointment of an expert witness for his benefit”).)
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Given this, the magistrate judge addressed both scenarios. (Id. at 4–6.) Plaintiff has now
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clarified he only sought appointment of a neutral expert witness. (ECF No. 41 at 4.) However,
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because the magistrate judge addresses this later in her order, the Court finds the decision to also
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address the appointment of an expert witness for Plaintiff’s benefit was not clearly erroneous or
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contrary to law such that the magistrate judge’s decision should be reversed.
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Second, Plaintiff objects to the sentence in the magistrate judge’s order which discusses
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how Federal Rule of Evidence 706 does not allow an appointed expert to serve as an advocate for
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either party. (ECF No. 41 at 5.) For similar reasons to those articulated above, the Court finds
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the decision to discuss this point does not provide a basis to reverse the magistrate judge’s order.
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Plaintiff also argues that contrary to the magistrate judge’s order, he does not retain the ability to
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call experts given his indigency, incarceration, and lack of appointed counsel. (Id. at 8.) Again,
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the Court finds the magistrate judge’s decision was not clearly erroneous nor contrary to law.
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While the Court acknowledges the difficulties Plaintiff faces, the magistrate judge is correct —
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both parties technically retain the ability to call their own experts. Fed. R. Evid. 706(e).
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Third, Plaintiff takes issue with the magistrate judge’s reasoning that “28 U.S.C. § 1915
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does not authorize the court to appoint an expert for [Plaintiff’s] benefit to be paid by the court[.]”
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(ECF No. 41 at 8 (citing ECF No. 34 at 4).) Plaintiff contends the magistrate judge erred in her
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reasoning, because under the circumstances an expert witness would significantly assist the trier
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of fact and the Court could apportion the cost of an expert to one side. (Id. at 9 (citing McKinney
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v. Anderson, 924 F.2d 1500, 1511 (9th Cir. 1991), cert. granted, judgment vacated sub nom.
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Helling v. McKinney, 502 U.S. 903 (1991), and judgment reinstated, 959 F.2d 853 (9th Cir.
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1992)).) While Plaintiff is correct that a court may apportion the cost of the expert to one side,
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see McKinney, 924 F.2d at 1511, this does not mean the magistrate judge’s statements are clearly
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erroneous or contrary to law. Furthermore, setting the apportionment of fees aside, the
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appointment of an expert witness under Rule 706 “must still be necessitated by complex,
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technical, or other specialized trial issues.” Faletogo v. Moya, No. 12-CV-631-GPC-WMC, 2013
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WL 524037, at *2 (S.D. Cal. Feb. 12, 2013). The magistrate judge found these issues were not
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present in this case and, as discussed below, the Court agrees with this finding.
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Fourth, Plaintiff takes issue with the magistrate judge’s reasoning that his motion for a
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neutral expert witness is premature. (ECF No. 41 at 9.) According to Plaintiff, an expert witness
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is needed because this case is headed for summary judgment or trial. (Id.) However, as the
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magistrate judge discussed in the order, at the time Plaintiff filed his motions, the parties were
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still engaged in discovery and there were no pending motions for summary judgment. (ECF No.
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34 at 5.) The Court agrees and finds Plaintiff’s speculative arguments to the contrary
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unpersuasive.
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Plaintiff’s fifth through tenth objections relate to the magistrate judge’s reasoning
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regarding the complexity of Plaintiff’s claims. (ECF No. 41 at 9–13.) Specifically, in contrast to
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the magistrate judge’s order, Plaintiff argues an expert witness is needed at this juncture to assist
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a trier of fact to understand how his medically diagnosed chronic depressive order personally
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affects him and how Defendants’ acts or omissions violated his rights given his condition. (Id.)
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After reviewing the case law, the Court finds the magistrate judge correctly applied the relevant
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law in determining a neutral medical expert is not required at this time under these circumstances.
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See, e.g., Rincker v. Oregon Dep’t of Corr., 301 F. App’x 720, 721 (9th Cir. 2008) (unpublished)
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(holding district court did not abuse its discretion in denying motion to appoint expert witness
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because case did not involve complex scientific issues or evidence).
Plaintiff’s final objection relates to the magistrate judge’s reasoning regarding complexity
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about RVR dates. (ECF No. 41 at 14.) According to Plaintiff, a neutral prison records expert
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should be appointed to resolve disputed material facts. (Id. at 15.) The magistrate judge reasoned
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that while Plaintiff was concerned about the accuracy of certain dates and times, nothing before
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the Court suggested there was any inaccuracy or invalidity and plaintiff’s allegations about the
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RVR dates were not so complex that a neutral expert was required at this time. (ECF No. 34 at
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6.) In so doing, the magistrate judge did not rule out the appointment of an expert witness at a
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later date. (Id. (noting “at this stage of the proceedings an expert witness is not necessary”).) The
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Court finds the magistrate judge’s decision is not clearly erroneous or contrary to law.
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In sum, given the Court finds no clear error or holding contrary to law, the Court DENIES
Plaintiff’s motion for reconsideration of the magistrate judge’s November 14, 2024 order.
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B.
November 22, 2024 Order
Plaintiff also seeks reconsideration of the magistrate judge’s November 22, 2024 order
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regarding Plaintiff’s motion to compel discovery. (ECF No. 44.) Defendants oppose. (ECF No.
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46.)
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At the outset, Defendants argue Plaintiff’s motion should be denied because based on their
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calculations, it was filed late. (ECF No. 46 at 2–3.) A party may serve and file objections to an
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order within fourteen days after being served with a copy. Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(a). Here, Plaintiff,
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a state prisoner proceeding pro se, states prison staff served him with the magistrate judge’s
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November 22, 2024, order on November 27, 2024. (ECF No. 44 at 1.) Plaintiff’s motion for
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reconsideration is dated December 10, 2024 –– less than fourteen days from the date he states he
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was served. (Id. at 13.) Accordingly, the Court, in its discretion, considers the merits of
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Plaintiff’s motion.
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Plaintiff raises ten objections to the magistrate judge’s November 22, 2024 order. (Id. at
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6–13.) Defendants argue none of these objections demonstrate how the magistrate judge’s ruling
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was clearly erroneous or contrary to law. (ECF No. 46 at 3.) As discussed below, the Court
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agrees.
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First, Plaintiff objects to the magistrate judge construing one of his filings as a “reply.”
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(ECF No. 44 at 6.) Plaintiff contends this action was “arbitrary and an abuse of discretion[.]”
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(Id.) However, Plaintiff does not set forth any facts or law to explain why the magistrate judge’s
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decision to consider Plaintiff’s filing as a “reply” warrants overturning the order. See Martinez,
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2015 WL 5732549, at *1 (noting the party moving for reconsideration “must set forth facts or law
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of a strongly convincing nature to induce the court to reverse a prior decision”).
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Second, Plaintiff objects to the magistrate judge denying his motion to compel responses
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to his request for production number three to Defendant A. Chandra. (ECF No. 44 at 7.)
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According to Plaintiff, the magistrate judge erroneously ignored underlying facts. (Id. at 8.)
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Upon review, the Court finds the magistrate judge considered the facts set forth in Plaintiff’s
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motion to compel regarding production number three and finds no error or conclusion contrary to
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law in the magistrate judge’s analysis on this issue.
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In Plaintiff’s third and fourth objections, Plaintiff contends the magistrate judge
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misquoted his allegations. (Id. at 8.) Specifically, Plaintiff contends the magistrate judge
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erroneously quoted the definition of “certified copy” and stated an RVR was “served” rather than
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“generated.” (Id.) These “errors” do not impact the underlying analysis or warrant overturning
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the magistrate judge’s order.
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Fifth, Plaintiff objects to the magistrate judge’s statement that Plaintiff failed to
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adequately reply to the Defendants’ opposition regarding request for production number three.
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(Id. at 8–9 (citing ECF No. 39 at 9–10).) To support this, Plaintiff reasserts arguments made in
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his motion to compel –– not his reply –– that Defendants did not produce the original document
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he had requested. (Id. at 9.) The Court finds no error or conclusion contrary to law. As stated in
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the magistrate judge’s order, Plaintiff only referred to details from settlement negotiations in the
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filing the Court construed as a reply. (ECF No. 39 at 10 n.3; ECF No. 33 at 2.)
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Sixth, Plaintiff argues the magistrate judge failed to compare the two RVR documents —
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one produced by Plaintiff and the other produced by Defendant A. Chandra. (ECF No. 44 at 9–
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10.) The magistrate judge reasoned Plaintiff had failed to provide the court with a complete
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document and therefore could not undergo the analysis Plaintiff sought. (ECF No. 39 at 10.)
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Plaintiff argues that had the Court notified Plaintiff of this issue, Plaintiff would have provided a
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complete copy. (ECF No. 44 at 10.) Further, Plaintiff argues the magistrate judge abused her
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discretion in not doing so while simultaneously excusing Defendants’ production delays. (Id.)
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While the magistrate judge could have requested Plaintiff provide the Court with a complete
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copy, failure to do so was not a decision clearly erroneous or contrary to law such that this Court
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finds it necessary to overturn the magistrate judge’s order.
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Seventh, Plaintiff objects to the magistrate judge’s conclusion that he failed to provide
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legal authority for his request that the RVR be certified. (ECF No. 44 at 10.) Plaintiff argues he
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cited La Chemise Lacoste v. Alligator Co., Inc., 60 F.R.D. 164, 171 (D. Del. 1973) “for the
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proposition that: [d]iscovery requests should ordinarily be allowed, ‘unless it is clear that the
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information sought can have no possible bearing upon the subject matter of the action.’” (Id.
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(quoting La Chemise Lacoste, 60 F.R.D. at 171).) While true that Plaintiff did include legal
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authority to support his general discovery requests, the magistrate judge determined the document
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Defendant sought was not relevant. (ECF No. 39 at 10.) Upon review, the Court agrees.
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Accordingly, the Court finds no reason to overturn the magistrate judge’s order.
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Eighth, Plaintiff objects to the magistrate judge’s finding that RVR # 006953258 was
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stored in the Electronic Records Management System (“ERMS”). (ECF No. 44 at 11.)
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According to Plaintiff, this is false. (Id.) To support this, Plaintiff reiterates arguments made in
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his motion to compel. (Id.) That is, Plaintiff again argues the document produced “was not an
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original true and correct copy[.]” (Id.; ECF No. 30 at 6.) Additionally, Plaintiff claims again that
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the information he seeks is relevant to his retaliation and conspiracy claims against Defendants
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and therefore discoverable. (ECF No. 44 at 11.) However, upon review and for similar reasons
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discussed above, the Court finds no error or conclusion contrary to law.
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Ninth, Plaintiff contends the magistrate judge erred in finding that no further production
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was required. (ECF No. 44 at 12.) Plaintiff does not provide additional facts or law to support
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this objection, but rather states the magistrate judge’s order is erroneous “for the reasons set forth
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in his objections.” (Id.) As discussed above, the Court finds these reasons unpersuasive.
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Moreover, the magistrate judge did grant plaintiff leave to propound limited requests for
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production of documents from Defendants J. Weiss and J. Quiring. (ECF No. 39 at 13.)
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Finally, Plaintiff argues the magistrate judge erroneously limited his request for
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production of documents. (ECF No. 44 at 12.) According to Plaintiff, he is allowed to submit
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additional requests for production of documents if he finds it necessary. (Id. at 12–13.) While
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true, at the time the magistrate judge issued her order, the discovery deadline had passed. (ECF
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No. 29 (extending discovery deadline to October 13, 2024).) Therefore, allowing Plaintiff to
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propound additional, but limited, discovery was not in error.
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In sum, given the Court finds no clear error or holding contrary to law, the Court DENIES
Plaintiff’s motion for reconsideration of the magistrate judge’s November 22, 2024 order.
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IV.
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In sum, the Court finds no clear error or holding contrary to law. Accordingly,
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CONCLUSION
Plaintiff’s motions for reconsideration (ECF Nos. 41, 44) are DENIED.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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Date: January 24, 2025
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TROY L. NUNLEY
CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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