UN4 Productions, Inc. v. Doe 1 et al

Filing 124

ORDER granting in part Plaintiff's 122 Motion to Compel Discoveryand for Sanctions Against Mortedha Al-Sultan. Defendant Al-Sultan shall, on or before November 30, 2018, provide full and complete responses to Interrogatories Nos. 1 and 4-22 and to Requests for Production Nos. 7, 8, 11, 12, and 13. Plaintiff is entitled to an award of expenses. Plaintiff shall, on or before November 9th, provide a statement of the reasonable attorney's fees related to the filing of this motion. The Clerk of Court is directed to note a "Fee Petition" on the Court's calendar for Friday, November 16, 2018. Signed by Judge Robert S. Lasnik. (TH) (cc: Defendant Mortedha Al-Sultan via first class mail)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE

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UN4 PRODUCTIONS, INC.,

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Plaintiff,
v.
MADISON PALMER, et al.,
Defendants.

Case No. C17-0785RSL
ORDER GRANTING IN PART
MOTION TO COMPEL
DISCOVERY RESPONSES

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This matter comes before the Court on plaintiff’s “Motion to Compel Discovery

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and for Sanctions Against Mortedha Al-Sultan.” Dkt. # 122. Plaintiff served written

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discovery on defendant Al-Sultan on June 14, 2018. Despite multiple communications

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from plaintiff regarding the need to participate in discovery, defendant has not responded.

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Having reviewed the interrogatories, the requests for production, and the remainder of the

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record, the Court finds as follows:

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1) Defendant Al-Sultan is a defendant in a federal lawsuit and must take his

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obligations as a litigant seriously. Participating fully and completely in discovery is one

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of those obligations.

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2) Nevertheless, a number of the discovery requests propounded by plaintiff are

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unduly burdensome, of minimal relevance, related to claims that the Ninth Circuit has

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found are not viable, and/or seek private and confidential information that need not be

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produced unless and until an appropriate protective order is in place. Defendant will not

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ORDER GRANTING IN PART MOTION
TO COMPEL DISCOVERY RESPONSES - 1

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be compelled to respond to those inquiries.
3) Defendant Al-Sultan shall, on or before November 30, 2018, provide full and

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complete responses to Interrogatories Nos. 1 and 4-22 and to Requests for Production

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Nos. 7, 8, 11, 12, and 13. Defendant has an obligation to take reasonable steps to inform

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himself regarding the subjects into which plaintiff has inquired. If, after reasonable

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investigation, he does not know the answer to a particular discovery request, he may

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respond “I do not know.”

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4) Plaintiff is entitled to an award of expenses under Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(a)(5)(a).
Plaintiff shall, on or before November 9th, provide a statement of the reasonable

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attorney’s fees related to the filing of this motion. Costs associated with the underlying

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discovery requests and meet and confer efforts are not recoverable. The Clerk of Court is

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directed to note a “Fee Petition” on the Court’s calendar for Friday, November 16, 2018.

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Any opposition to the fee petition is due on or before the note date.

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Dated this 24th day of October, 2018.

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A

Robert S. Lasnik
United States District Judge

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ORDER GRANTING IN PART MOTION
TO COMPEL DISCOVERY RESPONSES - 2