Ciampi v City of Palo Alto, et al

Filing 144

ORDER by Judge Paul S. Grewal granting 115 Motion to Compel (psglc2, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 4/21/2011)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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SAN JOSE DIVISION

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Plaintiff,
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v.
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CITY OF PALO ALTO,
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Defendants.
___________________________________ )
JOSEPH CIAMPI,

Case No.: C 09-02655 LHK (PSG)
ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO
COMPEL
(Re: Docket No. 115)

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Before the court is Plaintiff Joseph Ciampi’s (“Ciampi”) motion to compel. At oral
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argument and in Ciampi’s reply brief, Ciampi clarified that he seeks a copy of Defendant
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Temores’ recording and a copy of Defendant Burger’s recording to be produced in the same type
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of file that was provided to Defendants’ expert Warren Scott Page —“file copies utilizing a
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standard Windows file copy system . . . a bit-for-bit replication of the original file” 1—containing

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the digital watermark, a March 15, 2008 date of last modification, and the original amount of
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memory. 2 Ciampi also requests the copies of Defendant Temores’ and Burger’s recordings in the
possession of Eduardo Guillarte-Medina (“Gillarte-Medina”). 3

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See Warren Scott Page Decl. ¶ 8.0, 2/25/11 Pl.’s Response, Ex. 413 (Docket No. 131).

See 2/25/11 Pl.’s Response at 4:23-28, 6:14-18 (Docket No. 131); FTR Hearing Audio
Transcript, March 15, 2011 11:43:10-11:43:41 a.m.
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See FTR Hearing Audio Transcript, March 15, 2011, 11:43:10-11:43:41 a.m.
ORDER, page 1

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Defendants claim that in order to make a DVD that is viewable on most commercially-

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available players, they have to convert the file into a format that alters the file size and removes

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the watermark. If they were to copy the original file using a Windows file copy system producing

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a bit-for-bit replication containing the watermark, Ciampi would not be able to view the video on

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most commercially-available DVD players. Additionally, Defendants claim that “[a]ny file stored

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in [their] database will show a different modification date as opposed to the file recorded in the

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vehicle, by the mere act of storing the file in a database.” Ciampi, however, claims that files with

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the original modification date do exist as evidenced by the modification date of the files held by

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Guillarte-Medina. 4

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Furthermore, Defendants argue in their opposition brief that they need not produce the

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copies of the recordings being held by Guillarte-Medina because Ciampi stipulated to open the

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sealed envelope only after he had retained an expert to analyze the files, and he has not yet

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retained an expert. Alternatively, Defendants request that the undersigned be present when the

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envelope is opened. At oral argument, Defendants agreed to release to Ciampi the files held by

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Gillarte-Medina. 5

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Defendants’ justifications for denying Ciampi access to the requested files are

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unpersuasive. There is no dispute that the requested files are relevant. There is no dispute that

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the requested files are not privileged. To the extent the requested files are not usable by Ciampi

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absent the help of an expert, that is Ciampi’s problem. It does not justify denial of discovery to

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which Ciampi is entitled. The undersigned will not oversee a production that should have taken

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place without court intervention. Ciampi’s motion therefore is GRANTED. Defendants shall

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produce the files listed above no later than April 29, 2011.

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Dated: April 21, 2011

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PAUL S. GREWAL
United States Magistrate Judge

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See 1/31/11 Pl.’s Am. Mot. Ex. 244 (Docket No. 115).
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See FTR Hearing Audio Transcript, March 15, 2011, 11:40:45-11:41:09 a.m.

ORDER, page 2

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Notice of this filing was automatically mailed to counsel via the court’s Electronic Case Filing
system.

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A copy of this filing was mailed to:
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Joseph Ciampi
P.O. Box 1681
Palo Alto, CA
94302

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Dated: April 21, 2011

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/s/ Chambers Staff
Chambers of U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul S. Grewal

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ORDER, page 3