Giddings v. Greyhound Bus Lines Inc et al
Filing
120
ORDER granting defendants' 113 Motion to Dismiss; denying plaintiff's 117 Motion for Relief from Judgment; finding as moot defendants' 118 Motion to Appoint a Mediator by Judge Ricardo S Martinez.(RS) cc plaintiff by US Mail and email
1
2
3
4
5
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE
6
7
8
JASON GIDDINGS,
9
Plaintiff,
10
v.
11
GREYHOUND BUS LINES, INC., et al.,
12
Defendants.
13
14
I.
)
) CASE NO. C11-1484 RSM
)
)
) ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS’
) MOTION TO DISMISS
)
)
)
)
INTRODUCTION
15
This matter comes before the Court on Defendants’ second Motion to Dismiss Pursuant
16
17
to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 37(b) and 41(b) for Plaintiff’s failure to comply with their
18
discovery requests and the Court’s Orders regarding those requests. Dkt. #113. Plaintiff has
19
failed to respond to the motion.1 For the reasons discussed herein, the Court now GRANTS
20
Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss.
21
II.
BACKGROUND
22
23
Plaintiff filed the instant action on September 14, 2011, alleging that he had been
24
injured after being stranded in Eastern Washington by a Greyhound Bus driver. Dkt. #4.
25
Plaintiff later amended his Complaint to clarify the name of one of the Defendants. Dkt. #40.
26
27
28
1
On May 3, 2016, Plaintiff did file a “Status Report” which references discovery in this
matter, but it is not clear whether this is in response to Defendants’ motion or to a prior Court
Order, or whether it is unrelated to either. Dkt. #115.
ORDER
PAGE - 1
1
On August 16, 2013, this Court dismissed this case on summary judgment on the basis that
2
Plaintiff had failed to serve any of the Defendants with a Summons and Complaint within the
3
applicable statute of limitations, and had failed to provide sufficient evidence to invoke
4
equitable tolling based on his alleged disability. Dkt. #62. Plaintiff appealed, and, on July 2,
5
2015, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed this Court and remanded the matter for
6
7
further proceedings. Dkt. #68. The Court of Appeals found that a question of fact existed with
8
respect to whether Plaintiff suffered a disability such that his service time should have been
9
equitably tolled. Id.
10
After the Mandate issued, the Court issued a Scheduling Order setting forth the trial
11
date and related pretrial deadlines in this matter. Dkt. #78. Trial is currently scheduled for
12
13
June 27, 2016. The discovery deadline was February 29, 2016.
14
On November 4, 2015, Defendants served Plaintiff with a Notice of Video Deposition,
15
commanding Plaintiff to appear in Seattle, WA, on December 2, 2015, at 10:00 a.m. Dkt. #89,
16
Ex. 1. Two days before the deposition, when defense counsel called Plaintiff to discuss another
17
18
discovery matter, Plaintiff informed counsel that he needed to cancel his deposition because it
19
was too burdensome for him to travel to Seattle and because it would be unnecessary after he
20
responded to written discovery requests. Dkt. #89 at ¶ 3. Defendants’ counsel objected.
21
Plaintiff did not appear for his deposition.
22
On December 7, 2015, Plaintiff moved this Court for an Order stating that he would not
23
24
be required to attend his deposition for the same reasons as he had asserted to defense counsel.
25
Dkt. #81. Defendants opposed the motion and cross-moved for an Order compelling Plaintiff
26
to attend his deposition within 30 days of the date of the Court’s Order. Dkt. #88.
27
28
ORDER
PAGE - 2
1
2
3
4
On December 14, 2015, Plaintiff moved for an Order compelling the production of
certain documents. Dkt. #85.
On December 15, 2015, Defendants re-sent Mr. Giddings their First Set of
Interrogatories and Requests for Production. Dkt. #98 at ¶ 3.
5
On January 4, 2016, the Court denied Plaintiff’s motion for a protective order and
6
7
directed him to appear for his deposition. Dkt. #94. The next day, the Court issued an Order
8
denying Plaintiff’s motion to compel discovery on the bases that Plaintiff had failed to meet
9
and confer with Defendants prior to filing his motion and that it appeared he had not actually
10
served any discovery requests on Defendants. Dkt. #95.
11
On January 19, 2016, defense counsel sent a letter to Plaintiff advising that his
12
13
discovery responses were overdue and asked that a discovery conference be scheduled for
14
Monday, January 25, if his responses were not provided by Friday, January 22nd. Dkt. #98 at ¶
15
4 and Ex. 1 thereto. Plaintiff did not produce his discovery by January 22nd, and was not
16
available for the scheduled discovery call on January 25th. Id. Defense counsel then sent
17
18
another letter to Plaintiff asking that he please be available for a discovery conference call on
19
February 10th. Id. at ¶ 5 and Ex. 2 thereto. The day before that call, Plaintiff called defense
20
counsel and informed her that he would be appearing for his deposition in Seattle on February
21
12th. Id. at ¶ 5. During the call, defense counsel asked Plaintiff if he would be producing his
22
overdue discovery responses. Id. Plaintiff informed counsel that he believed he had already
23
24
filed his responses with the Court (prior to his case being dismissed on summary judgment) and
25
that he did not want to duplicate work he had already done. Id. Plaintiff also said he would
26
bring any discovery he did have to his deposition. Id.
27
28
ORDER
PAGE - 3
1
Plaintiff was deposed on February 12th. Defense counsel inquired at the deposition
2
whether he had brought his discovery responses. Id. at ¶ 6. Plaintiff responded that he believed
3
his responses were filed with the Court, and that he did not bring them with him.
4
Id.
Defendants have reviewed the docket in this matter (as has the Court), and find no record of
5
any discovery responses filed by Plaintiff. Id. at ¶ 7. Defense counsel informed Plaintiff that
6
7
8
9
10
no responses were in the record, and told him that they would be filing a motion to compel,
which they then filed. Id. and Dkt. #97.
On March 7, 2016, this Court granted Defendants’ motion to compel and directed
Plaintiff to provide written responses to Defendants no later than March 14, 2016. Dkt. #102.
11
However, that Order was never received by Plaintiff, as it was returned as undeliverable to
12
13
Plaintiff at all addresses provided to the Court. Dkts. #105, #106 and #116.
14
In the meantime, on March 2, 2016, Defendants moved for partial summary judgment,
15
asking the Court to dismiss all claims for injuries related to the alleged assault that occurred
16
outside of the Knarr Bar in Seattle, WA. Dkt. #99. On March 17, 2016, Defendants moved to
17
18
dismiss Plaintiff’s case for his failure to comply with discovery. Dkt. #103. On April 12,
19
2016, the Court granted Defendants’ motion for partial summary judgment, finding that there is
20
no evidence supporting any claim against Defendants for assault and battery or negligence
21
arising from the injuries allegedly sustained outside the Knarr Barr. Dkt. #111. However, in
22
that same Order, the Court declined to dismiss the entire case. The Court found that because
23
24
the Court’s prior Order compelling discovery had not been received by Plaintiff, it would
25
attempt to re-serve the Order in an effort to avoid dismissal. Id. The Court also reminded
26
Plaintiff that he had a duty to keep the Court informed of his current address. Id. To date, the
27
28
ORDER
PAGE - 4
1
2
Court continues to receive mail sent to Plaintiff returned as undeliverable. See Dkts. #112 and
#116.
On April 28, 2016, Defendants filed a second motion to dismiss for Plaintiff’s failure to
3
4
comply with discovery. Dkt. #113. It does not appear that Plaintiff has responded to the
5
motion; although the Court notes that, on May 3, 2016, Plaintiff filed a “Status Report” which
6
7
8
discusses at length some history of discovery in this matter. Dkt. #115. Defendants’ motion is
now ripe for review.
9
III.
10
DISCUSSION
A. Defendants’ Second Motion to Dismiss
11
Defendants have moved for dismissal of this matter under Federal Rules of Civil
12
13
Procedure 37(b) and 41(b). Dkt. #103. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37 states in pertinent
14
part that, “if a party or a party’s officer, director, or managing agent – or a witness designated
15
under Rule 30(b)(6) or 31(a)(4) – fails to obey an order to provide or permit discovery
16
including an order under Rule 26(f), 35, or 37(a), the court where the action is pending may
17
18
issue further just orders.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(b)(2)(A). Such orders may include the following:
(i)
Directing that the matters embraced in the order or other designated facts be taken
as established for purposes of the action, as the prevailing party claims;
(ii)
Prohibiting the disobedient party from supporting or opposing designated claims or
defenses, or from introducing designated matters in evidence;
(iii)
Striking pleadings in whole or in part;
(iv)
Staying further proceedings until the order is obeyed;
25
(v)
Dismissing the action or proceeding in whole or in part;
26
(vi)
Rendering a default judgment against the disobedient party; or
(vii)
Treating as contempt of court the failure to obey any order to submit to a physical or
mental examination.
19
20
21
22
23
24
27
28
ORDER
PAGE - 5
1
Id. In addition, if the Court finds that Rule 37 does not provide an adequate remedy, under
2
certain circumstances additional means can be employed to sanction the disobedient party. See
3
4
Haeger v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 793 F.3d 1122, 1132 (9th Cir. 2015) (“While Rule 37
5
also provides a method to sanction a party for failing to comply with discovery rules, it is not
6
the exclusive means for addressing the adequacy of a discovery response. . . . We hold that it
7
was not an abuse of discretion for the district court to rely on its inherent power to sanction the
8
conduct at issue in this case, and to determine that Rule 37 did not provide the appropriate
9
10
remedy” (citations omitted)).
11
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) allows for the dismissal of an action based on a
12
party’s failure to obey an order of the Court. “In determining whether to dismiss a case for
13
failure to comply with a court order the district court must weigh five factors including: (1) the
14
public’s interest in expeditious resolution of litigation; (2) the court’s need to manage its
15
16
docket; (3) the risk of prejudice to the defendants; (4) the public policy favoring disposition of
17
cases on their merits; and (5) the availability of less drastic alternatives.” Id. at 1260-61
18
(internal quotations omitted); see also Thompson v. Housing Auth. of City of Los Angeles, 782
19
F.2d 829, 831 (9th Cir. 1986); Henderson v. Duncan, 779 F.2d 1421, 1423 (9th Cir. 1986).
20
The first and second factors weigh in favor of dismissal under the circumstances of this
21
22
case.
23
resolution of litigation always favors dismissal.” Pagtalunan v. Galaza, 291 F.3d 639, 642 (9th
24
The Ninth Circuit has consistently held that “the public’s interest in expeditious
Cir. 2002) (quoting Yourish v. California Amplifier, 191 F.3d 983, 990 (9th Cir. 1999)). This
25
case has been pending in this Court since 2011, albeit with a 2-year time period during which
26
27
Plaintiff pursued an appeal. Since being remanded in July of 2015, this case has made little
28
progress, largely due to Plaintiff’s failure to communicate consistently with either the Court or
ORDER
PAGE - 6
1
2
Defendants. As a result, the Court’s need to manage its docket also weighs in favor of
dismissal.
With respect to the third factor, the Court recognizes that the mere pendency of a
3
4
lawsuit cannot constitute sufficient prejudice to require dismissal. Yourish, 191 F.3d at 991.
5
However, in this case, this factor now weighs in favor of dismissal. “A defendant suffers
6
7
prejudice if the plaintiff’s actions impair the defendant’s ability to go to trial or threaten to
8
interfere with the rightful decision of the case.” In re PPA, 460 F.3d at 1227 (quoting Adriana
9
Int'l Corp. v. Thoeren, 913 F.2d 1406, 1412 (9th Cir. 1990)). In this case, Plaintiff’s continued
10
failure to respond to discovery request propounded by Defendants precludes them from
11
developing their defenses. This case is scheduled for trial in approximately one month, and
12
13
discovery has never been completed despite the Court’s Order compelling Plaintiff to respond.
14
The Court agrees that it should not reward Plaintiff’s actions by simply allowing a continuance
15
of the matter. This is especially true given that Plaintiff seems to acknowledge that he has
16
discovery obligations. See Dkt. #115. In his status report, Plaintiff asserts that he has not had
17
18
time to respond to discovery. Dkt. #115 at 2. Yet, he fails to acknowledge the Court’s Order
19
directing him to respond, and fails to explain when he would provide responses in any event.2
20
Id. He then states that he will be serving his own discovery requests, completely disregarding
21
the fact that discovery has closed in this matter. Id. By continuing this matter, the Court would
22
only prolong the expense involved in handling this case both on the part of Defendants and the
23
24
Court. The Court finds anything short of dismissal would simply be a waste of resources.
25
26
27
28
2
Plaintiff continues to assert that he has not received mail or email after his deposition in
February. Dkt. #115. It is not clear whether he is referring to mail sent by Defendants, the
Court, or both. However, Plaintiff fails to acknowledge his obligation to keep the Court and
the parties informed as to his current address, and in fact has not affirmatively provided his
current contact information to the Court to date.
ORDER
PAGE - 7
1
The Court recognizes that the fourth factor typically weighs against dismissal. See, e.g.,
2
Hernandez, 138 F.3d at 399. However, the Ninth Circuit has explained that “this factor lends
3
little support to a party whose responsibility it is to move a case toward disposition on the
4
merits but whose conduct impedes progress in that direction.” In re PPA, 460 F.3d at 1228; In
5
re Exxon Valdez, 102 F.3d 429, 433 (9th Cir. 1996) (concluding this factor “lends little support
6
7
to [the plaintiffs], whose total refusal to provide discovery obstructed resolution of their claims
8
on the merits.”). Accordingly, the Court now finds that this factor weighs in favor of dismissal.
9
Finally, with respect to the fifth factor, the Court notes that it has attempted less drastic
10
alternatives prior to dismissal. The Court has declined to dismiss the action while it has sought
11
out Plaintiff on its own accord. Yet, even after apparently receiving the Court’s latest Order,
12
13
Plaintiff has failed to comply with his discovery obligations, and has failed to affirmatively
14
alert the Court of his current contact information. As a result, the Court finds that additional,
15
less drastic alternative remedies would be futile. “Though there are a wide variety of sanctions
16
short of dismissal available, the district court need not exhaust them all before finally
17
18
19
dismissing a case.” Nevijel v. N. Coast Life Ins. Co., 651 F.2d 671, 674 (9th Cir. 1981).
Accordingly, the Court finds the fifth factor also weighs in favor of dismissal.
20
Based on the analysis above, the Court finds that all five factors weigh in favor of
21
dismissal. Further, Plaintiff has failed to comply with a Court Order by refusing to provide
22
Defendants with discovery responses. Under these circumstances, the Court finds dismissal
23
24
with prejudice to be appropriate. See Morris v. Morgan Stanley & Co., 942 F.2d 648, 652 (9th
25
Cir. 1991) (holding that the district court properly dismissed with prejudice where the plaintiffs
26
“unnecessarily delayed the adjudication of the federal claims for almost two years” and had “no
27
intention of going forward with the arbitration in good faith”); Alexander v. Pac. Mar. Ass’n,
28
ORDER
PAGE - 8
1
434 F.2d 281, 283-84 (9th Cir. 1970) (holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion
2
by dismissing for failure to prosecute where appellants took no action on arbitration award for
3
nine months); Sheikh v. Cisco Sys., Inc., 472 Fed. Appx. 787, 788, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 8491
4
(9th Cir. Apr. 26, 2012) (affirming dismissal for failure to prosecute after plaintiff failed to act
5
on district court’s order granting a motion to compel arbitration and failed to reasonably
6
7
explain his inaction).
8
B. Remaining Motions
9
1. Plaintiff’s Motion for Relief from Judgment
10
Plaintiff has filed a Motion for Relief from Judgment related to a discovery order issued
11
by the Court in January 2016. Dkt. #117. Plaintiff asks the Court to vacate its Order, review a
12
13
motion he made in 2013, and compel Defendants to respond to his discovery request.3 Id.
14
Plaintiff appears to misconstrue the Court’s prior Order. On January 5, 2016, the Court
15
denied a motion to compel brought by Plaintiff. Dkt. #95. Plaintiff had asked the Court to
16
compel Defendants to produce a statement which Plaintiff allegedly gave to bus operator
17
18
Arthur Doronio after the incident at issue in this case. The Court denied the motion on the
19
bases that Plaintiff had failed to meet and confer with Defendants prior to filing his motion, as
20
required by the Court’s Local Rules, and there was no evidence Plaintiff had actually served
21
any discovery requests on Defendants. Id. Plaintiff appears to believe that the Court denied his
22
motion because “there was not a certificate from Defendants denying the information.” Dkt.
23
24
25
#117 at 1. He asks the Court to pull a motion to compel the same statement which he filed in
2013 and states that the Court will find such a certificate attached to that motion. Id. He then
26
27
28
3
The Court notes that Plaintiff’s motion is not noted for consideration until May 27, 2016.
However, given the status of this case and the nature of Plaintiff’s motion, the Court does not
require a response from Defendants to resolve the legal issues therein.
ORDER
PAGE - 9
1
2
3
4
asks the Court to utilize that certificate, review his second motion to compel again, and grant
the motion. Dkt. #117.
Rule 60(b)(1) allows this Court to relieve a party from an Order based on “mistake,
inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b)(1). Such mistakes include
5
the Court’s substantive errors of law or fact. Fid. Fed. Bank, FSB v. Durga Ma Corp., 387 F.3d
6
7
1021, 1024 (9th Cir. 2004). In order to obtain relief under Rule 60(b)(1), the movant “must
8
show that the district court committed a specific error.” Straw v. Bowen, 866 F.2d 1167, 1172
9
(9th Cir. 1989). Plaintiff has not done so. First, Plaintiff misconstrues the basis for the Court’s
10
denial of an Order compelling a response to discovery. Second, the Court has examined the
11
motion filed by Plaintiff in 2013, and the certification referenced by Plaintiff is not attached.
12
13
See Dkt. #61. Third, the 2013 motion also fails to certify that Plaintiff met and conferred with
14
Defendants prior to filing the motion, and fails to contain any evidence that Plaintiff ever
15
served Defendants with discovery requests. Accordingly, Plaintiff’s motion is DENIED.
16
2. Defendants’ Motion to Appoint Mediator
17
18
On May 12, 2016, Defendants filed a motion asking this Court to appoint a pro bono
19
mediator to allow the parties to comply with their mediation requirement. Dkt. #118. Given
20
that the Court is now dismissing this case, the Court finds Defendants’ motion MOOT.
21
IV.
CONCLUSION
22
Having reviewed Defendants’ motion, along with the remainder of the record, the Court
23
24
25
hereby finds and ORDERS:
1. Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss (Dkt. #113) is GRANTED.
26
27
All of Plaintiff’s
remaining claims are DISMISSED.
2. Plaintiff’s pending Motion for Relief from Judgment (Dkt. #117) is DENIED.
28
ORDER
PAGE - 10
1
3. Defendants’ pending Motion to Appoint a Mediator (Dkt. #118) is now MOOT.
2
4. This matter is CLOSED.
3
5. The Clerk SHALL provide a copy of this Order to Plaintiff by U.S. Mail at the
4
address contained on the Court’s docket, and shall email a copy of the Order to
5
Plaintiff at “fedup421@gmail.com”.
6
7
DATED this 23 day of May 2016.
8
9
A
10
RICARDO S. MARTINEZ
CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
ORDER
PAGE - 11
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.
Why Is My Information Online?