Burton et al v. America et al

Filing 59

ORDER: granting 58 Letter Motion for Conference re: 58 FIRST LETTER MOTION for Conference. addressed to Judge Edgardo Ramos from Elena Cohen dated March 18, 2022. LETTER MOTION to Compel Defendants' to Produce Documents and/or Meet and Confer. addressed to Judge Edgardo Ramos from Elena Cohen dated March 18, 2022; granting 58 Letter Motion to Compel. The request for a pre-motion conference is GRANTED. A pre-motion conference will be held on April 15 at 11:00 AM. The parties are instructed to call (877 ) 411-9748,and enter access code 3029857# when prompted. Defendants are instructed to respond to this letter by no later than March 23, 2022. SO ORDERED.( Pre-Motion Conference set for 4/15/2022 at 11:00 AM before Judge Edgardo Ramos.). (Signed by Judge Edgardo Ramos on 3/18/2022) (ama)

The request for a pre-motion conference is GRANTED. A pre-motion
conference will be held on April 15 at 11:00 AM. The parties are instructed
March 18, 2022
to call [phone] and enter access code 3029857# when prompted.
Defendants are instructed to respond to this letter by no later than March 23,
2022.

BY ECF
Hon. Edgardo Ramos
United States District Court
SO ORDERED.
Southern District of New York
40 Foley Square
New York, NY 10007
Re:

March 18, 2022

Burton, et al., v. Bussanich, et al., 18 CV 2039 (ER)

Your Honor:
I am co-counsel for Plaintiffs in this medical malpractice and wrongful death action
brought against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act, and against certain
individuals employed by the Bureau of Prisons (the “BOP”) under Bivens. This action arose from
the death of Franklin Sanchez, a Colombian citizen who was in BOP custody after being
extradited to the United States. I write pursuant to Section 2.A.i. of Your Honor’s Individual
Rules of Practice to request an informal conference with the Court in advance of Plaintiffs’
motion to compel certain discovery from the Defendants. Alternatively, Plaintiffs respectfully
request that the Court issue an Order directing defense counsel to promptly meet and confer with
Plaintiffs’ counsel on the below issues.
On December 10, 2021, the Court issued an Order setting May 25, 2022 as the new
deadline to complete all fact discovery. On February 1, 2022, the parties began conferring to
secure deposition dates of the BOP officials and medical personnel involved in this incident.
Over the course of the next month, I followed up with defense counsel Brandon Cowart
numerous times by email to confirm dates of at least the first Defendants to be deposed so that
the parties could start moving the ball on depositions.
On March 11th, Mr. Cowart finally confirmed late March deposition dates for Defendants
Dr. Bussanich and Dr. Beaudoin. On March 14th, I emailed Mr. Cowart asking that he provide
(1) responsive documents to Plaintiffs’ document requests 13-29, which relate to policies,
practices and training at the facility in regards to medical treatment of people in BOP custody
(see Exhibit 1, Plaintiffs’ document requests); and (2) certain documents which Mr. Cowart
previously said he would not produce, such as photos of the area where Mr. Sanchez died,
malpractice history and personnel files of the medical professional Defendants. (See Exhibit 1,
Plaintiffs’ document requests 30, 36 -42).

Plaintiffs initially served document demands for these items on November 8, 2019. On
August 10, 2020, Defendants served responses to demands 13-29 stating that “Defendants will
search for and produce responsive documents.” Defendants objected to and refused to provide
the photos, malpractice histories, and personnel files. Defendants’ responses and objections are
attached as Exhibit 2.
Plaintiffs require these documents to go forward with depositions. In my March 14th
email, I asked Mr. Cowart to provide these documents by March 16 th or provide a time this week
during which he is available to meet and confer on these issues in advance of Plaintiffs’ March
18, 2022 motion to compel. Mr. Cowart has not responded to my emails and, at this point, the
depositions scheduled for late March will have to be adjourned because the lack of documents is
obstructing counsel’s ability to prepare to take the depositions.
In light of the fact that Plaintiffs require these documents to move forward with
depositions, and the fact that Mr. Cowart has not responded to our request for a meet and confer,
Plaintiffs respectfully request that the Court issue an Order scheduling an informal conference
with the Court in advance of Plaintiffs’ motion to compel certain discovery from the Defendants.
Alternatively, Plaintiffs respectfully request that the Court issue an Order directing defense
counsel to promptly meet and confer with Plaintiffs’ counsel on the below issues.
Plaintiffs thank the Court for its consideration of this request.
Respectfully Submitted,
/S/
Elena L. Cohen

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