Berry v. Thrasher et al

Filing 22

ORDER denying Plaintiff's 20 Motion for Permission for Early Production and Waiver of Costs, signed by Magistrate Judge Karen L Strombom. (GMR- cc: pltf)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT TACOMA

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CHEWETO AHMED BERRY,
No. C13-5065 RBL/KLS
Plaintiff,

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v.

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TIMOTHY M. THRASHER, MIKE
OBENLAND, ROBERT SMITH, MARK
HUNLEY, KATRINA HENRY, JAN
DOE NURSE, DAN MCBRIDE,

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ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S
MOTION FOR PERMISSION FOR
EARLY PRODUCTION AND WAIVER
OF COSTS

Defendants.

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Before the Court is Plaintiff’s “Motion for Permission to File Early Production of
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Documents (Rule 34) and to Waive Cost of Said Documents.” ECF No. 20. Having carefully

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considered Plaintiff’s request and balance of the record, the Court finds that the motion should

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be denied.

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DISCUSSION

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Plaintiff asks the Court to order the early production of documents pursuant to
Fed.R.Civ.P. 34. Plaintiff does not identify the documents he wishes to have produced, but

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states that he needs them to prepare his case and prove his allegations in case Defendants file a

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motion for summary judgment. ECF No. 20, p. 1. Plaintiff also asks that the costs of

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production be borne by Defendants because Plaintiff is proceeding in forma pauperis herein.

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Id.

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ORDER - 1

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A court order is not required to conduct discovery and discovery requests are not filed

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with the Court. Plaintiff is directed to the Court’s Pretrial Scheduling Order dated March 11,

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2013 which generally governs the conduct of discovery in this case. Plaintiff must first serve

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his discovery requests on the parties pursuant to the rules of discovery. Parties may obtain

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discovery regarding any non-privileged matter that is relevant to any party’s claim or defense.
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Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(b)(1).
In the event the discovery requests are not complied with, Plaintiff must confer with

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opposing counsel in a good faith attempt to resolve the discovery dispute. Finally, if the attempt

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to confer is unsuccessful, Plaintiff may file a motion to compel, which shall include a

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certification that he, in good faith, conferred or attempted to confer with the person or party

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failing to make the discovery in an effort to secure the information or material without court

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intervention in accordance with Fed.R.Civ.P. 37(a)(3)(B). Only after all these steps have been
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complied with may Plaintiff file a discovery motion with the Court.
Plaintiff also asks that the cost of discovery be borne by the Defendants. However,

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Plaintiff must bear the costs of litigating his case. The in forma pauperis statute does not

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authorize the expenditure of public funds for the purposes sought by Plaintiff. See Tedder v.

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Odel, 890 F.2d 210 (9th Cir.1989)(citations omitted). Plaintiff should contact appropriate

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authorities where he is incarcerated regarding the ability to incur debt for photocopies of legal

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pleadings if he lacks sufficient funds to pay the required fee at the time of the request.

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Accordingly, it is ORDERED:

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(1)

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//

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//
ORDER - 2

Plaintiff’s motion (ECF No. 20) is DENIED.

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(2)

The Clerk shall send a copy of this Order to Plaintiff and counsel for Defendants.

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DATED this 22nd day of April, 2013.

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A

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Karen L. Strombom
United States Magistrate Judge

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ORDER - 3