Boulding v. Sudhir et al

Filing 40

ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF'S 35 Motion to Compel - Signed by Magistrate Judge R. Steven Whalen. (CCie)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN
SOUTHERN DIVISION
TIMOTHY BOULDING,
Plaintiff,

No. 15-12706

v.

District Judge Robert H. Cleland
Magistrate Judge R. Steven Whalen

BHAMINI SUDHIR, ET AL.,
Defendants.
/
ORDER
Plaintiff Timothy Boulding, a pro se prison inmate in this civil rights action, has
filed a motion to compel discovery [Doc. #35], in large part seeking his medical records
from the Michigan Department of Corrections (“MDOC”), including x-rays. Plaintiff
complains that the Defendants associated with Corizon Health, Inc., who have obtained
some of the medical records, want him to pay ten cents per page for copies.1
Plaintiff has been granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”), and
prepayment of the initial filing fee was waived [Doc. #3]. Although IFP status entitles
Plaintiff to waiver of certain court costs, numerous cases hold that 28 U.S.C. § 1915 does
not provide for payment of discovery costs, and a prisoner-plaintiff must fund his or her
own litigation expenses. In Smith v. Yarrow, 78 Fed.Appx. 529, 544, 2003 WL 22400730,
*13 (6th Cir. 2003), the Sixth Circuit stated:
“A prisoner plaintiff proceeding in forma pauperis may seek a waiver of
certain pretrial filing fees, but there is no constitutional or statutory
1

Defendants state in response [Doc. #36] that they have a portion (approximately
2,000 pages) of Plaintiff’s MDOC medical records, and have provided him with 60 pages
“from dates specifically identified by Plaintiff in his requests” at no charge.
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requirement that the government or Defendant pay for an indigent prisoner's
discovery efforts. See Johnson v. Hubbard, 698 F.2d 286, 289 (6th
Cir.1983) (holding that there is no constitutional or statutory requirement to
waive an indigent prisoner plaintiff's costs of discovery).”
See also Hughes v. Friedman, 2013 WL 93177, *1 (D.Ariz. 2013)(even though Plaintiff
was granted in forma pauperis status pursuant to 28 U.S.C.1915(d), he is responsible for
paying all fees and costs associated with subpoenas, including the costs of his own
medical records”); Kershner v. Mazurkiewicz, 670 F.2d 440, 445 (3rd Cir.1982) (holding
that even indigent prisoners are expected to pay for the incidental costs of their litigation).
So, Plaintiff may either obtain copies of his records from Corizon at ten cents per
page, or pay the MDOC for copies of his records, with payment being deducted
periodically from his prisoner account. See MDOC Policy Directive 03.04.108, ¶ S. In
addition, Plaintiff has the right under federal law to inspect his MDOC medical records.
See 45 C.F.R. § 164.524. Should he choose to inspect his medical file, he may be able to
narrow the number of records that he needs to copy.
For these reasons, Plaintiff’s motion to compel discovery [Doc. #35] is DENIED.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
s/R. Steven Whalen
R. STEVEN WHALEN
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
Date: April 18, 2016
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that a copy of the foregoing document was sent to parties of record on
April 18, 2016, electronically and/or by U.S. mail.
s/Carolyn M. Ciesla
Case Manager to the
Honorable R. Steven Whalen
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