Cisneros-Vaca v. Lara et al

Filing 16

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Kendall J. Newman on 11/15/23 GRANTING 12 Motion to Compel and GRANTING Defendants' Motion for Attorney Fees. Plaintiff's counsel shall pay to defendants the sum of $2,925 within 2 weeks of this order; counsel shall not pass these costs along to his client.(Licea Chavez, V)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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MELISSA CISNEROS-VACA,

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Plaintiff,

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v.

No. 2:22-cv-1608-DAD-KJN
ORDER
(ECF No. 12.)

SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY
CORRECTIONAL OFFICER LARA, et
al.,

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Defendants.

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Defendants move to compel responses to certain requests for production of documents and

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interrogatories. 1 (ECF No. 12.) The discovery requests were served on plaintiff in June of 2023,

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and responses were served at the end of August. The parties conferred, as defendants contended

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plaintiff’s response to Interrogatory 16 was deficient, as plaintiff simply stated “objection,

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privacy.” Defendants also requested plaintiff provide a date certain for production of multiple

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documents where plaintiff’s response was that she “will produce all responsive and non-

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privileged documents in her possession.” As of the November 14 hearing, plaintiff had yet to

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supplement responses or provide any additional documents; plaintiff also failed to participate in

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the drafting of the joint statement, and counsel admitted the fault was his. (See ECF No. 13.)

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This matter was referred to the undersigned per Local Rule 302(c)(1).
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For the reasons discussed at the hearing, it is HEREBY ORDERED that:

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1. Defendants’ motion to compel (ECF No. 12) is GRANTED. Specifically:

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a. Plaintiff’s privacy objection to Interrogatory 16 is overruled;

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b. Plaintiff shall supplement responses to Requests for Production 2-8 and

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Interrogatories 11 and 18, without objection (save for any attorney-client matters)

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within two weeks of this order;

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c. The parties shall confer over whether a protective order is needed and, if so, shall

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submit this to the court for review (See Local Rule 141.1);

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d. Given that defendants have already submitted subpoenas to multiple of plaintiff’s

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health care providers, plaintiff shall provide release authorizations for these

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providers, as well as any others identified in response to Interrogatory 16, within

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two weeks of this order;

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2. Further, given that defendants’ motion was unopposed, and counsel admitted the

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failure was his, the court finds this failure is not substantially justified. Therefore,

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defendants’ motion for attorneys’ fees under Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(a)(5)(A) is

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GRANTED. Plaintiff’s counsel shall pay to defendants the sum of $2,925 within two

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weeks of this order; counsel shall not pass these costs along to his client.

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Dated: November 15, 2023

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cisn.1608

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