Edwards v. Clark County et al
Filing
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ORDER that 119 Motion to Compel Discovery is denied; that 120 Motion for Emergency Hearing for Motion to Compel is denied as moot; that 135 Motion for Reconsideration of Document 123 is denied. Signed by Magistrate Judge Carl W. Hoffman on 9/21/15. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - MMM)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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DISTRICT OF NEVADA
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RONNIE EDWARDS,
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Plaintiff,
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vs.
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LAS VEGAS METROPOLITAN POLICE
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DEPARTMENT, et al.
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Defendants.
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__________________________________________)
Case No. 2:13-cv-01316-JAD-CWH
ORDER
INTRODUCTION
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This matter is before the Court on Plaintiff’s motions (docs. # 119, # 120, # 135), and
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Defendants’ responses (docs. # 124, # 125, # 129, # 130, # 137) to these motions. Plaintiff did not file
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replies.
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BACKGROUND
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Plaintiff, proceeding pro se, is a prisoner in the custody of the Nevada Department of
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Corrections (“NDOC”) and currently incarcerated at the High Desert State Prison. On January 14,
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2014, the Court entered a screening order finding that Plaintiff had pled sufficient facts to support his
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Eighth Amendment claims for deliberate indifference to his medical needs and deliberate indifference
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to his safety. See Doc. # 6. The Court’s screening order also directed the Clerk of Court, among
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others, to issue summonses for various defendants and to send plaintiff USM-285 forms to fill out and
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furnish to the U.S. Marshals Service so defendants could be served. Id. The Court subsequently
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issued orders governing service, along with a discovery schedule, in the instant case. See Docs. # 23,
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# 37, # 42, # 54, # 55.
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DISCUSSION
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Motion to Compel Discovery (doc. # 119)
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Plaintiff seeks to compel: (1) initial and amended responses from Dr. Mondora, Simeon,
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Hightower, Scott, and Reyes; (2) documents from Dr. Mondora, Simeon, Hightower, Scott, and Reyes;
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and (3) “non-blank pages” from defense counsel.
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In response, Dr. Mondora and Simeon contend that, with respect to Plaintiff’s request for
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production no. 4 (“request no. 4), Plaintiff violated Local Rule 26-7(a) by failing to set forth the
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complete text of the response to Plaintiff’s request. Dr. Mondora and Simeon next point out that
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Plaintiff failed to identify the additional information he seeks to compel, or to show why the response
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to request no. 4 is unjustified. Dr. Mondora and Simeon then point out that request no. 4 appears to
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seek information likely protected by the attorney-client privilege and work product doctrine, and that
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Plaintiff has already received all known responsive information involving request no. 4. Assuming
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Plaintiff seeks a copy of his “sick call” appointment list in request no. 4, Dr. Mondora and Simeon
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contend that the document was already disclosed to Plaintiff in their fifth supplement to initial
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disclosures.
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With respect to Plaintiff’s request for production no. 11 (“request no. 11”), Dr. Mondora and
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Simeon argue that this overbroad and vague request seeks information that has already been disclosed
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to Plaintiff. Dr. Mondora and Simeon explain that a discussion with Plaintiff during the May 14, 2015
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“meet and confer” revealed that Plaintiff was seeking a copy of his “sick call” appointment list.
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Because this was already provided to Plaintiff in a supplement, Dr. Mondora and Simeon argue that
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request no. 11 is moot.
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With respect to Plaintiff’s June 8, 2015 discovery request, Dr. Mondora and Simeon argue that
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they should not be compelled to respond because Plaintiff failed to timely serve his request. Dr.
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Mondora and Simeon explain that the June 8th request should have been served prior to May 15, 20151
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and, consequently, defense counsel sent correspondence to Plaintiff on July 2, 2015 objecting to the
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untimely discovery request. Lastly, with respect to the “blank pages” Plaintiff sought from defense
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counsel, Dr. Mondora and Simeon point out that Plaintiff was specifically informed at the “meet and
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Under Rule 36 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a party has 30 days to respond to discovery requests.
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confer” and, later, following Plaintiff’s deposition, that the page stamped as NaphCare 151 is correctly
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blank, and that no information is missing from the discovery produced involving Plaintiff’s medical
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records. As such, Dr. Mondora and Simeon conclude that Plaintiff’s motion should be denied.
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Meanwhile, Hightower, Scott, and Reyes contend that Plaintiff brings new issues before the
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Court that were never raised or discussed at a “meet and confer.” Hightower, Scott, and Reyes also
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contend that any alleged issues Plaintiff has with the discovery responses lack merit. Specifically, with
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respect to requests for production 1, 2, and 3 served on Scott, all materials within Scott’s custody,
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including work orders, were produced to Plaintiff but not “bed move” records, which Scott has no
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control over, and Plaintiff was previously informed of such.
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With respect to requests for production 1, 2, and 7 served on Reyes, Reyes argues that he has
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no control over responsive documents to Plaintiff’s vague requests, and any responsive documents
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should have been requested from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (“LVMPD”), which
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Reyes previously explained to Plaintiff.
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With respect to requests for production 1, 2, and 3 served on Hightower, Hightower argues that
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the ITag report, which Plaintiff describes as a “log book,” was already produced to Plaintiff twice,
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along with incident reports and work orders. Any other documents Plaintiff seeks, per Hightower,
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should have been requested from the LVMPD, with Hightower already informing Plaintiff of such.
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With respect to Plaintiff’s discovery requests served on May 20, 2015 and June 15, 2015,
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Hightower, Scott, and Reyes argue that they should not be compelled to respond because Plaintiff
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failed to timely serve these requests. Hightower, Scott, and Reyes explain that these requests should
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have been served prior to May 15, 2015 and, consequently, they sent correspondence informing
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Plaintiff that they would not be responding to these untimely requests. Given such, Hightower, Scott,
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and Reyes ask the Court to deny Plaintiff’s motion. Plaintiff did not file a reply.
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Upon review of the information and exhibits provided, this Court agrees with Defendants and
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finds no basis for granting the instant motion. As such, Plaintiff’s motion is denied.
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Motion for Emergency Hearing for Motion to Compel (doc. # 120)
Because the Court denies Plaintiff’s motion to compel discovery (doc. # 119), the Court denies
as moot Plaintiff’s motion for an emergency hearing.
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Motion for Reconsideration of Doc. # 123 (doc. # 135)
Plaintiff asks the Court to reconsider it’s prior order (doc. # 123), and provides a detailed
synopsis of his purported efforts in obtaining discovery from Defendants in this case.
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Dr. Mondora and Simeon, in response,2 contend that Plaintiff’s motion should be denied
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because: (1) the correction requested is neither clerical in nature, nor an omission on the part of the
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magistrate judge; (2) Plaintiff fails to provide any grounds for reconsideration; (3) Plaintiff fails to
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demonstrate “extraordinary circumstances” warranting a reconsideration of the prior order; (4) the
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order at issue is a non-appealable order; and (5) Plaintiff makes only a general objection to the Court’s
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prior order but fails to demonstrate that it is clearly erroneous or contrary to law. Plaintiff did not file
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a reply.
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This Court finds that Plaintiff fails to assert any grounds in support of his request for
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reconsideration, and merely disagrees with this Court’s order. Indeed, a motion for reconsideration
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is properly denied when the movant fails to establish any reason justifying relief. See Backlund v.
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Barnhart, 778 F.2d 1386, 1388 (9th Cir.1985); see also Merozoite v. Thorp, 52 F.3d 252, 255 (9th
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Cir.1995) (denying motion for, among others, failing to demonstrate that “extraordinary
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circumstances” exist warranting reconsideration); Khan v. Fasano, 194 F.Supp.2d 1134, 1136 (S.D.
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Cal.2001) (“A party cannot have relief under this rule merely because he or she is unhappy with the
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judgment.”). As such, Plaintiff’s motion is denied.
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CONCLUSION AND ORDER
Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel Discovery (doc.
# 119) is denied.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion for Emergency Hearing for Motion to
Compel (doc. # 120) is denied as moot.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion for Reconsideration of Doc. # 123 (doc.
# 135) is denied.
DATED: September 21, 2015
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___________________________________
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C.W. Hoffman, Jr.
United States Magistrate Judge
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Hightower, Reyes, and Scott filed a joinder (doc. # 138) to Dr. Mondora and Simeon’s response (doc. # 137).
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