Hines v. California Public Utilities Commission et al

Filing 342

ORDER RE DISCOVERY DISPUTE RE PURA IV AND V POSITIONS. Signed by Judge Edward M. Chen on 5/3/10. (bpf, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 5/3/2010)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 v. CALIFORNIA PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION, et al., Defendants. ___________________________________/ Currently pending before the Court is a discovery dispute in which Plaintiff Donna Hines seeks information from Defendant the CPUC about two positions for which she was not hired -- a PURA IV position and a PURA V position.1 Having considered the parties' positions and accompanying submissions, the Court hereby GRANTS in part and DENIES in part Ms. Hines's request for discovery. The request for discovery is denied with respect to the PURA IV position. In her deposition, Ms. Hines admitted that she never applied for the position in the first place. See Docket No. 337 (Hines Depo. at 401). The Court acknowledges Ms. Hines's claim in her deposition that she was denied the opportunity to apply for the position because it was her understanding that, to apply for the position, she needed an updated performance evaluation and, when she tried to set up a meeting with her direct supervisor to get her performance evaluation finalized, he declined to meet with her. See id. (Hines Depo. at 392-93). The problem for Ms. Hines is that no one ever told her that she
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

DONNA HINES, Plaintiff,

No. C-07-4145 CW (EMC) ORDER RE DISCOVERY DISPUTE RE PURA IV AND V POSITIONS (Docket No. 333)

United States District Court

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For the Northern District of California

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Ms. Hines appears to ask for information which the Court allowed for other positions for which she applied and was not hired. See Docket No. 229 (order, filed on 12/23/2009).

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needed an updated performance evaluation to apply. In fact, her understanding that she needed an updated performance evaluation was based solely on a transcript in a different case (in state court) involving the CPUC. See id. (Hines Depo. at 401-02). Because there is an insufficient showing that Ms. Hines actually needed an updated performance evaluation to apply for the PURA IV position, the fact that her direct supervisor denied her a meeting to finalize her performance evaluation is irrelevant. While the Court denies the request for discovery with respect to the PURA IV position, it grants the request for discovery with respect to the PURA V position. Contrary to what the CPUC argues, it is not clear that Ms. Hines was not qualified for the PURA V position. The Court does not have before it any information as to who was eligible for the PURA V position (as opposed to the PURA IV position). See Docket No. 337 (Pl.'s Supp., Att. A). The Jimenez e-mail, which suggests that only "list eligible" persons are qualified, is not an official posting and therefore is given little weight. See id. (Pl.'s Supp. Att. B). For the foregoing reasons, Ms. Hines's request for discovery is granted in part and denied in part. The documents shall be produced within a week of the date of this order.

United States District Court

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For the Northern District of California

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IT IS SO ORDERED. 3 Dated: May ____, 2010 _________________________ EDWARD M. CHEN United States Magistrate Judge

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 v. CALIFORNIA PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION, et al., Defendants. DONNA HINES, Plaintiff, CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE No. C-07-4145 CW (EMC) UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

United States District Court

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For the Northern District of California

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___________________________________/

I, the undersigned, hereby certify that I am an employee in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California. On the below date, I served a true and correct copy of the attached, by placing said copy/copies in a postage-paid envelope addressed to the person(s) listed below, by depositing said envelope in the U.S. Mail; or by placing said copy/copies into an inter-office delivery receptacle located in the Office of the Clerk. Donna Hines 268 Bush Street, #3204 San Francisco, CA 94104 415-205-3377 Dated: May 3, 2010 RICHARD W. WIEKING, CLERK

By:

Betty Lee Deputy Clerk