Watson v. Charleston, City of, MO et al

Filing 31

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER: IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendant's Motion to Compel (Doc. 28) is granted. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff shall provide Defendant with his initial disclosures no later than September 6, 2016. Signed by Magistrate Judge Abbie Crites-Leoni on 8/26/2016. (JMC)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
SOUTHEASTERN DIVISION

ROBERT FREDERICK WATSON,
Plaintiff,
vs.
ZACH ALBRIGHT,
Defendant.

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Case No. 1:16CV00021 ACL

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
Plaintiff filed the instant action seeking monetary damages for alleged constitutional
violations pursuant to 42 U.S.C. ' 1983 that he claims occurred during the booking process at the
Mississippi County Jail. Presently pending before the Court is Defendant Zach Albright’s
Motion to Compel. (Doc. 28.)
In his Motion to Compel, Defendant requests that the Court issue an order compelling
Plaintiff to provide Defendant with his Rule 26(a) initial disclosures. Defendant states that the
deadline for submitting initial disclosures was July 22, 2016, and Defendant provided his initial
disclosures to Plaintiff, but Plaintiff has not provided Defendant with his initial disclosures.
Defendant states that, on August 8, 2016, Defendant’s counsel sent a letter to Plaintiff informing
him that his initial disclosures were overdue and requesting that Plaintiff provide Defendant with
his initial disclosures within ten days of the date of the letter, in a good faith attempt to resolve
this discovery matter without involving the Court. (Def’s Ex. A.) Defendant states that, to date,
Plaintiff has not responded to that letter or provided Defendant with his initial disclosures.
Defendant further states that defendant’s counsel was unable to contact Plaintiff by telephone
because Plaintiff is currently being held at the Cape Girardeau County Jail on a federal charge.
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Although Plaintiff is acting pro se, and his pleadings are held to a less stringent standard,
he must still comply with the Rules of Civil Procedure, including local rules. See American
Inmate Paralegal Assoc. v. Cline, 859 F.2d 59, 61 (8th Cir. 1988).
Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37, “[a] party seeking discovery may move
for an order compelling an answer, designation, production, or inspection.” Fed. R. Civ. P.
37(a)(3)(B). This Court will compel Plaintiff to provide Defendant with his initial disclosures
within ten days of this Order. Plaintiff is cautioned that failure to comply with this Order may
result in sanctions under Rule 37(b), including the dismissal of Plaintiff’s Complaint.

Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendant’s Motion to Compel (Doc. 28) is granted.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff shall provide Defendant with his initial
disclosures no later than September 6, 2016.

ABBIE CRITES-LEONI
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
Dated this 26th day of August, 2016.

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