Battle et al v. South Carolina Department of Corrections et al

Filing 102

ORDER that Defendants shall produce to Plaintiffs' Counsel the entire unredacted Roth Report by Monday June 10, 2019. The Roth Report is considered subject to the Confidentiality Order 39 already in place and is for att orneys' eyes only. In addition, the Court finds that, given that Mr. Roth could be a fact witness in this case, Defendants must disclose to Plaintiffs' counsel Mr. Roth's home address so that he may be served a notice of his deposition . Defendants are directed to disclose this information by Monday, June 10, 2019. This information is also for attorneys' eyes only. Signed by Magistrate Judge Mary Gordon Baker on 6/7/19. Associated Cases: 2:18-cv-00719-TMC-MGB et al. (rshu, )

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
FOR THE DISTRICT OF SOUTH CAROLINA
Korell Battle,

)
)
Plaintiff,
)
v.
)
)
South Carolina Department of
)
Corrections; Warden Cecilia Reynolds, )
individually and in her official capacity )
as warden of Lee Correctional
)
Institution; Warden Aaron Joyner,
)
individually and in his official capacity )
as warden of Lee Correctional
)
Institution,
)
)
Defendants.
)
___________________________________ )

Case No. 2:18-cv-00719-TMC-MGB

ORDER

Darnell Brown,

)
)
Plaintiff,
)
v.
)
)
South Carolina Department of
)
Corrections; Warden Cecilia Reynolds, )
individually and in her official capacity )
as warden of Lee Correctional
)
Institution; Warden Aaron Joyner,
)
individually and in his official capacity )
as warden of Lee Correctional
)
Institution,
)
)
Defendants.
)
___________________________________ )
Jeffrey Brown
v.

Plaintiff,

South Carolina Department of
Corrections; Warden Cecilia Reynolds,
individually and in her official capacity

Case No. 2:18-cv-00572-TMC-MGB

ORDER

)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)

Case No. 2:18-cv-00573-TMC-MGB

ORDER

1

as warden of Lee Correctional
Institution; Warden Aaron Joyner,
individually and in his official capacity
as warden of Lee Correctional
Institution,

)
)
)
)
)
)
Defendants.
)
___________________________________ )
)
Ronnie Drake,
)
)
Plaintiff,
)
v.
)
)
South Carolina Department of
)
Corrections; Warden Cecilia Reynolds, )
individually and in her official capacity )
as warden of Lee Correctional
)
Institution; Warden Aaron Joyner,
)
individually and in his official capacity )
as warden of Lee Correctional
)
Institution,
)
)
Defendants.
)
___________________________________ )

Case No. 2:18-cv-00574-TMC-MGB

ORDER

)
Lance Lyles,
)
)
Plaintiff,
)
v.
)
)
South Carolina Department of
)
Corrections; Warden Cecilia Reynolds, )
individually and in her official capacity )
as warden of Lee Correctional
)
Institution; Warden Aaron Joyner,
)
individually and in his official capacity )
as warden of Lee Correctional
)
Institution,
)
)
Defendants.
)
___________________________________ )

Case No. 2:18-cv-00575-TMC-MGB

ORDER

2

)
John Mack,
)
)
Plaintiff,
)
v.
)
)
South Carolina Department of
)
Corrections; Warden Cecilia Reynolds, )
individually and in her official capacity )
as warden of Lee Correctional
)
Institution; Warden Aaron Joyner,
)
individually and in his official capacity )
as warden of Lee Correctional
)
Institution,
)
)
Defendants.
)
___________________________________ )

Case No. 2:18-cv-00576-TMC-MGB

ORDER

The above cases have been filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the South Carolina Tort
Claims Act (“SCTCA”), S.C. Code Ann. §§ 15-78-10 et seq. These cases arise from alleged inmate
stabbings or attacks occurring at Lee Correctional Institution. On June 5, 2019, the Court held a
hearing to resolve various discovery issues. 1
At the hearing, Plaintiffs’ counsel raised the issue of deposing Mr. Roth, an individual who
drafted the “Roth Report” for the Mental Health Settlement. Plaintiffs indicated that they had
obtained a redacted version of the Roth Report because it was produced in other litigation. They
asked that the Court compel Defendants: (1) to produce the unredacted Roth Report and (2) to
disclose Mr. Roth’s home address so that Plaintiffs’ counsel could serve him with a notice of his
deposition. Following the hearing, the Court issued an Order directing Defendants to provide the
Court with an unredacted copy of the Roth Report. The Court also later directed Plaintiffs’ counsel
to submit the redacted version of the Roth Report in their possession so that the Court could
compare the two documents.
1 Pursuant to the provisions of Title 28, United States Code, Section 636(b)(1)(B) and Local Rule 73.02(B)(2)(d),
D.S.C., this matter has been assigned to the undersigned for all pretrial proceedings.

3

The Court has since reviewed both the redacted and unredacted versions of the Roth Report
and finds the entire Roth Report should be produced to Plaintiffs’ counsel, in unredacted form.
The Roth Report is relevant to the issues in this case—it addresses the understaffing issues faced
by the South Carolina Department of Corrections. The Roth Report is only tangentially related to
the Mental Health Settlement. Further, there is no basis to find that the Roth Report is subject to
confidentiality in relation to the Mental Health Settlement, as asserted by defense counsel at the
hearing. The Court has reviewed the Mental Health Settlement Agreement that was produced in
camera by Defendants. The Mental Health Settlement provides that four categories of information
are subject to confidentiality: (1) certain SCDC policies; (2) reports or information related to
inmate suicide; (3) personally identifiable health information; and (4) certain SCDC compliance
evaluation reports created in advance of facility inspections.
In sum, the Court orders Defendants to produce to Plaintiffs’ Counsel the entire unredacted
Roth Report by Monday June 10, 2019. The Roth Report is considered subject to the
Confidentiality Order (Dkt. No. 39) already in place and is for attorneys’ eyes only. In addition,
the Court finds that, given that Mr. Roth could be a fact witness in this case, Defendants must
disclose to Plaintiffs’ counsel Mr. Roth’s home address so that he may be served a notice of his
deposition. Defendants are directed to disclose this information by Monday, June 10, 2019. This
information is also for attorneys’ eyes only.
IT IS SO ORDERED.

June 6, 2019
Charleston, South Carolina

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