Bustillos v. Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc.

Filing 81

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO COMPEL IME OF PLAINTIFF (SI, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 7/1/2009)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 United United States District Court For the Northern District of California 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

TINA BUSTILLOS, Plaintiff, v. BIMBO BAKERIES USA INC., Defendant. /

No. C 08-3553 SI ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO COMPEL IME OF PLAINTIFF

Defendant has moved to compel plaintiff to submit to an independent medical examination ("IME") on July 7, 2009.1 The parties dispute whether defendant's request for an IME is timely because although fact discovery has closed, expert discovery is ongoing and the IME would be conducted by an expert. There is no dispute that plaintiff's mental condition is in controversy. As the parties acknowledge, there is scant authority on whether an IME is properly considered part of fact or expert discovery. The cases cited by the parties reach conflicting conclusions and contain little analysis. The Court finds that under these circumstances it was not unreasonable for defendant to assume that an IME would be part of expert discovery. The expert discovery cut-off is July 29, 2009, and plaintiff has not shown that she would be prejudiced by permitting the IME to go forward. Accordingly, the Court GRANTS defendant's motion to compel the IME. IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: July 1, 2009 SUSAN ILLSTON United States District Judge

The parties' letter briefs are found at Docket Nos. 78 & 79.